Overview   General news

On 29 January, 2026, Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera will host an international conference whose main objective is exploring the Commission's priorities on climate change, promoting growth, reducing inequalities and securing a sustainable future for the next generations. Executive Vice-President Ribera is inviting top experts, policymakers and opinion leaders to share their views at a time that many describe as an inflection point in Europe’s history. Confirmed spakers include Enrico Letta, Nadia Calviño, Rebeca Grynspan and Fatih Birol.

The European Commission is currently revising Regulations 1/2003 and 773/2004, which form the framework for the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, notably with the aim of keeping up with transformative changes such as the digitalisation of the economy.
In this context, DG Competition is organising a reality check workshop to further discuss with stakeholders their views on different policy options presented in the Call for evidence. The discussion will also aim to collect views on simplification of the rules and practical implications of the proposed policy options, to ensure they are well targeted, and will deliver the benefits intended. These views will inform the preparation of a draft legislative proposal.

Speech by EVP Teresa Ribera at the 2025 CRA Brussels Conference,
Brussels, 9 December 2025.
[...] "As European Commissioners it is our duty to stand up, in order to defend values and the enforcement of our laws. As Commissioner in charge of competition, it is my duty to defend the competition toolkit, to enforce competition laws, including the DMA, even in times of weaponisation of trade." [...]

Keynote Speech by EVP Teresa Ribera at the OECD Global Forum on Competition,
Paris, 1 December 2025.
[...] "Competition law is not a tool for controlling markets or advancing narrow economic interests. It is an essential pillar of open, fair, and sustainable markets. It should never be a bargaining chip in trade negotiations or a tool for protectionism.
Its purpose is to safeguard citizens' welfare and strengthen economies in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
For this, international cooperation, dialogue and a strong commitment to multilateralism are essential." [...]

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.

Remarks by EVP Teresa Ribera at the Lisbon Conference on Competition Law and Economics,
Lisbon, 24 October 2025.
[...] "I want to leave you today with a simple message: Europe's future competitiveness will not come from weakening competition, closing markets, or protecting incumbents.
Competition policy is about preventing excessive power, and is therefore critical to our democracy.
Nor will competitiveness come from ignoring climate change, lowering our standards, or deregulating instead of simplifying.
We cannot ignore the externalities of our economic choices. Competition tools can help with this. So can our Single Market. But there is no competitiveness in a race to the bottom".

Opening commission statement delivered by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera at the European Parliament's Plenary session,
Strasbourg, 20 October 2025.
[...] " The purpose of our antitrust laws is not imposing fines for the sake of it.
It is about changing behaviour, protecting our markets and our citizens. But for the enforcement of our rules, we sometimes need to fine for illegal behaviour." [...]

The European Commission appointed Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in DG COMP.
Professor de Montjoye, a Belgian national, currently serves as Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science at Imperial College London where he heads the Computational Privacy Group. He brings outstanding academic and practical expertise in AI and other advanced technologies, along with extensive experience in assessing their policy and regulatory impact.
A very warm welcome to him!

DG Competition has once again received a FIVE-star rating in the 25th edition of Global Competition Review (GCR)’s annual Rating Enforcement Survey, one of only two enforcement bodies worldwide to be awarded the top five-star rating — alongside Germany’s Federal Cartel Office.
The GCR report underlines: “The European Commission remains the most influential antitrust authority in the world, setting global benchmarks through both its enforcement record and the breadth of its policy initiatives.”

Remarks by EVP Teresa Ribera at the 52nd Annual Conference on International Antitrust Law and Policy, and Antitrust Economics at Fordham Law School,
New York, 19 September 2025.
[...] "In Europe, we are committed to facilitate a clean, just and competitive transition of our economy.
We want companies to succeed; we are happy to see them grow; we welcome their contribution to prosperity.
But as a society, we set limits to their power.
Because we know that innovation suffers under monopoly. Sustainability suffers under monopoly. And freedom and democracy suffers under monopoly.
And we also know that as law enforcers, we are mandated to ensure a well-functioning market, without fear or favour".

Opening remarks by EVP Teresa Ribera at the International Bar Association (IBA) Conference,
Florence, 12 September 2025.
[...] "The principles I outlined today, from our firm but fair enforcement to the modernisation of our foundational competition rules, are not simply a checklist of actions.
They are essential components of a single, coherent vision for a bright future for Europe. We are convinced that this is also the aim of most of our fellow colleagues in this room, and beyond.
Our objective is clear: to cultivate a truly dynamic and innovative European economy where businesses of all sizes can scale up, where European citizens are empowered with real choices, and where markets serve people".

