European Commission

Abuse of dominance, Amazon, Digital markets, E-commerce, European Commission, European Union, Online platforms

(Vienna University of Economics and Business)/ /Leave a comment

Large platforms acting as “digital gatekeepers” are increasingly drawing competition agencies’ attention. While no legal definition of a “gatekeeper” has been laid down yet,[1] this concept is meant to cover platforms that rely on significant network effects. A “gatekeeper” may also be a go-between, controlling access from one point to another. However, gatekeepers may refuse…

Algorithms, Big data, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, E-commerce, European Commission, European Union, New Competition Tool, Online platforms, Platforms, Vestager

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

“I’ve been wondering how to give a metaphor because these are two quite complex proposals. And the best thing I came to think of was the first-ever traffic light that brought order in the streets, that was actually in the US, in Cleveland Ohio. And that was invented as a response to a major technological…

Damages, European Commission, European Union, Private enforcement

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

Ever since the 2001 Courage judgment, private actions for damages are on the rise. The Commission wanted to quickly follow with a legislative act including minimum standards for private enforcement across the EU. In the end, it took a while. In 2005, the authority published a Green Paper, in 2008 a substantially amended White Paper….

Antitrust, Digital economy, European Commission, European Court of Auditors, European Union, Merger control

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Auditors believes that the introduction of new instruments should go hand in hand with stricter enforcement of existing instruments In a Special Report published on 19 November 2020, the European Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) makes a plea for more stringent enforcement of EU competition policy. The Special Report comes at a…

European Commission, European Court of Auditors, European Union, Merger control, Merger fees

(Baker McKenzie, Belgium)/ /1 Comment

The European Court of Auditors’ Special Report published on 19 November 2020 is an interesting read for a dark COVID winter evening: “The Commission’s EU merger control and antitrust proceedings: a need to scale up market oversight“.[1] In respect of merger control, the Report (and the European Commission’s Response to the ECA contained in it)…

Competition policy, European Commission, European Union

(European University Institute)/ /Leave a comment

Spotlight on Europe’s ‘strategic autonomy’ The calls for Europe’s ‘strategic autonomy’ or ‘strategic sovereignty’ have been gaining increasing traction in Brussels policy circles over the past few years. With its origins in the fields of defence and security, the idea of Europe’s autonomy has started to resonate beyond these areas, extending to foreign and economic…

Consultation, Digital economy, European Commission, European Union, VBER, Vertical agreements, Vertical restraints

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

On 23 October 2020, the European Commission (EC) published its inception impact assessment of policy options for a potential revision of the EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and accompanying Vertical Guidelines for consultation. This inception impact assessment will be followed by a more detailed impact assessment that the EC will publish for public consultation…

Digital markets, Digital Services Act, European Commission, European Union, New Competition Tool, Platforms

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and , (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

After two rounds of public consultations that ended 8 September 2020, the European Commission (‘Commission’) appears to be on track and make its proposals for new enforcement powers more concrete. The Commission intends to adopt its two definitive legislative proposals before the end of 2020. In this post, we take a look at where the…

Commitments, European Commission, European Union, Excessive pricing, Pharmaceuticals

(DLA Piper Belgium), (DLA Piper Romania), (DLA Piper Ireland), and (DLA Piper Denmark)/ /Leave a comment

What are commitments? The recent effort by the Commission to settle the Aspen case suggests that commitment decisions are the preferred route to settle complex excessive pricing cases at EU-level.  Previous commitment cases where high prices have been at issue include Rambus, Standard & Poor’s and Gazprom.  The EU rules allow the Commission to make…

Competition policy, Consultation, Europe, European Commission, Green Deal, Sustainability, Vestager

, , , (Latham & Watkins LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 13 October 2020, the European Commission (EC) published a call for contributions to gather ideas on how EU competition rules (State aid, antitrust, and merger control) and sustainability policies can best work together. The aim is to gather the widest set of views possible to determine how the competition rules should be amended (if…