Overview   General news

Speech by EVP Vestager at the EU Competition Day,
Brussels, 26 April 2024.
[...] "I think we have made it clear that we will protect the Single Market. We will tackle distortive subsidies from wherever in the world they arise. But we will only act on the basis of clear evidence and in full respect of our international engagements and commitments." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Merger Regulation 20th Anniversary Conference,
Brussels, 18 April 2024.
[...] "And so like a tall and towering tree, the Merger Regulation has stood its ground, firmly rooted in the rule of law for the last 20 years. The secret to its success has been its robust but flexible framework. But we are on a constant learning curve, and always open to hear your feedback.
That said, I do think we have to be careful about tinkering with the basic framework of the Merger Regulation. Some are calling for some hard pruning to the tree. Others would like to see it chopped down altogether. If you ask me, I would prefer to see it continue to grow and blossom."

The European Commission has launched its first pre-call for tender seeking experts to support the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS / CEDEAO), thereby taking the first steps in the implementation of its €20 million Competition Policy Capacity Building Programme for Africa.

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Orgalim 2024 reception,
Brussels, 16 April 2024.
[...] " what separates us from the next mandate is a lot more than just a few months. It is the distance between regulation, and its implementation. Because with regulation, you change perceptions. But with implementation, you change behaviours."

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.

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Institute for Advanced Study,
Brussels, 9 April 2024.
[...] " When it comes to digital, this is our 1955. And the policy choices we make today will shape how technology develops and how it is used, for decades to come.   
“This isn't a new weapon, it is a new world”. Indeed, just like nuclear decades ago, technology has the power to unfold a completely new world. But it is up to this world to decide what to make of technology. A weapon to diminish our humanity, and turn us against each other. Or, how I tend to see as a realist, a formidable source of human progress.."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Clean Energy Summit,
Brussels, 18 March 2024.
[...] " In conclusion, the green transition remains a ‘must'. The question is how we go about it, and here we must advocate for a market-driven approach, accompanied, where necessary, by targeted and proportionate public support.
Competition policy is part of the solution. It can support a cost-efficient transition, while ensuring that no one is left behind."

The European Commission has published the Annual Competition Report for 2023, presenting the key policy developments and legislative initiatives undertaken last year, as well as a selection of important enforcement actions.
The Annual Competition Report highlights the role of competition policy in protecting and empowering citizens and businesses and explains how a fit-for-purpose competition policy framework underpins the Commission's key political priorities towards a greener and increasingly digital economy, as well as an economy that works for people.
In response to a request from the European Council, the Report contains an overview and analysis of State aid decisions and their impact on competition in the Single Market and on EU competitiveness. In 2023, the Commission also started to apply new internal market enforcement tools, the Digital Markets Act and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, complementing its competition policy toolbox.
An infographic, providing an overview of key milestones reached in 2023, is also available online.

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Global Competition Law Centre, College of Europe, Bruges, 1 March 2024.
[...] " indeed, Article 102 is the beating heart of EU antitrust enforcement. Like any muscle, the heart must exercise to keep in shape. We have been exercising intensely and we will continue to do so. The Guidelines on exclusionary abuses will set the frame for future enforcement. We need to get them right. An important part of the exercise right now is to listen to the voices of academics and practitioners in the field." [...]

The sixth episode of Let’s Talk Competition will focus on the recently adopted Market Definition Notice and the changes it has introduced to reflect today’s new market realities, such as digitalisation, as well as the developments in the Commission’s case practice.
Three renowned experts will participate in the discussion: Mr. Guillaume Loriot, DG Competition Deputy Director-General for Mergers; Ms. Aleksandra Boutin, Founding Partner of Positive Competition; Ms. Viktoria Robertson, Professor of Competition Law and Digitalisation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Ms. Natalie McNelis, MLex Senior Correspondent for mergers, will moderate the debate.
The event will take place on 29 February 2024 at 13:00 (CET) and it will be webcasted on DG Competition website as well as in DG Competition YouTube channel. No registration is needed.

Speech by EVP Vestager at the 22nd International Conference on Competition,
Berlin, 29 February 2024.
[...] " And so, as we are witnessing an upswing in digital M&A activity after the disruptive period of recent years, I believe that we are well equipped to rise to the challenge. We will continue to make sure that markets remain open and that tech giants keep facing competition. When needed, we will stop anticompetitive walls from being built. Because, as history teaches us, once a wall is built, it can take an awful long time to see it come down."

The sixth episode of Let’s Talk Competition focused on the recently adopted Market Definition Notice and the changes it has introduced to reflect today’s new market realities, such as digitalisation, as well as the developments in the Commission’s case practice.
Three renowned experts took part in the discussion: Mr. Guillaume Loriot, DG Competition Deputy Director-General for Mergers; Ms. Aleksandra Boutin, Founding Partner of Positive Competition; Ms. Viktoria Robertson, Professor of Competition Law and Digitalisation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Ms. Natalie McNelis, MLex Senior Correspondent for mergers, moderated the debate.
You can now watch the recorded debate!

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Renew Europe event at the European Parliament,
Brussels, 19 February 2024.
[...] " A second lesson we've learned is that digital markets are wide-reaching, sometimes affecting the economy in ways you might not have expected. So we have to look carefully at vertical integration and at ecosystems. We have to take account of the impact of AI in how we assess mergers. We even have to think about how AI might lead to new kinds of algorithmic collusion. [...]"

The European Commission has today adopted a revised Market Definition Notice (“the Notice”). Market definition requires identifying the boundaries of competition between companies when assessing mergers and most antitrust cases. The revised Notice brings the Commission's guidance in line with new market realities, as well as with developments in the Commission's case practice and EU case law. It will enhance transparency and legal certainty for businesses, facilitate compliance and contribute to a more efficient competition enforcement.
See also Questions and answers on the revised Market Definition Notice; the COMP Flash by Inge Bernaerts, Director of Policy and Strategy at DG COMP, as well as the remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager.

Officials and experts from the EU and India met online on 29 and 30 January 2024 to discuss and exchange good practices in competition policy and enforcement.
The annual EU-India Competition Week is part of the Competition Cooperation project, a 5-year EU-funded programme offering technical cooperation to competition authorities in Asia. It provides a platform for exchanges between the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition and the Competition Commission of India.

The European Commission has published a report providing an overview of the enforcement of EU antitrust and merger rules by the Commission and the national competition authorities (‘NCAs') in the pharmaceutical sector between 2018 and 2022. Today's report shows that active enforcement of antitrust and merger rules continues to play an important role in delivering European patients' access to a wider choice of affordable and innovative medicines. In particular, it helped to achieve this goal during the challenging period of the coronavirus pandemic.

New Legislation
'What's new?'

New Legislation

The European Commission has launched today two calls for contributions on competition in virtual worlds and generative artificial intelligence (‘AI') and sent requests for information to several large digital players.
Interested parties are invited to submit their responses to the calls for contributions by 11 March 2024. Interested parties may contribute to one of those two calls for contributions, or to both, as they wish.
See also the Commission's press release.

Here you have the highlights of all the episodes of the webcast series Let's Talk Competition of DG Competition that took place in 2023.
On each episode, well-known experts discuss key policy and enforcement developments in the field of competition policy. The debates are livestreamed from the Commission’s studios in Brussels and allow for interaction with the online audience.