The European Commission published today a third expert report in the context of the revision of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation ('VBER') and Vertical Guidelines. In response to the public consultation in 2021, it appeared that the Commission’s proposal to limit the safe harbour for dual distribution by excluding information exchanges between the parties from the benefit of the block exemption was not supported by stakeholders. To gather more evidence on the topic, DG Competition invited the German law firm Commeo to prepare an expert report addressing information exchanges in a dual distribution context. You can consult the expert report here.
The Distribution Law Center will soon provide you with a comprehensive summary of the main findings of this expert report, so make sure to keep an eye on our LinkedIn page DLC - Distribution Law Center.
The Commission is contemplating to hold a public consultation on draft language to be added to the future Vertical Guidelines in respect of this subject-matter. Also here the Distribution Law Center will follow up actively as soon as such consultation is launched. You can consult the draft new section dealing with information exchanges in dual distribution here.
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