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    Prof. Dr Rainer Bierwagen
    ADVANT Beiten - Brussels - Hamburg
    Rechtsanwalt
    Partner

    Prof. Dr Rainer Bierwagen

    ADVANT Beiten - Brussels - Hamburg
    Rechtsanwalt
    Partner

    LANGUAGES

    English / French / German

    Practice Areas

    Antitrust Law - Energy Law

    Sectors

    Digital, Media & Technology - Industrials - Public Sector

    Contacts

    T Brussels: +32 2 6390000

    T Hamburg: +49 40 688745-0

    F Brussels: +32 2 6390006

    F Hamburg: +49 40 688745-9

    Rainer.Bierwagen@advant-beiten.com

    Rainer.Bierwagen@advant-beiten.com

    Expertise

    Prof. Dr Rainer M. Bierwagen is Partner at the offices of ADVANT Beiten in Brussels and Berlin and member of the Competition practice group. His area of expertise comprises EU and international competition and trade law. He particularly advises national and inter­national clients on competition law, on state aid rules, in mergers and acquisitions and concerning trade law. He is an expert in EU law for advisory services and advocacy before the courts.

    Prof. Dr Bierwagen studied law at the Universities of Heidelberg, Geneva (Switzerland), Freiburg and Konstanz and obtained his Dr. iur. in 1989. He was admitted to the German Bar in 1989 and in Brussels as Avocat associé (1991) and as Médiateur agréé en droit civil et commercial (2010). He joined ADVANT Beiten as Partner in 2009, having worked previously with Van Bael & Bellis (1989 to 1995) and as a partner with KRB Kemmler Rapp Böhlke, both in Brussels.

    Awards

    Recommended Lawyer
    Best Lawyers in Kooperation mit Handelsblatt 2025
    Recommended Lawyer
    The Legal 500 Germany & EMEA 2022

    Publications

    Publications:

    US sanctions on Iran and EU blocking regulation
    Dr Rainer Bierwagen
    in: RIW 9-10/2020, p. 584 et seq.

    Brexit – Business Relationships Put to the Test
    Rainer Bierwagen
    PLATOW Brief, 10/2018, p. 7

    Determination of the Normal Value and Interpretation of the Concept of „Sales Ordinary Course of Trade“
    Dr Rainer Bierwagen and Dr. Theresa Ilgner (Comment on the Decision of the European Court of Justice (Second Chamber), Decision of 1 October 2014 – C-393/13 P (Council of the European Union/Alumina d. o. o.))
    in: EuZW 2015, p. 24

    Numerous articles on competition, State aid and trade law.

    Lectures:

    On 26 March 2015, Dr Bierwagen delivered a speech on "Ongoing WTO trade dispute settlement proceedings between the EU and Russia" at the International Forum on WTO Law.

    In 2013, Dr. Bierwagen was appointed Honorary Professor by Saarland University. He frequently teaches at various universities and holds lectures at conferences on WTO and EU law issues.

    Memberships

    • Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht
    • Commission des Relations Internationales du Barreau Français de Bruxelles
    • Chinese European Legal Association e.V. (CELA)
    • Belgian Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC)

