25th Annual EU Competition Law and Policy Workshop – Competition Law and Industrial Policy (2022)
The 25th edition focused on the question of what the optimal interaction between competition and industrial policy is. The objective was two-fold, namely to identify how the twining of these two policies can be best envisioned at a policy and political level and to examine how competition law can apply effectively when industrial policy concerns play a significant role. The Workshop was organized around three sessions. The first session addressed the overall theme of the interaction and possible tensions between competition and industrial policy. The second session focused on digital policies and the scope for divergence or convergence in the approach of different jurisdictions to the digital sector. The final session turned to merger policies in light of concerns about higher levels of concentration and consequent increases in the market power of incumbents.
Workshop participants for 2022 included:
Rafael Allendesalazar, Carles Esteva Mosso, Judge Ian Forrester, Olivier Guersent, Prof. Alberto Heimler, Prof. Frédéric Jenny, Dr Jörg Karenfort, Dr Assimakis Komninos, Prof. Bill Kovacic, Frédéric Louis, Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, Sir Philip Lowe, Andreas Mundt, Prof. Pier Luigi Parcu, Prof. Nicolas Petit, Joe Perkins, John Ratliff, Prof. Mario Siragusa, Dr Valerio Torti, Dr Barabara Veronese, Sven Völcker, Judge Marc van der Woude.
You can find the papers of the 25th edition on our Papers page.
24th Annual EU Competition Law and Policy Workshop – Online Platforms and Vertical Relations: Competition Law Issues and Responses (2019)
The 24th edition discussed competition issues concerning online platforms in the context of vertical business relations. The rampant digitisation of economic activity poses new challenges for competition policy. One significant dimension of these challenges concerns the role of online platforms and their effect on relations between different links in supply chains or value networks. The Workshop focused on issued related to agreements and mergers that pose competitive risks, especially in upstream or downstream markets. A range of developments were , including the follow-up to the European Commission’s sector inquiry on e-commerce of consumer goods and digital content; the 2019 review of the EU’s Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation; and the 2019 report on ‘Competition policy for the digital era’. From legal, economic and policy perspectives, the participants discussed EU and national competition law practice in the online platform context, also taking account of the EU’s ongoing legislative construction of a digital single market.
Workshop participants for 2019 included:
Svend Albaek, Rafael Allendesalazar, Dr Antonio Bavasso, Simon Bishop,Judge Joachim Bornkamm, Dr Cristina Caffarra, Dr Miguel de la Mano, Pascale Dechamps, Prof. Peter Drahos, Prof. Amelia Fletcher, Judge Ian Forrester, Sir Philip Lowe, Prof. Eleanor Fox, Dr António Gomes, Lars Kjølbye, Dr Assimakis Komninos, Prof. Bill Kovacic, Birgit Krueger, Guillaume Loriot, Paul Lugard, Judge Colm Mac Eochaidh, Prof. Mel Marquis, Prof. Giorgio Monti, Barry Nigro, Dr Anna Pisarkiewicz, Prof. Giovanni Pitruzzella, John Ratliff, Prof. Heike Schweitzer, Prof. Mario Siragusa, Fabienne Siredey-Garnier, Dr Anna Tzanaki, Jim Venit and Dr Cristina Volpin.
22nd Annual EU Competition Law and Policy Workshop – Disruptive Innovation and Implications for Competition Policy (2017)
The 22nd edition considered the implications of disruptive innovation and disruptive business models from a number of competition policy perspectives. It is common ground in jurisdictions worldwide that competition policy aims partly at promoting and maintaining conditions conducive to innovation. But in relation to disruptive innovation, it is necessary to examine which aspects of competition policy—including in particular abuse of dominance and merger control policies—require re-thinking. For example, if one accepts that old established principles regarding market definition, market power and static analysis should be revised, how should this be done? The Workshop also considered the increasing importance of phenomena such as digital platforms and ‘big data’ and reflected on how disruptive innovation and the need for expeditious enforcement challenge the toolkit of remedies available to competition authorities. The implications of disruptive innovation for international competition law cooperation and for regulatory and competition policy advocacy constituted another focus of inquiry.
Workshop participants for 2017 included:
Rafael Allendesalazar, Dr Alf-Henrik Bischke, Simon Bishop, Dr Cristina Caffarra, Dr Lorenzo Coppi, Prof. Alexandre De Streel, Sean Ennis, Prof. Allan Fels, Judge Ian Forrester, Dr Damien Gerard, Prof. Alberto Heimler, Prof. Wolfgang Kerber, Dr Assimakis Komninos, Prof. Bill Kovacic, Dr Gregor Langus, Prof. Ioannis Lianos, Prof. Massimo Motta, President Andreas Mundt, John Ratliff, Prof. Fiona Scott-Morton, Prof. Mario Siragusa, Prof. Maurice Stucke, Jim Venit and Sven Vǒlcker.
21st Annual EU Competition Law and Policy Workshop – Stronger NCAs: Procedures, Powers, Prospects (2016)
The 21st edition discussed the ongoing policy and legislative process aimed at reinforcing the powers, regulatory instruments and institutional features of the national competition authorities (NCAs) of the EU. Prior to the eventual publication in March 2017 of a formal legislative proposal by the European Commission, the Workshop considered a number of dimensions that might be addressed in a package of hard and soft law. Focusing on particular Member States, the Workshop discussed national procedures, the enforcement powers and investigative and sanctioning tools of NCAs, the NCAs’ resources and their degree of independence from government influence. The Workshop debated, among other things, how the reform should take shape in terms of its scope, instruments and content. Comparative reflections were also provided by scholars travelling from beyond Europe.
Workshop participants for 2016 include:
Rafael Allendesalazar, Dr Alf-Henrik Bischke, Simon Bishop, Dr Cristina Caffarra, Chairman David Currie, Prof. Allan Fels, Judge Ian Forrester, Dr António Gomes, Prof. Alberto Heimler, Prof. Fred Jenny, President Šarūnas Keserauskas, Nicholas Khan, Lars Kjølbye, Dr Assimakis Komninos, Prof. Bill Kovacic, Dr Małgorzata Krasnodębska-Tomkiel, Samantha Mobley, President Andreas Mundt, President Giovanni Pitruzzella, John Ratliff, Prof. Mario Siragusa, Prof. Jacques Steenbergen, Dr András Toth, Jim Venit, Dr Florian Wagner-von Papp and Antoine Winckler.