European Commission

Competition enforcement, Competition policy, Digital competition, European Commission, European Union, New Competition Tool

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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…

European Commission, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Legislation

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Introduction   Earlier this year, the European Commission published a legislative proposal for a new FDI Screening Regulation. The legislative proposal builds, as noted in the Commission’s 4th Annual Report on the screening of foreign direct investments (FDI), on the experience gained by the Commission and EU Member States over the previous three years under…

Data protection, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Enforcement, European Commission

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As the DMA’s enforcement is in full swing, the complexities of its specific provisions and questions regarding their interpretation are beginning to surface. On 25 March 2024, the European Commission launched formal proceedings to investigate Meta’s ‘pay-or-consent’ model, introduced in November 2023 for Facebook and Instagram, sparking a significant discussion on the interpretation of Article…

Competition policy, European Commission, European Union, Guidelines, Killer acquisitions, Merger control

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Executive Vice President Vestager’s momentous tenure as Commissioner responsible for EU competition policy is nearing its end. EVP Vestager will leave her successor with a full agenda, including the first full-scale revamp of the Commission’s basic antitrust procedural rules in over 20 years, finalizing the controversial guidelines on exclusionary abuses under Article 102 TFEU and…

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

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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…

Abuse of dominance, Competition policy, European Commission

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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

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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…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Guidance

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The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, or FSR, is intended to prevent or remedy distortions of the EU internal market caused by “foreign” – meaning non-EU – subsidies benefitting companies active in the EU.  The FSR draws on EU merger control, State aid and trade law, but it also introduces new legal concepts and procedures not…

European Commission, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation

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It was only a matter of time before the European Commission (“EC“) launched its first ever in-depth investigation of an M&A transaction under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR“). On 10 June 2024, that time came: The EC referred the acquisition of the Czech telecom operator PPF Telecom Group B.V. (“PPF“) by the Emirates Telecommunications Group…

Art. 22, European Commission, Guidance, Innovation, Market definition, Merger control, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds, Sustainability

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Many of the most challenging transactions reviewed under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) in recent years involved their likely effects on non-price competitive factors: innovation; quality and product differentiation; data protection and privacy; sustainability; and capacity and reliability of supply.  These topics are discussed briefly, or not at all, in the Commission’s guidelines on the…