Overview   Publication

In the context of the evaluation of Regulation 1/2003, some stakeholders argued that the principles set out in the Court of Justice’s 2010 Akzo judgment should be revisited so that in-house lawyer correspondence can benefit from legal professional privilege. This Competition Policy Brief examines the arguments raised. It finds no reason to depart from the wellestablished principles in the case-law.

The European Commission has published a Staff Working Document analysing how the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) contributes to accelerating investments required to achieve Clean Deal objectives.
The document explains how the respective sections of the CISAF allow Member States to provide the necessary support to attain the objectives set by the Clean Industrial Deal and why the Commission has chosen certain safeguards to ensure a level playing field in the Single Market. It also explains how the CISAF limits administrative requirements for Member States and economic operators alike. 

The second issue of 2025 includes the following articles: Broadcom/VMware – the importance of speaking the same language; Korean Air/Asiana – a race for cargo space; Buying Ansys - A Synopsys of a chip design story; International Paper / DS Smith – Blurred Lines in a Square-Box Deal; Constantia / Aluflexpack – Unpacking comPETition concerns; Safran/Collins – Remove Concerns Before Flight.

This study, commissioned by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), evaluates the 2008 Guarantee Notice, in line with the Commission’s Better Regulation principles. Key findings from the study highlight a substantial variation in guarantee pricing across Member States, reflecting differing risk assessments and market conditions. Evidence suggests that current pricing methods generate lower guarantee prices compared to market benchmarks suggesting that there is significant room for enhancement to better reflect the risk profiles of beneficiaries and to streamline administrative processes.
The study also explores the impact of guarantees on access to finance, market competition and efficiency, revealing that guarantees generally improve access to finance without significantly distorting market competition. Overall, the study provides insights on the regulatory framework governing financial guarantees, emphasizing the need for clearer guidelines to enhance consistency and effectiveness across the EU.

The ongoing revision of the 2014 Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER) and the accompanying TT-Guidelines, required due to the expiry of the current TTBER in 2026, dovetails with the European Commission’s efforts to modernise the legal framework governing technology licensing within the internal market. The competition law regime/framework for data licensing agreements is particularly important in this context.

In this episode of the Antitrust Code podcast by Concurrences, Maria Jaspers (European Commission) and Despina Pachnou (OECD) discuss key themes from the Compendium of International Cartels book, published by Concurrences.
They examine leniency programs, looking at their effectiveness in detecting cartels and the challenges they present.

In the period March 2022 to June 2024, nearly €796 billion of aid was approved either under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework or directly under the Treaty and based on TCTF principles. Around €219 billion was actually granted to companies, representing 27% of the aid approved and corresponding to 0.5% of EU27 GDP in 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024.
These figures do not include sizeable support measures taken by several Member States to support their economy and households that do not qualify as State aid.
See also Statistical annex.

The first issue of 2025 includes the following articles: Cooper / Viatris – Divestiture remedy to unclog constipation and earwax competition concerns; Eiffage / EQOS – Avoiding a (market) power surge along the track; JD Sports / Groupe Courir – Taking a step in the right direction; Novo Holdings / Catalent – Novo takes a big bite.

The European Commission has published today its Report on competition policy for 2024. The report presents the main legislative initiatives and policy developments in 2024, as well as a selection of important enforcement actions.
The Report highlights the role of competition policy in strengthening the Single Market, where businesses can make the most of Europe's scale to develop strong and competitive industries to the benefit of European citizens. It also shows how competition policy has helped supporting industrial policy objectives, in line with the Commission's political priorities, while protecting and empowering consumers.
The Report, together with the accompanying Staff Working Document, which includes a comprehensive overview of policy developments and enforcement actions sector-by-sector, will be available here.

The Commission adopted today its second Digital Markets Act (‘DMA') annual report.
The report describes the measures taken from January to December 2024 to ensure effective enforcement of the DMA and achieving fairness and contestability in the internal market's digital sector.

