Competition policy

AI, Competition policy, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, European Union, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Innovation, Market investigations, Merger regulation, New Competition Tool, Objectives of Competition Law

(Centrum für Europäische Politik)/ /Leave a comment

As the European Commission prepares for a new mandate under President Ursula von der Leyen later this year, former ECB President Mario Draghi – famous for his “whatever it takes” approach to saving the Euro – has now turned his focus to the future of EU competitiveness in the digital age. His long-awaited report, commissioned…

Competition policy, Price gouging, United States of America

(European Commission)/ /Leave a comment

In her first economic policy speech as Presidential Candidate, Kamala Harris pledged to introduce a federal ban on price gouging in the food sector. Claiming that prices failed to return to pre-pandemic levels despite improvements to supply chains following prior breakdowns and that “[m]any of the big food companies are seeing their highest profits in…

Competition law, Competition policy, Conference, Digital competition

(University of Göttingen, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

From 4th to 6th September 2024, 96 young competition law and economics scholars, from PhD students to post-docs and assistant professors, gathered in Vienna to discuss a wide array of topical issues of competition law. In its second edition, the young competition law scholars conference managed to attract attention not only from the DACH-region but…

Abuse of dominance, Competition policy, European Commission

(Brussels School of Competition)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Over the summer, the Commission published its long-awaited draft Article 102 Guidelines (‘draft GL’) for comments.[1] The stated intention of the Commission is to base the Guidelines on the case law of the Union Courts (§9). The stated goals of the Guidelines are to allow a vigorous and effective application of Article 102, but…

Abuse of dominance, Competition policy, European Commission, European Union, Exclusionary Abuse, Guidance, Presumptions

, , (White & Case) and (White & Case, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The European Commission has published for public consultation its long-awaited draft Guidelines on exclusionary abuses (draft Guidelines). The draft Guidelines aim at making it faster and easier for the Commission to pursue abuse of dominance cases, in particular by classifying a number of practices as “presumptively harmful”. This represents a marked departure from the 2008…

Competition policy, Denmark, Fines, Legislation, Mergers

(University of Copenhagen) and (Bech-Bruun)/ /Leave a comment

In May 2024, the Danish Parliament adopted a major overhaul of the Danish Competition Act, including introducing higher fines, a new competition tool, and a merger call-in option, effective from 1 July 2024. In particular, the call-in option will have drastic consequences, and in the future all mergers involving Danish activities could potentially become notifiable….

Brazil, Competition policy, Digital markets

(Global Antitrust Institute)/ /Leave a comment

May 2nd, 2024 was the last day to submit comments to the Public Consultation (Economic and Competitive Aspects of Digital Platforms) held by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance. The Consultation, which was released on January 19, 2024 and had one deadline extension, was designed and organized by the Secretary for Economics Reforms – one of…

Competition policy, European Union, Internal Market, Policy

(Szecskay Attorneys at Law, Hungary)/ /Leave a comment

As it marked the 30-year anniversary of the Single Market, the European Council asked former Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, to set out his vision for the future of the Single Market including specific proposals for its development. Letta published his report last month which, he writes, is based on 400 stakeholders’ meetings in 65…

Competition policy, Governance, Objectives of Competition Law, OECD, United Nations

(The Dialogue)/ /Leave a comment

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) focus significantly on reducing inequalities globally (see, for example Goal 10 of UN SDG). Social inequality across the globe is premised on various parameters, including gender, race, income, religion and ethnicity. For instance, UN Women highlighted that women globally make around 77 cents for every dollar made by…

Abuse of dominance, Advantage, Bulgaria, Burden of Proof, Competition, Competition enforcement, Competition law, Competition policy, Complaint, Discrimination, Dominance, General Court of the European Union, Potential competition

(KU Leuven)/ /Leave a comment

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…