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Portrait ofBjörn Herbers

Dr. Björn Herbers, M.B.L.

Partner
Rechtsanwalt

CMS EU Law Office
Avenue des Nerviens 85
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Languages French, English, German

Björn Herbers advises on all aspects of European and German competition law. He has more than ten years of experience in complex proceedings before the European Commission and furthermore regularly represents clients before the German Federal Cartel Office in merger control and cartel proceedings, also advising them on multijurisdictional proceedings. Björn has special telecommunications sector know-how and has successfully represented clients in several headline cases  His practice particularly focuses on competition law in the digital economy.

Björn joined CMS in 2009 and has been a partner within the CMS EU Law Office since 2017. In 2015, he was seconded to a leading competition economics consultancy firm.

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"Björn Herbers 'thoroughly impresses peers' thanks to his 'strong expertise in telecoms, competition economics and abuse cases'"

Who's Who Legal 2020

Recommended lawyer

Kanzleimonitor 2019, 2020

"Björn Herbers is 'clearly a future leader in Brussels', report sources who comment that he 'understands competition economics' and is 'very strong in merger and telecoms work'".

Who's Who Legal 2019

Recommended lawyer

Kanzleimonitor 2018, 2019

Memberships & Roles

  • Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht (association of German-speaking attorneys from Germany, Austria and Switzerland)
  • Münchener Kartellrechtsforum (Munich based network of competition lawyers and experts)
  • Antitrust Italia
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Publications

  • Der Digital Markets Act (DMA) kommt – neue Dos and Don’ts für Gatekeeper in der Digitalwirtschaft, RDi 2022, 252
  • Der Digital Markets Act kommt, CB 2022, 196-201 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Fiona Savary)
  • Das EuG-Urteil in der Sache Altice zum Vollzugsverbot in der Fusionskontrolle: Auswirkungen auf die M&A-Praxis, Betriebs-Berater 2021, 3011 (gemeinsam mit Christoff Henrik Soltau)
  • EU General Court issues ruling in CK Telecoms (case T-399/16) – Law Now, July 2020 (mit Daphne Brunkhorst)
  • Kartellrecht, Loewenheim/Meessen/Riesenkampff/Kersting/Meyer-Lindemann (Hrsg.) - Kommentar der Art. 6, 8 FKVO (mit Dr. Michael Bauer), 2020
  • „Marktanteilsschwelle, Art. 3 Vertikal-GVO“ (gemeinsam mit Martin Cholewa) in: Bauer/Rahlmeyer/Schöner, Handbuch Vertriebskartellrecht, 2020
  • From Bonn with love - Competition law treatment of online market place bans, Competition Law Insight, December 2018
  • German competition watchdog concludes biggest vertical cartel case ever, involving 27 companies - Total of € 260m in fines imposed, Lexology, December 2016
  • Rechtliche Bewertung von Umstrukturierungen als Lösungsweg - Können Unternehmen Kartellstrafen umgehen?, Risknet, Februar 2015
  • Internet-Giganten im Visier: Politik will Kartellrecht verschärfen, it-daily.net, September 2018
  • Daten für alle von den Internetkonzernen? - Problem erkannt, Gefahr nicht gebannt, LTO, August 2018
  • Fleischwirtschaft Magazine, Edition of 17 March 2015: "Escaping cartel fines by deleting the Company from the Commercial Register"
  • The application of Sections 1 and 2 of the Act Against Restraints of Competition in cases with no effect on trade between member states, Heymanns 2009
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Lectures list

  • The judgement of the General Court in CK Telecoms (Case T-399/16) - Legal test for non-coordinated effects or: Airtours the sequel?, CMS EU Competition Law Briefing, 26. Juni 2020
  • "Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht" Brussels working group: Conglomerate mergers between restrictions of competition and efficiencies - the Microsoft/LinkedIn decision of the European Commission, 9 March 2017
  • Update Einkauf und Vertrieb, Vertikale Preisgestaltung: Was ist kartellrechtlich noch erlaubt?; Mandantenseminar, Munich, 1 November 2013
  • Die 8. GWB-Novelle - Was ändert sich im deutschen Kartellrecht? Missbrauchsaufsicht; Mandantenseminar, Düsseldorf, 22 November 2012
  • Competition law and Cooperations - Joint production; client seminar, Duesseldorf 1 December 2011
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Education

  • 2018: Post-graduate training in quantitative methods for competition analysis at Barcelona Graduate School of Economics
  • 2008: PhD at the University of Cologne; thesis on competition law topic
  • 2008: Second state examination in law
  • Trainee lawyer including placements at the German Federal Network Agency, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition and with the competition practice of a leading international law firm
  • 2005: M.B.L. at the University of Cologne
  • 2004: First state examination in law
  • Law studies at the University of Cologne
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27/10/2023
JUVE Awards 2023: CMS recognised as Law Firm of the Year for Antitrust
Berlin – International commercial law firm CMS Germany was recognised yesterday evening as Law Firm of the Year for Antitrust at the JUVE Awards 2023. The JUVE Awards are regarded as among the most...