In the period March 2022 to June 2024, nearly €796 billion of aid was approved either under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework or directly under the Treaty and based on TCTF principles. Around €219 billion was actually granted to companies, representing 27% of the aid approved and corresponding to 0.5% of EU27 GDP in 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024.
These figures do not include sizeable support measures taken by several Member States to support their economy and households that do not qualify as State aid.

The study was launched in 2022 in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of Regulation 1/2003 with a view to contribute new evidence and insights for improving (1) the Commission’s remedies practice within the current legal framework and (2) the legal framework in Regulation 1/2003 itself. The design of the study was inspired by the pioneering 2005 ex post evaluation merger remedies study which at the time led significant improvements of the Commission’s merger remedies policy.
The study assesses the effectiveness of antitrust remedies imposed or accepted by the European Commission over the past 20 years under Articles 7 and 9 of Regulation 1/2003. The study draws on (1) an ex post evaluation of a carefully selected sample of twelve significant antitrust remedy cases (2) a statistical analysis of a comprehensive dataset of non-cartel antitrust decisions (2003-2022), (3) interviews with experts and (4) an in-depth literature review.
See also background and the main results summarized in this factsheet.
Moreover, DG Competition will host a workshop on 27 March at lunchtime with the authors of the study and leading experts – stay tuned for the details!

The fourth issue of 2024 includes the following articles: Celanese / Dupont (Mobility & Materials Business); Booking/eTraveli; Korean Air/Asiana, Lufthansa/MEF/ITA, IAG/Air Europa; and Bunge/Viterra.

On 29 November 2024, the Commission adopted a report to the Council and the European parliament on the transposition of the ECN+ Directive (all EU languages). The report focuses on how the main provisions of the ECN+ Directive have been transposed in the Member States that by then had completed the transposition process.

The objective of this study is twofold. First, the “fact-finding” challenge aims at assessing the pervasiveness and characteristics of the phenomenon of killer acquisitions. Second, the “evaluation” challenge aims to conduct an ex-post evaluation of cases that may have involved killer acquisitions.

The European Commission has today published a Staff Working Document (‘SWD') that summarises the findings of its evaluation of the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (‘TTBER') and the accompanying Guidelines on the application of Article 101 of the Treaty to technology transfer agreements (‘Guidelines').
The aim of the evaluation was to gather evidence on the functioning of the TTBER and of the accompanying Guidelines, for the Commission to determine whether it should let the rules expire, prolong their duration or revise them. In view of the findings of the evaluation, the Commission will now launch an impact assessment to examine policy options for a revision of the rules.

The Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (“TTBER”) creates a safe harbour under EU competition law for certain categories of technology transfer agreements. Together with the TTBER, the Commission also published the Technology Transfer Guidelines (“TTGs”). Both instruments are currently being evaluated by the Commission and this study will contribute to the evaluation by answering the evaluation questions set out in the specification for the study, based on qualitative and quantitative evidence. The evaluation questions relate to the following four evaluation criteria: (i) Relevance; (ii) Effectiveness; (iii) Efficiency; and (iv) Coherence.
See also the European Commission's press release.

The study aims to provide input relevant to identifying the barriers for demand response (DR) resources participation in electricity markets and State aid support. The study focuses on explicit DR across the 27 EU Member States, with a particular emphasis on the role of DR in electricity markets, the barriers to its development, and the performance of current State aid measures in supporting DR in a sample of eight EU Member States.

This year the 2004 EU Merger Regulation turns 20 years old. To mark this significant milestone DG COMP organised a conference, bringing together experts from across the competition field. Building on such momentum the conference was designed to take stock, reflect on what the 2004 reform has meant as well as look forward to what the future may entail. This brief seeks to capture and summarise some of the many highlights and interesting discussions of the day (in words and pictures).

The second issue of 2024 includes the following articles: Adobe/Figma; Amazon/iRobot; Orange/MasMobil; CMA CGM/Bolloré Logistics.