Legal presumptions play an important role in competition enforcement. They can translate decades of judicial experience and economic learning into workable, practical tools for efficient enforcement of the competition laws and provide predictability and clarity to companies seeking to comply with those laws. In the past few years, presumptions have been increasingly introduced to streamline…
Google’s ‘Be Evil’ transformation (if not merely a narrative) and the antitrust efforts to avenge it (if not exact revenge) are no longer novel. Most notably, following Judge Amit P. Mehta’s historic 2024 ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Google’s exclusive agreements, including ISA (Internet Services Agreement), MADAs (Mobile…
The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union put European competition policy in a somewhat awkward state. The schism left EU and UK competition law as geographical neighbours and almost identical twins in both legal form and substance, yet worlds apart in terms of their ability to coordinate. Prior to Brexit, and as the competition authority…
The Draghi Report proposes substantial reform in the area of competition law, notably offering a critical assessment of recent policies implemented by the European Commission in merger control and antitrust enforcement. The Report will serve as a potential blueprint for Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, the Competition Commissioner-Designate and the European Commission to shape and execute competition…
Is competition law fit for purpose? Do we need better tools to make markets fair? How far should government go to ‘fix’ market structures? It’s impossible to attend an antitrust conference these days without discussing these questions under the umbrella of competition & industrial policy. From decades of broad consensus championing competitive neutrality and ‘letting…
Introduction On Wednesday 25 October 2023, the General Court of the European Union ruled in Case T-136/19 on the application of the prohibition of abuse of dominance under Article 102 TFEU. The judgment concerns the annulment of a Commission decision condemning Bulgarian gas holding company BEH and subsidiaries for an unauthorised refusal of access. The…
With the recent Autotalks referral request the European Commission’s new approach to the application of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) becomes ever more a regular feature of EU merger law. Nevertheless the Commission’s assertion of extended jurisdiction under Article 22 remains unlawful, unconstitutional, and ultimately unsustainable. Even though its new policy was…
On July 14, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission, announced the withdrawal of two antitrust policy statements related to enforcement in healthcare markets: Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care, published in August 1996, and Statement of Antitrust Enforcement Policy Regarding Accountable Care Organizations Participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program from October 2011. This…
Sport itself is all about the competition on the pitch. However, sports federations’ actions and regulations have come increasingly into the focus of competition watchdogs and courts worldwide. A well-known example is the dispute over the establishment of the European Super League. As the recently announced merger between golf associations PGA and L.I.V. demonstrates, competition…
Introduction Three weeks ago, the Spanish Supreme Court delivered its first rulings on damages claims in the trucks cartel. Given that Spanish courts have been the most active in the EU on this case (see the stream of judgments issued by the Courts of Appeal in Figure 1, 85% are available at CENDOJ), there was…
