Bram Hoorelbeke

With regard to EU competition law, Bram advises clients on a wide variety of competition law issues including merger notifications, Article 101 and 102 TFEU cases and advise on state aid cases. Bram also has extensive experience in government procurement procedures launched by the European Union institutions. In addition, Bram deals with follow-on damage actions and competition law related claims before Belgian courts of Law. Besides these competition law related matters, Bram advises clients on general EU law, such as free movement, customs, etc.

With regard to Belgian competition law, Bram assist clients in the notification and follow-up of concentrations, and in complaints and procedures before the Mededingingscollege / Collège de la concurrence (Belgian Competition Council) and Belgian courts of law.

His sector experience includes fast moving consumer goods, sports, automotive industry, telecoms, chemicals, and financial technologies.

• Representing multinational company active in VAT Refund Services and Direct Currency Conversion in Commission investigation into alleged abuse of dominance.
• Representing leading Belgian insurance provider in multiple investigations by the Belgian Competition Authority relating to the insurance sector.
• Advising leading payment technology solution provider on competition law compliance of envisaged changes to the network rules.
• Successfully represented an elevator company before Belgium courts in several damages actions following the elevators and escalators cartel.
• Assisted a client in the sector of animal feed phosphates in the first ever "hybrid" cartel settlement case adopted by the European Commission.
• Acted for a large multinational retail chain in the Belgian Competition Authority's first cartel settlement decision concerning the Belgian grocery sector.
• Representing generic medicines company in challenging the General Court's judgment on patent settlements.
• Represented several companies in the ongoing procedures before the General Court seeking annulment of the European Commission's decision regarding Belgian Excess Profit Rulings (SA.37667 Excess Profit exemption in Belgium – Art. 185§2 b) CIR92).
• Challenged a Commission recovery decision on behalf of an international chemicals group before the EU General Court.
• Represented Oracle Belgium in a state aid recovery procedure leading to a preliminary ruling request before the ECJ.
• Appeal for Apple against the GC's judgment in Case T-101/17 dismissing the action against the EU Commission's State aid decision to allow Germany to target foreign video-on-demand providers such as iTunes with levies (Case C-633/18 P).