Priorities of the Belgian Competition Authority for 2025: an ambitious programme

August 2025  |  SPECIAL REPORT: COMPETITION & ANTITRUST

Financier Worldwide Magazine

August 2025 Issue

On 25 April 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) issued its annual communication setting out its policy priorities for the current year. This publication, which has existed since 2014, explains how the BCA selects its formal investigations and describes its strategic and sectoral priorities for competition policy.

In its communication, the BCA highlights the current challenges Belgium faces in politics, the economy and technology, and stresses the importance of proactive protection of competition, notably in the digital sector and in relation to the green and circular transition.

In recent years, the BCA has had a completely new managing board and benefitted from increased human and financial means. Its policy priorities for 2025 reflect its new ambitions while maintaining continuity in the main sectors to be targeted.

Context

The BCA is competent to apply European Union (EU) competition law and the national competition rules provided by the Code of Economic Law. It investigates competition restrictive practices (cartels, abuses of dominance and abuses of economic dependency) in Belgium on its own initiative or at the request of a complainant. It can adopt interim measures in the event of an emergency, while also declaring injunctions or fines, and accept commitments in an in-depth investigation.

It also examines, under merger control, projects of concentration that meet the turnover thresholds set in the Code of Economic Law.

In parallel with its missions and powers with regard to mergers and competition restrictive practices, the BCA can: (i) provide opinions on regulatory initiatives; (ii) contribute to the preparation of Belgian competition regulations; (iii) collaborate in external investigations; (iv) participate in meetings of the European Commission (EC) in matters relating to competition; (v) collaborate with other competition authorities within the European Competition Network (ECN), the European Competition Authorities (ECA) and the International Competition Network (ICN) regarding infringement procedures and mergers discussed within the European consultative committees (Regulations (EC) No 1/2003 and No 139/2004) as well as the Belgian contribution to the various ECN working groups; and (vi) participate in the activities of the OECD Competition Committee (of which the BCA president is an executive committee member), the ECA and the ICN.

Since 2014, the BCA has published an annual communication on its priorities, highlighting the sectors that require particular vigilance and setting out its strategic priorities, notably in developing and implementing measures to ensure the reinforcement of its actions and its adjustment to the current economic context and new challenges that competition law faces.

Sectorial priorities

In its communication setting out its policy priorities for 2025, in line with the priority areas identified in previous years, the BCA announced its intention to continue its actions in the sectors highlighted below.

The food industry. This sector receives particular focus because of a higher risk of anticompetitive practices, abuses of dominance and abuses of economic dependency. The BCA also highlights the current trend of consolidation and the challenge of sustainability. In January 2025, the BCA opened an investigation into a project of concentration between the two largest producers of wheat flour for artisan bakeries in Belgium under article 101.1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the Code of Economic Law. The project fell outside the scope of merger control.

The investigation was closed in March 2025 when the parties abandoned their project. In February 2025, the BCA announced the opening of a formal investigation against AB InBev following reports from various players in the beer supply chain about certain AB InBev practices pertaining to commercial conditions for the supply of beer to wholesalers and horeca operators (on-trade) in the Belgian market. The investigation is ongoing.

As for consolidation in the sector, in April 2024 the BCA approved the acquisition of 54 of 57 Louis Delhaize Group shops (under the brand Smatch/Match/Louis Delhaize). In May 2024, the acquisition of six shops from Delhaize Le Lion/De Leeuw by VLH Holding was cleared. More recently, the BCA authorised the acquisition by Colruyt of Delitraiteur, two chains of supermarkets active in different segments of the concerned market.

The construction sector. The BCA recognises that the construction sector faces major challenges due to the increase in materials prices and is thus at risk of illegal agreements on reinvoicing costs or bid rigging in public procurement. Last year, bid rigging was a main focus for the BCA, which issued two decisions imposing fines for manipulation of public procurement procedures in the fire protection sector and the private security sector.

