The European Commission announced on 9 April the launch of a Design Support Hub for Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), within which it will work closely with Member States to shape and design IPCEI candidates following their endorsement.
More information about the meeting is available on the JEF-IPCEI webpage.

The European Commission has published the 2024 State aid Scoreboard providing a comprehensive overview of State aid expenditure in the EU in 2023. While the overall spending dropped to €186.78 billion in 2023 from €243.27 billion in 2022, Member States channeled 73% of funds towards EU policy objectives, such as environmental protection and energy savings, research, development and innovation, and regional development.In 2022, this share was 49%. The total amount of aid spent on these key objectives increased to €136.78 billion from €119.98 billion.

DG COMP’s case data is now available for download via the official portal for European data. Each DG Competition policy area will have its own dedicated data set. 
Open Data records are machine-readable: this means users will be able to download each data set and re-process and analyze them under an increased number of parameters. Users can identify trends and patterns in enforcement across sectors, countries, time periods, etc. Furthermore, users will be able to combine COMP case data with that from other authorities or institutions. The data sets will initially be made downloadable in the JSON format (an open standard file format and data interchange format) and will be updated once a day.

The gatekeepers designated on 6 September 2024, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, have to submit, by today, reports on their updated compliance measures under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), outlining the changes they have implemented and measures they have taken during the past year. By today, the gatekeepers also need to submit to the Commission updated independently audited reports on consumer profiling techniques.

Today, the High-Level Group for the Digital Markets Act (High-Level Group) convenes for the fourth time in Brussels, with a keynote speech by Executive Vice-President Ribera. The meeting marks the first anniversary of the start of application of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) obligations, as well as two years from the decision to establish the High-Level Group.

The European Commission published today a Call for Evidence seeking feedback on the main objectives, scope and context of the upcoming Guidelines regarding the implementation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (‘FSR'). This is a first step towards the publication of the The Guidelines by 13 January 2026, as mandated by the FSR. The Guidelines will contribute to legal certainty, transparency and predictability in the Commission's enforcement of the FSR.
In parallel, the Commission has launched targeted consultations with Member States and selected stakeholders.

The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to express their views on the functioning of the competition rules applicable to vertical agreements in the automotive sector. These rules include the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (‘MVBER') and the Supplementary Guidelines (‘SGL'), both as amended in April 2023, as well as the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (‘VBER') and the Guidelines on vertical restraints, as far as they apply to the automotive sector.

Check out DG Competition’s infographic showcasing the highlights of 2024.

The CompCast, Competition Talks podcast series, by the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC), released an episode featuring Penelope Papandropoulos, DG Competition's Head of Data Analysis and Technology. You'll listen to interesting insights into the work of the Chief Technology Office, the challenges it faces, and how AI is shaping the future of competition enforcement.

The European Commission attended this year’s OECD Global Forum on Competition and was represented by Philippe Chauve, Head of the Agriculture-Food-FMCG Unit in DG Competition, at a discussion on Competition in the Food Supply Chain.
Mr. Chauve provided a presentation focused on the EU’s enforcement agenda, explaining how enforcing EU Competition rules can help to ensure reasonable prices, improve the position of farms in the food supply chain and promote sustainability, including environmental protections and animal welfare.
You can also read the full report, Competition in the Food Supply Chain – Contribution from European Union.

Teresa Ribera is the Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. Her task is to ensure that Europe stays on track for its goals set out in the European Green Deal, while driving the decarbonisation and industrialisation of our economy.
She is also responsible for modernising the EU’s competition policy to support European companies in innovating, competing, and leading worldwide.

The European Commission and the UK finalised the technical discussions on a competition cooperation agreement between the EU and the UK. The competition cooperation agreement will be a 'supplementing agreement' to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (‘TCA'), which foresees the possibility to enter into a separate agreement on competition cooperation.

Today, the European Commission has appointed Emanuele Tarantino as Chief Competition Economist at the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). This department of the Commission works to ensure that all companies compete equally and fairly on their merits within the single market to benefit consumers, businesses, and the European economy. The date of effect will be determined later.

The Commission services in charge of the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) have agreed to work together to clarify and give guidance on the interplay between DMA and GDPR.
This enhanced dialogue between Commission’s services and the EDPB will focus on the applicable obligations to digital gatekeepers under the DMA which present a strong interplay with the GDPR to ensure the coherent application to digital gatekeepers of the applicable regulatory frameworks.

The European Commission takes note of IAG's announcement that it has decided to terminate its agreement with Globalia according to which IAG intended to acquire sole control over Air Europa. IAG owns several airlines, including Iberia and Vueling, and is the largest airline operator in Spain. Air Europa is the third largest airline in Spain. Up to the abandonment of the transaction, the discussions with the companies and the proposed remedy package were not able to adequately address the competition concerns identified by the Commission. The Commission had opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed transaction on 24 January 2024 and sent a Statement of Objections to IAG on 26 April 2024.

Joint statement by Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President and Competition Commissioner, European Commission; Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive Officer, U.K. Competition and Markets Authority; Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; and Lina M. Khan, Chair, U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
"As competition authorities for the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, we share a commitment to the interests of our people and economies. Guided by our respective laws, we will work to ensure effective competition and the fair and honest treatment of consumers and businesses. This is grounded in the knowledge that fair, open, and competitive markets will help unlock the opportunity, growth and innovation that these technologies could provide". [...]

The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on draft targeted amendments to the rules on small amounts of aid to the agricultural sector (‘Agricultural de minimis Regulation'). All interested parties can respond to the public consultation until 21 July 2024.

On 22 May 2024, the High-Level Group for the Digital Markets Act convened for the third time in Brussels. During this meeting, the High-Level Group agreed on the need to coordinate enforcement and adopted a public statement on Artificial Intelligence.
See also High-Level Group for the Digital Markets Act Public Statement on Artificial Intelligence.

1st of May marked the 20 years of the European Competition Network (ECN) - a remarkable journey of cooperation to enforce EU Competition law.

​ The ECN was established to ensure consistent and effective enforcement of EU competition law across the Member States. This network has been a pivotal platform for communication among the Commission and national competition authorities (NCAs). Over the years, the ECN has created a robust framework for sharing insights, experiences, and best practices. This collaborative approach has been crucial in addressing the evolving challenges of the modern economy, from the rise of digital markets to supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and global events like the war in Ukraine.

Reflecting on two decades of success, it's clear that the ECN is a true success story. Its work must continue to be nurtured and protected as we move forward.

Today, European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, US Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC') Chair Lina Khan and the Assistant Attorney General of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (‘DOJ') Jonathan Kanter met in Washington for the fourth meeting of the EU-US Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (‘TCPD'). The purpose of the dialogue is to further strengthen the cooperation to ensure and promote fair competition in the digital economy.