We are happy that the experienced team of Katharina Weiner (partner) and Stefanie Zenzen (associate) will join our Düsseldorf office in the third quarter of 2026 from an international law firm. They both bring extensive experience advising leading national and international companies as well as public sector clients on complex procurement, regulatory, and strategic infrastructure matters.

For the fifth time in ten years, German competition law is facing a comprehensive reform. On 4 June 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy published its draft bill for the 12th Amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC). Its aim is to make competition law more efficient with faster procedures and greater enforcement powers for the Federal Cartel Office (FCO). Uncontroversial mergers shall be excluded from the notification regime so that resources are freed up for cases with genuine competitive relevance. This shift in focus is complemented by new tools that were previously not available to the FCO, such as systematic screening of procurement data. What are the key elements of the proposed amendment?

Mit der Ende 2024 beschlossenen Verordnung (EU) 2024/2847, auch Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), legt die Europäische Union weitere verbindliche Standards für die Cybersicherheit fest. Während es bei der Umsetzung der NIS-2-Richtlinie vor allem die Cybersicherheit von Unternehmen und kritischen Infrastrukturen adressiert, steht beim CRA die Produktsicherheit im Fokus.

Am vergangenen Mittwoch, den 27. Mai 2026, hat die Bundesregierung den Entwurf für ein „Gesetz zur Stärkung der Cybersicherheit‘‘ verabschiedet. Das Vorhaben enthält in erster Linie neue Befugnisse für die Sicherheitsbehörden des Bundes. Es umfasst aber auch Auswirkungen auf private Unternehmen, die im Zentrum dieses Briefings stehen sollen. Das Briefing bezieht sich auf den Stand des Referentenentwurfs aus dem Bundesministerium des Innern vom 24. Februar 2026.

The EU is preparing one of the most significant shifts in industrial funding policy in decades. At the centre of this shift is the proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), a new funding instrument under the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework intended to direct EU funding towards strategically important industries, critical technologies and defence capabilities.

Viele Unternehmen sehen sich zunehmend mit Anforderungen des Geheimschutzes konfrontiert – etwa als Bieter bei öffentlichen Aufträgen im Verteidigungs- und Sicherheitsbereich oder als Zulieferer für Kritische Infrastrukturen. Die veränderte Sicherheitslage in Deutschland und Europa führt zu neuen Compliance‑Pflichten für die Privatwirtschaft. Dieses Briefing richtet sich sowohl an Unternehmen, die erstmals mit geheimhaltungsbedürftigen Informationen arbeiten, als auch an Unternehmen, die schon heute über entsprechende Erfahrungen verfügen.

With the European Commission launching its first calls for proposals under the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) almost in parallel with the introduction of AGILE, its new programme for Agile and Rapid Defence Innovation, the EU is taking the next steps in expanding its defence‑industrial toolkit. Time to give a quick overview of what these instruments are and how they fit into existing EU programs.

Amongst the pressing topics regarding the Defence Industry and the current challenges it faces is the question how competition policy can contribute to Europe’s security.

The EU is facing increasing pressure from global instability and a weakening rules-based order. The “Industrial Accelerator Act” (IAA), for which the Commission recently unveiled its proposal (the Proposal),  is designed to help navigate these challenges. The Proposal sets the target of raising the share of the manufacturing industry in the EU’s gross domestic product to at least 20 % by 2035. This aim shall be achieved mainly by two mechanisms: a framework for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening in certain sensitive sectors and “Buy European” requirements for public procurement procedures and subsidies on the other hand. While this briefing focuses on the FDI aspects of the Proposal, its “Buy European” elements are discussed separately.

In January of this year, the European Commission implemented economic measures after an anti-dumping investigation against fused alumina imported from China through the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/114. This specific anti-dumping procedure includes for the first-time considerations regarding economic security in the anti-dumping investigation and ended up combining anti-dumping duties with tariff rate quotas to balance the diverging interests of producers and users of fused alumina.