The notification obligations set out in the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) became applicable about a year ago. High value M&A transactions and government calls for tender now need to be notified to the European Commission before they can be finalized. What lessons can be learned from the application of the FSR to date? Has it proved an effective tool in ensuring a level playing field? Or has it just increased the administrative burden on companies and with it the risk of discouraging investment in Europe?

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Photo of Vassilis Akritidis Vassilis Akritidis

To maximize trade-related benefits, get customs advice, or ensure robust representation before the European Commission and EU courts in trade and EU matters, clients turn to Vassilis Akritidis and his team for clear advice and dedication to a positive result. Beyond disputes, proactive

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To maximize trade-related benefits, get customs advice, or ensure robust representation before the European Commission and EU courts in trade and EU matters, clients turn to Vassilis Akritidis and his team for clear advice and dedication to a positive result. Beyond disputes, proactive compliance and proper corporate governance are essential for success. Vassilis organizes compliance training programs for executives to ensure smooth and cost-effective navigation through the complex web of EU and World Trade Organization regulations.

Vassilis has been practicing EU and international trade law in Brussels since 1991. He qualified in Athens as a maritime lawyer and then pursued graduate studies in European law at the Institute of European Studies in Brussels. An internship at the State Aid Directorate-General for Competition convinced Vassilis that EU and supranational law are hugely interesting. He started as an EU competition and public procurement lawyer and over the years focused increasingly on international trade and WTO law. Vassilis is regularly quoted by renowned legal directories as an expert in these fields.

Vassilis helps his clients win trade investigations, achieve and improve market access, maximize trade benefits, and be trade-compliant wherever they operate. He advises and represents private clients, professional associations, and governments in trade defense investigations (anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, safeguards), customs investigations and litigation, trade sanctions/export controls, and EU anti-fraud investigations led by the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Vassilis also advises on EU State aid and EU internal market and public procurement.

Vassilis has worked for clients active in the steel, chemicals, high-tech, transport, defense and aerospace, automotive, and agriculture/food sectors. He represents clients before the EC and other non-EU trade defense authorities.

Should things get contentious, Vassilis is an experienced litigator, representing parties before EU courts in Luxembourg as well as national customs and administrative tribunals.

Vassilis works with his colleagues at Crowell Global Advisors, our global government relations, public policy, and public affairs affiliate, in matters involving EU public policy and lobbying.

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Photo of Karel Bourgeois Karel Bourgeois
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Photo of Karl Stas Karl Stas

When faced with complex competition or regulatory issues, clients turn to Karl Stas for no-nonsense, business-focused advice. A senior counsel in the Antitrust and Competition group in Crowell & Moring’s Brussels office, Karl focuses on EU and Belgian competition law (including state aid)…

When faced with complex competition or regulatory issues, clients turn to Karl Stas for no-nonsense, business-focused advice. A senior counsel in the Antitrust and Competition group in Crowell & Moring’s Brussels office, Karl focuses on EU and Belgian competition law (including state aid), public and administrative law, the regulation of network industries, and the digital economy. He regularly advises clients in the telecommunications, media, entertainment, postal and pharmaceutical sectors, among others.

Karl assists international and Belgian clients in complex antitrust and regulatory matters, representing them before both the European Commission and national antitrust and regulatory authorities. In addition to his extensive advisory experience in these areas, Karl is also an experienced litigator, regularly representing clients before Belgian civil and administrative courts at all levels, as well as before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Karl has been noted as a “key figure” for competition law in Belgium by the leading legal journal Legal 500 EMEA.

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Photo of Benjamin Geisel Benjamin Geisel
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Photo of Jean-Baptiste Blancardi Jean-Baptiste Blancardi

Jean-Baptiste Blancardi is an associate at Crowell & Moring, where he focuses on international trade law and on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). His practice covers the broad spectrum of international trade law, including trade remedies investigations (antidumping, countervailing, and safeguard investigations) in…

Jean-Baptiste Blancardi is an associate at Crowell & Moring, where he focuses on international trade law and on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). His practice covers the broad spectrum of international trade law, including trade remedies investigations (antidumping, countervailing, and safeguard investigations) in the EU and the U.S., as well as customs (origin, classification, duty refunds). In parallel, Jean-Baptiste advises clients on how to navigate the new EU regulations affecting trade in the Union and articulated around sustainability (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, Forced Labour Regulation) and open strategic autonomy (Foreign Subsidies Regulation, Anti-Coercion Instrument, Critical Raw Materials Act).

Prior to joining Crowell, Jean-Baptiste was a trainee at one of the most advanced ESG law firms in Paris, where he gained valuable experience relating to corporate sustainability reporting for groups with complex supply chains.

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