    Articles

    New: The Regulation on the prohibition of products made with forced labour ("Forced Labour Regulation")
    On 19.11.2024, after the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union …
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    The Foreign Subsidies Regulation: Where do we stand?
    In the following we provide an overview of what has happened since the entry int…
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    Ursula von der Leyen re-elected European Union Commission President
    Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected Commission President w…
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    It is high time to prepare for the European CO₂ Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
    The European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)1 has entered into force on 17 May 2023 and has been implemented gradually since October this year. The CBMA requires importers of iron, steel, cement,…
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    20th Amendment to the Foreign Trade and payments Regulation: What’s New?
    Digitalisation The amendments make it possible for administrative acts under the Foreign Trade and Payments Regulation (Außenwritschaftsverordnung, AWV) to be issued in electronic form. Applications, no…
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    The European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - will it become a reality?
    Exporters in third countries and importers have to start preparing for the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Companies importing iron, steel, cement, aluminium, fertilizers and electricity will…
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    ECJ confirms Commission's action against selective tax advantages as state aid, but the path remains rocky
    On November 08, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union (EGC) of September 24, 2019 regarding the Luxemburg tax decision in …
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    FIFA, UEFA and Super League – Who is the Bad Guy from a Competition Law Perspective?
    After the European Super League had almost been forgotten, the debate about the highly controversial project is now resurging again. In April 2021, twelve top European football clubs announced their intent…
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    Fit for 55: The difficult path to climate protection in the European Parliament
    The greenhouse gas emissions should be cut by at least 55% compared with 1990 levels, and by 2050 the European Union should be climate neutral. That is the EU's target – an ambitious one, especially consid…
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    Enforcing the rule of law in the EU – the European Court of Justice upholds the conditionality regarding the budget
    The European Court of Justice approves the conditionality mechanism Today, the European Court of Justice upheld the conditionality mechanism which makes the receipt of financing from the Union budget su…
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    On the Interpretation of the EU Blocking Regulation by the ECJ
    The Prelude On 21 December 2021, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered the first judgment on the interpretation of the EU Blocking Regulation in Case C-124/20 Bank Melli Iran. Five months earlie…
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    David against Goliath? The fight of the German Federal Cartel Office against Facebook
    The digitalisation of the economy was accelerated by the pandemic. The main beneficiaries were the large internet corporations, which were able to further expand their power and market position. For the Ge…
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    EU Digital COVID Certificate
    On 1 July 2021, the EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation entered into application in all EU Member States. EU citizens and residents will now be able to have their Digital COVID Certificate issued and v…
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    Saving free movement and the tourism industry with an EU vaccination passport - dubbed a Digital Green Certificate
    The freedom of movement in the European Union has been battered by EU countries imposing border closures within the EU for over one year now, with tremendous negative consequences for industry and services…
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    Updating the German competition rules for big players in the Digital Economy
    The German Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) Digitalisation Act is coming – slowly. The draft bill under the heading of Competition Law 4.0 was already published at the end of January. Now the Fe…
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    EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement In Force
    The Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam, abbreviated EVFTA, entered into force on 1 August 2020. It is the EU's second free trade agreement in the ASEAN region after the agreement with Singapor…
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    Support from Brussels: The EU Recovery Plan and Budget
    The members of the European Council (i.e. Presidents and Prime Ministers) agreed in Brussels, after lengthy discussions, on the long-term budget of the European Union for 2021 - 2027 and a recovery plan fo…
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    The Commission suffers another setback in its fight against illegal state aid
    On 15 July 2020, the European General Court (GC) rendered its verdict on the Commission decision of 30 August 2016 requiring obliging Ireland to claim the payment of € 13 billion of back taxes from Apple. …
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    Update: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs Presents Amendments to German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance with Supplements to the Health Sector
    As already reported, a draft law on tighter controls on investments from non-EU countries has been submitted to the German Parliament (Bundestag), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and E…
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    Decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court: Constitutional Complaints against PSPP
    The Federal Constitutional Court had to rule on constitutional complaints against the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP). The result can be summarised as follows: In the opinion of the Court, the ECB …
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    25 Years Schengen Area - The Challenges of COVID-19 and the Consequences of the Pandemic for the Freedom of Goods and Services
    More than a month ago, Europe celebrated the first 25 years of the abolition of intra-European border controls - and this despite the restrictions on freedom of travel and the free movement of goods that h…
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    Strengthening of Investment Controls in Germany and Europe
    Over the last two years, investment control rules were strengthened throughout Europe, or for the first time adopted, and a common framework for the assessment of foreign direct investments created by the …
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    State Aid in the Corona Crisis
    The measures taken by the EU Member States to support their economies in the wake of the corona pandemic fall under the EU aid regime insofar as the support actions constitute aid within the meaning of Art…
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    Strengthening of Investment Controls in Germany
    In November 2019, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) presented its concept for an “Industrial Strategy 2030 - Guidelines for a German and European Industrial Policy”. The BM…
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    A fresh breeze from Brussels: The future EU Commissioners in the areas trade, competition and digitalization
    The President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented on Tuesday September 10th her new team and the structure of the next Commission. We took a closer look at the designated comm…
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    New companies and
    associations code in
    Belgium brings
    fundamental changes
    Belgium enacted a new Companies and Associations Code ("Code des sociétés et des associations"; CSA/WVV, or Wetboek van vennootschappen en verenigingen)[1] as well as new tax legislation in February 2019 w…
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    The EU‘s path to uniform and stricter standards for screening foreign investments
    The European Union is moving towards uniform and stricter rules for controlling and approving foreign direct investments. This follows the trend set by national governments, among others in Germany, the UK…
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    Downloads

    International Briefing February 2025
    Dear Friends and Colleagues, welcome to the February issue of ADVANT Beiten's I…
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    ADVANT - The implications of the Google Shopping judgement - An overview Q&A
    Following a fourteen year long battle, and one of the most significant judgement…
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    International Briefing October 2024
    Dear Friends and Colleagues, welcome to the October issue of ADVANT Beiten's In…
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    EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation
    The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 (“FSR”) is an important additional instrument in the European Union's toolbox to address distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the European Union. Adopt…
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    Foreign Trade Law
    Foreign trade law has become increasingly important with the rise of antigonism in the global economy and accompanying surge in protectionist measures. We have assisted our industrial clients with their in…
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    Newsletter International Briefing, May 2020
    Dear reader, Welcome to the first edition of our International Briefing for 2020! Coronavirus. Almost everything in the first few months of 2020 has revolved around it. The pandemic has forced us fro…
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    Newsletter International Briefing, December 2019
    Dear reader, Welcome to the December edition of our International Briefing. In this edition, we provide insight on several hot topics that will continue to be in the focus for clients and the legal p…
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    Newsletter International Briefing, September 2019
    Dear reader, Welcome to the Autumn 2019 edition of our International Briefing. While the Brexit date is fast approaching, it is still not possible to anticipate what precisely will be agreed, if anythin…
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    Newsletter International Briefing, June 2019
    Dear reader, Welcome to our Summer 2019 edition of our International Briefing. This briefing focuses on recent EU legislative developments and its transformation into German law that we consider of i…
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    Newsletter China January 2019: 在德国投资, 2019年1月
    编者寄语 各位读者朋友: 百达律师事务所的第十九期中文新闻简报现在和您见面 了。值此新春佳节来临之际,百达律师事务所的全体同仁感 谢您一如既往地支持,祝您在2019年中身体健康、阖家幸 福、猪(诸)事如意! 本期简报将为您提供以下信息: 立法新闻:德国内阁决议通过《德国对外经济条例》的 修改案 欧盟通向统一且更为严格的外国投资审查之路 游戏流媒体 专栏:在德国进行企业并…
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    Newsletter China October 2018: 在德国投资, 2018年10月
    编者寄语 各位读者朋友: 希望您愉快度过了国庆节假期。百达律师事务所的第十八 期中文新闻简报现在和您见面了。我们的新闻简报主要面 向在德的中资企业和有意愿在德投资的中国企业及企业 家。在简报中,我们向您介绍我们的律师团队在为中国投资 者提供法律服务过程中常遇到的法律问题,以及业界的一 些最新动态。本期简报将为您提供以下信息: 德国再次收紧外商直接投资审查制度与欧盟统一标准 之路 股权交易…
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