Last week, the Dutch Supreme Court rejected the jurisdictional appeal filed by Heineken N.V. and its Greek subsidiary, Athinaiki Zythopoiia S.A., in the context of the long-running damages lawsuit filed by Zythopoiia Makedonias Thrakis (ZMT), producer of the Greek beer Vergina.
As ZMT states in its announcement, the case is based on the 2015 decision by the Hellenic Competition Commission, according to which Athenian Brewery abused its dominant position in the Greek beer market for a period of at least 16 years, with the aim of excluding its competitors, including ZMT.
According to the announcement, Heineken and Athenian Brewery repeatedly challenged the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts, arguing that the claims against Athenian Brewery should not be heard in the Netherlands. In its ruling, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Dutch courts correctly determined that they have jurisdiction to hear the claims against Heineken’s Greek subsidiary, which stem from its anti-competitive conduct in Greece. This development fully vindicates the position that ZMTH has maintained since the beginning of the proceedings.
The decision follows a related referral and preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) in February 2025.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the way is now clear for the Amsterdam Regional Court to issue its final ruling on the amount of damages. This decision is expected this summer, concludes the announcement by Macedonian-Thracian Brewery.
The interim decision of the Regional Court is available at:
https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2026:1692