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18/03/2024
The DGA is expected to spur on data altruism
Voluntary data donations are intended to make data widely usable. The DGA wants to build trust in data altruism or­gan­isa­tions.The range of applications in which the use of data and information is playing...
12/03/2024
DGA: European data strategy for data intermediation services takes shape
Data intermediation services play a key role in the implementation of the European strategy for data. The DGA subjects these to regulation.In addition to the Data Act, the Data Governance Act (DGA), which...
11/03/2024
Looking ahead to the EU AI Act
Introduction The European Union is preparing for the imminent adoption of the world’s most significant legislation on Artificial Intelligence, solidifying its position as a pioneer among global legislators. This initiative aims to establish and reinforce the EU’s role as a premier hub for AI while ensuring that AI development remains focused on human-centered and trustworthy principles. To expedite the achievement of these goals, on 8 December 2023, after three days of debate, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union finally reached a provisional agreement on the “Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence” (the so-called AI Act), which aims to ensure that AI systems placed on the European market are safe and respect the fundamental rights and values of the EU. Subsequent to this provisional agreement, technical refinement of the AI Act continued to finalise the regulation’s details and text. The final vote of the European Parliament on the AI Act will take place at 13 March 2024. Since the European Parliament's Committees on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) have endorsed overwhelmingly the proposed text, the approval of the European Parliament can be expected. After a long and complex journey that began in 2021 with the European Commission’s proposal of a draft AI Act, this new regulation is expected to be passed into law in spring 2024, once it has been approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union . The AI Act aims to ensure that the marketing and use of AI systems and their outputs in the EU are consistent with fundamental rights under EU law, such as privacy, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability. Adopting a dual approach, it outright prohibits AI systems deemed to pose unacceptable risks while imposing regulatory obligations on other AI systems and their outputs. The new regulation, which also aims to strike a fair balance between innovation and the protection of individuals, not only makes Europe a world leader in the regulation of this new technology, but also endeavours to create a legal framework that users of AI technologies will be able to comply with in order to make the most of this significant development opportunity. In this article we provide a first overview of the key points contained in the text of the AI Act1This article (including the relevant citations below) is based on the latest draft available on the Council’s website. The AI Act remains subject to possible further refinement, but not as regards content, and the text referred to for this article should be considered as the closest to the one that will be voted on by the EU Parliament. footnote that companies should be aware of in order to prepare for the implementing regulation.
22/01/2024
Grasping the opportunity in digital regulation
Digital regulation is shaping the future of Europe’s economy. Now is the time to prepare. 
01/12/2023
EU Competition Law Briefings
The EU Competition Law Briefings have been created to provide a platform for our clients and other competition law experts to stay up to date on the developments of EU Competition Law. Every month CMS...
28/11/2023
International Digital Regulation Hub
Following the EU Commission plan “A Europe fit for the digital age”, we have witnessed a lot of digital regulations in the EU including DMA and DSA, AI Act, Data Act and there is still more to come. Whilst presenting companies with a tumultuous landscape to navigate, the legal obligations imposed also present opportunities to develop their business in a new digital framework safeguarding responsible business practices, fair competition and personal data. The CMS Digital Regulation Hub is home to our Digital Regulation Tracker Tool, providing an overview of the key regulatory instruments for area of law, sectors and business activities which are critical for decision makers as they adapt to the increasingly digital landscape. In addition to this unique tool, we explore the impact this tsunami of regulation is having for businesses across a variety of industries and how GCs can ride the waves to stay ahead of the curve. Our latest re­port il­lus­trates the key findings across Platforms, Content providers, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Energy & Infrastructure, Banking & Finance and Automotive industries. To discuss how to cope with the challenges of Digital Regulations and to explore the opportunities for your business, please contact one of our International experts.
11/09/2023
Webinar - The EU Data Act: What You Need to Know
On 27 June 2023, the EU reached an agreement on the new EU Data Act, a comprehensive new data legislation that will introduce far-reaching rules on access to and use of data in the EU. The EU Data Act aims to boost the EU's data economy by unlocking industrial data, optimizing its accessibility and use, and fostering a competitive and reliable European cloud market.
11/07/2023
EU reaches agreement on Data Act – Comprehensive EU data law is on the...
On 27 June 2023, the European Parliament and Council resolved the remaining open points and reached a political agreement on the EU Data Act, paving the way for a new law that will introduce comprehensive...
11/07/2023
10 key aspects of the notification form for concentrations under the Foreign...
On 10 July 2023, the European Commission adopted the Implementing Regulation and the notification form for concentrations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 (FSR), shortly before the...
02/05/2023
Revision of the EU merger control procedural rules adopted: the arrival...
Following its evaluation of procedural aspects of EU merger control, on 20 April 2023 the European Commission adopted a package to further simplify its procedures for reviewing concentrations under the...
18/04/2023
Germany adopts proposal to give Federal Cartel Office more power to intervene...
On 5 April 2023, the German federal government adopted the proposal of the 11th amendment to the German Act for Restraints against Competition (GWB) and started the legislative procedure in the federal...
05/04/2023
EU Data Act – Focus on Cloud Services: interoperability stand­ard­isa­tion...
In the fourth Law-Now in our cloud services series on the Data Act (the “Act”), we focus on the proposed measures to increase interoperability of data processing services.  The recitals to the Act...