Benjamin Magnus and Laura Sente in 'Competitio'

Benjamin Magnus and Laura Sente published the lead article in the latest edition of Competitio. The article discusses the selectivity assessment of tax measures under State aid rules. You can read the article here.

New Code of Companies and Associations adopted

Belgium’s Federal Parliament adopted the much anticipated new Code of Companies and Associations (and accompanying tax legislation) today. The new Code constitutes a seismic shift in Belgian company law through modernization, simplification, adaptation to European evolutions, and by introducing an unprecedented degree of flexibility and contract freedom. The new Code will enter into force on 1 May 2019. The full text can be consulted here. The new Code is adopted just in time for the next contrast law seminar, which will be held on 14 March 2019 and which is dedicated entirely to the new opportunities offered by the Code for family business, venture capital and private equity transactions and the organization of company groups. We hope to see you there!

Anouk Focquet promoted to counsel and Eline Declerck, Karolien Francken and Sarah Jaques promoted to senior associate

We are very happy to announce that Anouk Focquet has been promoted to counsel. Anouk joined contrast in 2010 and leads our privacy and data protection department. She conducts compliance audits of international and Belgian companies active in various industry sectors and advises clients on every aspect of privacy and data protection laws. Anouk is a regular speaker at conferences and has several publications on privacy and data protection.

We are also happy to announce that Eline Declerck, Karolien Francken and Sarah Jaques have been promoted to senior associate. They joined contrast in 2013. They are all active in our competition and EU team and Eline is also active in our privacy and data protection team.

Toprankings for contrast

Our Competition & EU and Corporate and M&A team continue to be highly recommended in the 2019 edition of Chambers & Partners Global. We are now also recognized for Dispute Resolution, with Frank Wijckmans being ranked in band 2 for Arbitration. We have more on our website.

contrast law seminars recognized by the Belgian Institute for In-house Counsel

contrast is happy to announce that legal counsels will now be able to gather credits at our contrast law seminars, as our seminars have been recognized by the Belgian Institute for In-house Counsel ‘IBJ’. We are looking forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming seminars. Consult our website for more information.

Knipperlichten 2019 - Highlight 1

Julie Van Pée, lawyer at contrast, discussed the enforcement priorities of the Belgian Data Protection Authority (‘DPA’) at this year's edition of 'Knipperlichten'. Based on her interviews with the Minister of Digital Agenda, Mr. De Backer, and the current President of the DPA, Mr. Debeuckelaere, she confirmed that the DPA, notwithstanding its primary focus on GDPR compliance, will not hold back to impose fines for violations of the GDPR. The Belgian DPA will follow its foreign counterparts and the Court of Justice which have already imposed penalties on several companies. More details on these judgments can be found in our Privacy Talk and on our website.

CLS Knipperlichten 2019

contrast law seminars kicked off its 2019 pogramme with an excellent edition of 'Knipperlichten'. A special thanks goes to our guest speakers Bart Goossens, Hanne Pauwels and Jules Stuyck, as well as to our contrast speakers Emmelie Wijckmans, Alexander Tolpe and Julie Van Pée. The next seminar will discuss the new Company Code. There are only a few seats left, so reserve yours quickly.

Sébastien Engelen in 'Journal de Droit européen'

Sébastien Engelen published an article on state aid in the latest edition of the Journal de Droit européen. The article concerns the topic of business transactions between enterprises and public authorities. The article can be consulted here.

Sébastien Engelen in de Juristenkrant

Sébastien Engelen commented in De Juristenkrant on a recent decision of the European Commission regarding reductions in compensation payments granted by the Port of Antwerp to two container terminal operators. The decision is that the reduction does not qualify as state aid. You can find the article here.

Frank Wijckmans lectured at the Brussels School of Competition

Frank Wijckmans lectured on “the Law and Economics of Vertical Restraints” at the Brussels School of Competition. The 3 sessions were co-lectured by Lucas Peeperkorn (DG Competition of the European Commission). The students included a fantastic mix of international profiles with different levels of experience in the field of competition law.
Frank Wijckmans is listed in “Who’s Who Legal” as one of the 2019 Thought Leaders in the field of Competition Law.