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In 2021, the Commission adopted guidance clarifying that a national competition authority could refer a transaction under Article 22 EUMR to the Commission for review, even if it was not notifiable under national merger control rules. This allowed authorities to “bypass” the system of EU and national merger control thresholds and enabled the Commission to investigate transactions that fell below these thresholds. Previously, below-threshold transactions had escaped any merger review, which was seen as a major loophole, allowing large multinationals to acquire nascent competitors with no substantial turnover.

The European Commission (Commission) adopted its long-anticipated guidelines on the scope of obligations for general-purpose artificial intelligence (GPAI) models under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) (Guidelines) on July 18, 2025. The Guidelines closely follow the publication of the Commission’s and AI Office’s GPAI Code of Practice (Code), which outlines several measures that providers of GPAI models can take to comply with their obligations under the AI Act. Further information on the Code, including key provisions for organizations, is outlined in DLA Piper’s summary of the Code.

The Belgian federal government reached this summer an agreement introducing a series of significant labour law reforms. This political agreement was translated into a draft act on diverse provisions. These measures aim to encourage workforce participation and support more flexible employment. Below, we give an overview of the main elements of this draft act. This draft act is not yet submitted to parliament. It is expected that it will be approved and enter into force before the end of the year.

On 17 June 2025 the European Commission unveiled a new legislative package aimed at reforming the EU securitisation framework. The initiative seeks to revitalise the securitisation market while maintaining prudential safeguards.

The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which entered into force on 1 August 2024, provides for a phased implementation of its obligations. The first phase, effective from 2 February 2025, focused on promoting AI literacy within organizations and prohibiting certain high-risk AI practices. Now, as of 2 August 2025, the second phase of the AI Act introduces obligations concerning penalties, general-purpose AI models (GPAI), and governance. The final phase will take effect in August 2026.

With the EU Data Act now in force, cloud providers are on the clock to revamp their contracts.

Background Belgium is set to enter a new era of taxation: a capital gains tax on financial assets will apply as from 1 January 2026. This marks a turning point in Belgian tax policy, as it brings into scope one…

The Belgian Programme Act of 18 July 2025 provides for an exemption from employer contributions to the National Social Security Office (NSSO) on employee earnings above a certain salary threshold, scheduled to apply as from 1 July 2025. The expected…

On 16 December 2024, the Private Investigation Act (PIA) came into force, replacing and updating the Private Detective Act of 1991. The PIA has a significant impact on the manner in which internal investigations must be conducted in the workplace,…

One of the most significant social policy instruments adopted by the EU in the last years is the EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (Eu) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.

What You Need to Know Key takeaway #1 The new Book 6 of the Belgian Civil Code brought about the abolition of the “quasi-immunity” from direct liability for auxiliaries (such as directors and subcontractors). Interested companies must therefore review their…