Competition law enforcement in the 21st century: Are the rules and institutions fit for purpose?

KEYNOTE SPEECH: Commissioner Margrethe Vestager (invited)
 

Panel I: Digital markets: What competition problems are we going to solve?

• Digital platforms have been a source of considerable benefits for businesses and end users. Yet, competition authorities receiving an evergrowing number of complaints alleging abusive conducts.
• What are the key issues at stake:
  • Market leveraging?
  • Self-preferencing?
  • Conflicts of interests?
  • Exploitation? Excessive fees, margins or data extraction?
  • Other conducts?

Speakers:

• Dr. Jorge Padilla (Senior Managing Director and Head of Compass Lexecon Europe, Compass Lexecon);
• Dr. Pierre Régibeau (Chief Economist of DG Competition, European Commission);
• Dr. Cristina Caffarra (Vice President, Head of European Competition Practice,  CRA);
• Martin d’Halluin (Vice President, Associate General Counsel, News Corp).

Panel II: A retrospective on the enforcement of past investigations in the digital sector (2000/2019): Have competition authorities delivered?

• What have we learned from the Microsoft, Google, Facebook and other major EU and national competition cases?
• What have been the concrete outcomes of these cases?

Speakers:

• Robert O’Donoghue QC (Brick Court Chambers);
• Prof. Pablo Ibáñez Colomo (Professor, London School of Economics);
• Dr. Inge Graef (Assistant Professor, Tilburg Law School);
• Jean-François Bellis (Partner, Van Bael & Bellis).

• Substantive innovation: Should competition rules and standards be adapted to new market realities? Is the “consumer welfare” standard still the right standard? Are there circumstances where one needs to shift the burden of proof?
• Procedural innovation: How can we make the enforcement process more efficient in a context where markets can tip? How can competition authorities generate fast outcomes? Should antitrust investigations be subject to time limits? Are amendments to Regulation 1/2003 needed?
• Remedial innovation:  Should interim measures be more frequently used? Are fines effective? How can one restore competition in markets that have tipped? Are structural remedies needed? Are they realistic?

Speakers:

• Prof. Jacques Crémer (Professor, Toulouse School of Economics);
• Dr. Antonio Bavasso (Partner, Co-head of the global antitrust practice, Allen & Overy);
• Dr. Thomas Kramler (Head of Unit, DG Competition, European Commission);
• Horacio Gutierrez (General Counsel and Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs, Spotify)

Panel IV: Do we need an expanded competition toolbox? 

• What are the limits of ex post competition law intervention (even assuming the efficiency of enforcement processes can be increased through reforms)?
• Besides merger control, do we need ex ante mechanisms to prevent harm from taking place and if so which ones? What will be the interaction between competition law and regulation in the new European Commission? Are codes of conduct and other forms of coregulation a promising approach?

Speakers:

• Prof. Heike Schweitzer (Professor, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin);
• Dr. Anne-Claire Hoyng (Director, Global competition and consumer law. Booking.com);
• Prof. Damien Geradin (Professor Tilburg Law School/ Partner, Geradin Partners);
• Dr. Philip Marsden (Professor, College of Europe, Bruges; Senior Adviser, CRA).

Panel V: From reports to action: Are competition authorities up to the challenge?

• How does not translate broad aspirations into concrete action plans?
• What are the main implementation challenges?
• How will competition authorities look in 2030?

Speakers:

• Andrea Gomes da Silva (Executive Director, CMA);
• Prof. Ioannis Lianos (President, Hellenic Competition Authority);
• Prof. Konrad Ost (Vice President, Bundeskartellamt);
• Jacques Steenbergen (President, Belgian Competition Authority) (invited)