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

Competition in Digital Markets: What have we learned from the ACCC, EU, Furman and Stigler reports?

Speaker: Prof. Damien Geradin (Professor Tilburg Law School/ Partner, Geradin Partners)

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?

Moderator: Dr Avantika Chowdhury (Partner, Oxera)

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 III: Looking at the future (2020 and beyond): How shall we make competition rules and institutions future-proof?

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?

Moderator: Andrea Appella (Director, Global Competition, Netflix and Visiting Professor, Kings College Dickson Poon School of Law)

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 (Head of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, 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?

Moderator: Lewis Croft, Editor-in-Chief, MLex

Speakers:

• Prof. Heike Schweitzer (Professor, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin);
• Dr. Anne-Claire Hoyng (Director, Global competition and consumer law. Booking.com);
• Alexandre de Streel (Professor of European law at the Universities of Namur and Louvain);
• Dr. Philip Marsden (Professor, College of Europe, Bruges; Senior Adviser, CRA).