On April 30, 2026, the Court of Justice (the Court) delivered its preliminary ruling in CD Tondela and Others, one of its first judgments[1] addressing no-poach restrictions under Article 101 TFEU.[2] The Court held that although no-poach agreements must generally be classified as restrictions “by object”, a specific examination of their context and objectives against the relevant legal and economic background may prove otherwise. The ruling provides useful insight into the treatment of no-poach agreements under EU competition law, an area of increased scrutiny by the Commission and national competition authorities (NCAs).