On June 24, contrast partner Frank Wijckmans chaired a well-attended one day Informa Connect conference dedicated to EU competition law developments in the area of vertical restraints. An update on the revision of the Block Exemption Regulation was provided by DG Competition’s Kassiani Christodoulou, whereas DG Competition official Sara Bacchio provided background with regard to the Video Games cases.

Representatives of national competition authorities from Denmark, France, Germany and the UK elaborated on important developments in their jurisdictions. Several other panels consisting of leading practitioners addressed some other key questions that are currently pending.

In his closing remarks, Frank highlighted that 'the issue of dual distribution was raised consistently throughout the day and therefore seems to be on everybody’s mind. The topic moved somewhat unexpectedly to the top of the agenda of the revision of the Block Exemption Regulation. It will be interesting to see which policy choice DG Competition is making in this respect.'