A long-running legal dispute between Macedonian Thrace Brewery (MTB) and Heineken N.V. has entered its final phase, as the Amsterdam District Court holds a hearing this week to quantify the damages Heineken owes for established anticompetitive practices.
The hearing, held on Tuesday, 11 November, marks a critical step in a legal battle spanning more than a decade. The question before the court is no longer whether Heineken is liable, but precisely how much it must pay its rival. This follows several definitive rulings that have already established the legal liability of the Dutch parent company for the market abuses committed by its Greek subsidiary, Athenian Brewery, which it owns a 98.8% stake in.
Macedonian Thrace Brewery is seeking substantial compensation, claiming more than €180 million in damages. The claim is rooted in what MTB alleges was significant harm caused by Athenian Brewery’s anticompetitive strategies over more than 15 years.
This case is a “follow-on” damages claim, a legal action that relies on a prior infringement decision by a Greek competition authority. The foundational decision was made by the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) in 2014, which found Athenian Brewery guilty of abusing its dominant position in the Greek beer market by unduly pressuring retailers to favor its brands at the expense of rivals.
A breakthrough for MTB came in February 2025, when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) provided a crucial preliminary ruling in the case. The ECJ determined that Heineken N.V. and its subsidiary Athenian Brewery operate as a “single economic undertaking.” This ruling was essential as it formally established the parental liability of the Dutch-based Heineken for the actions of its Greek subsidiary, allowing the damages case to proceed in the Netherlands court.
The Netherland’s Supreme Court affirmed the ECJ decision in a ruling published on 17 October.
The implications of this case extend beyond MTB’s claim. Heineken is facing a separate, related lawsuit from Carlsberg, the giant Danish brewing company, which is also seeking compensation for damages attributed to the same conduct by Athenian Brewer. That claim, also filed in the Netherlands, is valued at over €300 million.
Heineken also faces legal challenges in Austria, where its subsidiary Brau Union is accused of abusing its dominant market position. In 2023, the Austrian competition authority found that Brau Union had engaged in behavior that restricted “the sales opportunities and market entry of competing brewers and oust existing drinks retailers from the market.”
A final judgment from the Amsterdam District Court specifying the exact amount of damages owed to MTB is expected in the first half of 2026.