Healthcare. Although hospitals were largely exempt from merger control by the Belgian legislator in 2023, the BCA reminds us that large hospitals remain under merger control. The BCA also focuses its attention on the pharmaceutical sector, particularly for prices determined by laboratories, competition between wholesalers and the competitive dynamic between pharmacies. In March 2025, the BCA sent a statement of objections to a major life sciences group concerning potential exclusionary practices aimed at biosimilars of anticancer medicines.

Basic services. Services, particularly the regulated professions, financial and banking services, energy and transport, have been targeted by the BCA for many years due to the significant and broad impact they have on consumers. For instance, in September 2024 the BCA carried out inspections of bus and coach transport due to suspicions of agreements or concerted practices regarding price fixing, market sharing, bid rigging and no-poaching of each other’s personnel. The investigation is ongoing.

Financial and banking services were also scrutinised last year. The BCA investigated the agreement between BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, ING and Belfius, the four main banks operating in Belgium, with the aim of replacing their individual ATM networks with a single, neutral and independent network managed by the Batopin company. Following a series of commitments, the investigation was closed in April 2025.

Digitalisation of the economy. In collaboration with the regulatory authorities, the BCA plans to focus on local actors to identify abuses of dominance and economic dependency of local platforms and artificial intelligence companies, and to apply the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in cooperation with the EC, to oversee the digital infrastructure and telecommunications sector in its rollout of new infrastructure (i.e., optic fibre and 5G) and improving quality and pricing of telecommunication services for residential and professional customers. In December 2024, the BCA published a short guide for tech challengers regarding the DMA. It is also worth mentioning that, in 2024, the BCA opened a formal investigation into a proposed cooperation agreement for the rollout of fibre networks in Flanders.

Identifying these priorities does not mean that complaints about competition infringements in other sectors will not be investigated, but files may be prioritised according to their strategic importance to the Belgian economy or the higher risk of distorting competition if they concern essential goods and services.

Projects and strategic actions

To reinforce its competition policy, the BCA will prioritise the projects and strategic actions outlined below.

First is sectorial investigations, guidelines and political directives. The BCA aims to strength its detection and advocacy policy. The first general investigation of sectorial mechanisms for price revision and indexation is planned for 2025. The BCA is also preparing guidelines on sustainability, with a focus on the food industry, digital policy and clarifying competition rules around worker mobility, notably non-poaching clauses.

Second is global strategy to protect competition by fighting bid rigging. The BCA will update its 2017 guidelines on bid rigging for public authorities and develop new tools to detect infringements, working in cooperation with the EC and other competition authorities analysing  e-procurement platform data.

Third is reinforcing the legal framework and political instruments. The BCA intends to reform merger control rules, notably the scope of the simplified procedure and the general evaluation of the normal procedure, and it is considering introducing a call-in for mergers below the notification thresholds. Furthermore, the BCA is studying the possibility of setting up a new competition tool in Belgian law that would impose binding corrective remedies following a sectorial investigation.

Fourth is increased national and international cooperation to improve the BCA’s actions. The first priority is cooperation at national level with other regulatory authorities, the federal economy administration, professional federations and consumers associations, but also internationally with EU bodies.

Last is increased visibility and accessibility among target groups.

The analysis grid

The BCA’s communication also includes an analysis grid of the priority cases, which will be retained for an investigation. The factors that will determine the importance of a case are the impact of the alleged infringement, the strategic importance of the case, the resources that the BCA will need to mobilise and the risk the case entails in terms of a potential result.

Conclusion

The new managing board and additional financial resources have heralded a new era for the BCA. In that respect, its annual communication on policy priorities for 2025 sets very high concrete objectives in terms of projects and strategic actions.

In comparison with past years, the communication lists clear targets on reforming merger control, competition tools and guidelines. The sectors to be specifically monitored remain largely the same as in previous years. Time will tell whether the BCA will achieve its ambitions in 2025.

 

Annabelle Lepièce is a partner at CMS Belgium. She can be contacted on +32 (2) 743 6934 or by email: annabelle.lepiece@cms-db.com.

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Annabelle Lepièce

CMS Belgium

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