You can now explore the timeline mapping all competition policy revisions and updates. Over the past months, DG Competition has launched a major revision of the rules to ensure they keep pace with fast-changing markets and remain fit for the technological, societal, and geopolitical challenges of our time. This fresh approach aims to support European companies to innovate, compete and lead globally – while contributing to sustainability, social fairness and security.
You can check the below section "Public consultations" to discover the calls currently open for your participation.

The Communication on the Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonization published on 26 February 2025 (CID), announced that the Commission will carry out a fact-finding exercise aimed at assessing the need for greater industry cooperation in the procurement, recycling, and re-use of key raw materials.
After a call for input, which closed on 31 May 2025, the Commission now wishes to take the next step and examine further how it can support the industry. It invites market participants to reply to this Questionnaire on Cooperation. With the Questionnaire, the Commission aims to better understand what forms of cooperation could support the CRM industry, including recycling, and to identify whether and how it could offer guidance that could contribute to the realisation of relevant cooperation projects.
See also the European Commission's press release.

The judgment clarifies that access to judicial review by a national court against breaches of EU public policy must be available to EU sport actors that are subject to FIFA’s unilaterally imposed system of dispute settlement.
In particular, the Court of Justice clarified that effective judicial review to national courts of EU Member States on whether arbitral awards comply with principles and provisions that are a matter of EU public policy, such as EU competition law and EU freedoms of movement, must be possible. National courts must review the interpretation of those principles and provisions, the legal consequences attached to them in a given case as well as the legal classification of the facts as established by the arbitration body and must have the possibility to make a reference to the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling.
Effective judicial protection also requires that national courts are able to find that an infringement of EU competition law or EU freedoms of movement exists, to bring to an end the conduct amounting to that infringement, to order damages for the harm caused and, where appropriate, to order interim relief.
The judgment clarifies that EU law does not permit a national law to automatically treat an arbitration decision as binding or to confer on it probative value if that decision was reviewed by a court in a non-EU country, and that court cannot ask the CJEU for a preliminary ruling.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

The objective of this call for proposals is to co-finance projects aiming to train national judges in the context of enforcing European competition rules. This includes public and private enforcement of both the Antitrust rules and the State aid rules, thereby increasing the knowledge and know-how of national judges. The final aim is to ensure a coherent and consistent application of EU competition law by national courts.
Projects should address at least one of the thematic priorities listed in the documentation but may address more than one.

The European Commission today adopted the proposals for Council decisions to sign and conclude the EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement.
The Competition Cooperation Agreement will be a ‘supplementing agreement' to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provides for competition cooperation and coordination and foresees the possibility to enter into a separate agreement on competition cooperation.

The European Commission invites expressions of interest for the role of Non-Governmental Advisors in the International Competition Network (ICN) for the 2025-2026 term.
ICN members collaborate with non-governmental advisors, including academics, industry representatives, consumer groups, trade unions, and private practitioners. This collaboration enriches ICN projects by incorporating diverse perspectives.
We seek to partner with various ICN-NGAs to ensure high-quality contributions based on broad stakeholder experience. Selected ICN-NGAs will actively engage with the European Commission in drafting and revising Working Group outputs, and participating in seminars, webinars, and workshops.
If you are interested in becoming an ICN-NGA and supporting the European Commission, please contact DG Competition at COMP-ICN@ec.europa.eu. The call for interest will be open until 18 June 2025 (close of business).

To mark its 20th Anniversary, the Chief Economist Team is organising a conference that will bring together leading experts to discuss and reflect about competition economics in a changing world. The event will be a half-day conference (exclusively in-person, with no streaming available) on Thursday 15 May 2025, with opening and closing remarks by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera and Director-General Olivier Guersent, a keynote lecture by Chief Competition Economist Prof. Emanuele Tarantino, as well as roundtables where contributors from academia, private sector and public sector will discuss about the contribution of economics to public policies, with an emphasis in competition and industrial policies.

Closing Remarks by EVP Teresa Ribera at the 20th Annual GCLC Conference,
Brussels, 30 April 2025.
[...] " competition policy can also today be a powerful force for change, for creation of health and for shared prosperity.
It is also a critical tool to ensure that market power is not excessive and, in that sense protects democracy and ensure high quality of life.
I would say it is a very powerful horizontal enabler. It is a tool that boosts productivity, efficiency, and innovation. This leads to better resource use, cleaner technologies, and more resilient supply chains.." [...]

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.