Bas is Co-Managing Partner at bureau Brandeis and heads the EU Competition & Regulated Markets team. Bas has over 25 years of experience in the field of (European) competition law and is regarded as one of the leading lawyers in this field. He is a respected specialist in regulated sectors, particularly in the areas of digital markets, media & telecoms, sport, post & parcels, and aviation. Bas advises companies and their management teams in both civil proceedings and investigations conducted by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the European Commission and the Dutch Investment Screening Bureau (BTI). He has represented clients in numerous (both administrative and civil) proceedings relating to competition law, consumer law and economic regulation, before both Dutch and European courts.

Bas defends companies in cases involving (alleged) cartels and dawn raids, and advises and litigates on an almost daily basis regarding the Dutch Vifo Act (foreign direct investments), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), consumer law, forms of cooperation, distribution agreements, state aid and a wide range of regulatory issues relating to access, tariffs and administrative enforcement. Bas is involved in several major class actions and is involved in various follow-on competition cases (cartel damages cases), including in the financial and tech sectors.

Bas is regarded as a trusted adviser and often acts as ‘counsel’s counsel’ on specific (European) competition law issues, for example in the context of acquisitions and joint ventures or civil proceedings.

Bas studied in Leiden, Paris and London and was admitted to the Dutch bar in 2001. Prior to joining bureau Brandeis, Bas worked at Allen & Overy (Amsterdam and Brussels) for many years and was one of the co-founders of a niche firm specialising in competition law. Bas has authored numerous publications and lectures regularly. For many years, Bas has been recommended by prestigious legal guides such as Legal 500 (Leading Partner) and Chambers & Partners (Tier 2) for his expertise in European competition law and regulated sectors. In 2018, 2021 and 2025, Bas won a Client Choice Award in the Competition category for “excellence in client service”.

Legal guides write the following about Bas:

• “Bas Braeken is an outstanding lawyer.”
• “Sharp, strategic, and deeply knowledgeable in competition and regulatory law.”
• “Bas Braeken consistently demonstrates exceptional legal acumen, strategic foresight, and a deep understanding of the regulatory landscape in the Netherlands and EU.”
• “His ability to distill complex issues into actionable advice is invaluable, especially in high-stakes environments where clarity and precision are paramount.”
• “His ability to translate legal frameworks into clear strategic advice makes him a highly trusted adviser for our organisation.”
• “He is a good lawyer in terms of being knowledgeable about the law and how to apply it for his clients.”

Relevant experience:

• Representing skaters Mark Tuitert, Niels Kerstholt and sports trade union EU Athletes as third parties in the (appeal) proceedings before the EU courts against the European Commission’s decision on the admission rules and CAS arbitration mechanism of the International Skating Union (ISU), which led to a landmark judgment of the Court of Justice establishing that the ISU’s rules constitute an abuse of ISU’s dominant position and that the arbitration mechanism undermines the effectiveness of competition law.
• Representing Stichting Consumer Justice in (partly follow-on) WAMCA proceedings against Apple for breaches of competition law on the App Store, following a pivotal judgment by the Court of Justice on the relative jurisdiction of the Amsterdam District Court in mass claims for damages.
• Representing TicketSwap in an appeal against the ACM’s decision to make Ticketmaster’s commitments regarding secondary sales on the TicketSwap platform binding.
• Representing Vierhouten Pallets and de With Pallets in securing unconditional approval for their acquisition by Foresco, in which the ‘serial acquisitions’ theory of harm was examined by the ACM for the first time.
• Representing Stichting Consumer Justice in extensive WAMCA proceedings against various energy suppliers concerning an unreasonable amendment clause.
• Representation of various parties in major follow-on competition proceedings, including Stichting FX Claims in a follow-on cartel damages claim arising from the Forex cartel, and Stichting CSS Claims in a damages claim following Google’s abuse of a dominant position on Google Shopping.
• Successfully represented three online travel agencies in a consumer case in which the Rotterdam District Court, for the first time, deemed the practice of dynamic or fluid pricing to be permissible. The ruling led to the ACM withdrawing its previous decisions imposing periodic penalty payments.
• Successfully represented Youfone in its acquisition by KPN, which, despite initial competition law concerns raised by the ACM, was unconditionally approved following a lengthy authorisation process.
• Successful defence of Joh. Enschedé Amsterdam in an antitrust case, in which the appeal proceedings ultimately led to a reduction in the fine from the original €2 million to €10,000.
• Representing Pro Agent, an organisation for the interests of football agents, in civil interim proceedings against FIFA and the KNVB concerning new rules governing the profession of football agent.
• Successful representation of a clothing company in relation to alleged misleading sustainability claims; the case was settled with a commitment decision and no fine was imposed.
• Representing TUI Airlines in appeal proceedings before the ACM concerning the reasonableness of fare increases implemented by Schiphol.
• Successful representation of an online travel agent in a consumer case concerning the provision of unsolicited services, in which the ACM imposed a symbolic fine of €1,000 for the first time.
• Assisting various tech companies, often scale-ups, in obtaining Vifo approval from the Investment Screening Bureau (whether following the provision of (informal) commitments).
• Various preliminary ruling proceedings before the Court of Justice concerning the interpretation of Article 101 TFEU (the prohibition of cartels), the role of European recommendations in the telecoms sector, and tariff regulation in the postal sector.
• Competition law support in various complex merger cases, both before the European Commission and the ACM, and on behalf of both merging parties and complainants. Bas has played an active role in complex (often second-phase) merger cases, such as Booking/eTraveli, Sunweb/Corendon, PostNL/Sandd, Vodafone/Ziggo, Ziggo/Liberty, T-Mobile/Tele2, KLM/Martinair, Holland Pharma/FACO and KPN/Tiscali.
• Successfully represented Eredivisie Media & Marketing (Fox Sports) as a third party in an appeal brought by KPN and CAIW following a decision by the ACM regarding the broadcasting of Eredivisie football matches.
• Successfully represented RadioCorp, owner of SLAM! and 100% NL, and co-owner of One Media Sales, in an investigation by the ACM into the abuse of a dominant position in the radio advertising market.
• Extensive litigation experience in both European and Dutch antitrust cases, including procedural aspects such as the ACM’s investigative powers, the Digital Procedure, and proceedings relating to the publication of fine decisions in both consumer and competition law

Bas earns at least ten professional development points each year in the field of competition law, in accordance with the standards of the Netherlands Bar Association.