Conference coverage

EU in “unchartered territory” with new foreign subsidy law, Vestager says

The EU’s competition commissioner has said “there may be a hiccup or two” in the implementation of the bloc’s new foreign subsidies regulation, stating certain aspects of the new law place the agency in “unchartered territory”.

06 March 2023

Athey: Economists not sidelined at DOJ

Economists at the Department of Justice’s antitrust division have a “huge influence” on the enforcer’s work despite assertions otherwise, the agency’s chief economist has said.

06 March 2023

DMA will not identify new infringements, Bacchiega says

It is not the role of the Digital Markets Act to explore new forms of anticompetitive behaviour or “undo the past”, the European Commission official tasked with implementing the regulation has insisted.

03 March 2023

Nevo condemns calls for “simple” economics

Progressives advocating for less economic analysis in antitrust enforcement are not helping the cause, the Federal Trade Commission’s chief economist has said.

03 March 2023

Mekki: bringing more cases will improve enforcement success

The judiciary has failed to understand some competition concerns because the agencies have not brought enough cases in recent decades, the number-two-in-command at the Department of Justice’s antitrust division has said.

03 March 2023

Buck: Democratic leadership tanked tech bills

Legislation designed to rein in the world’s largest technology companies will once again stall in Congress despite having enough votes to pass each chamber, Representative Ken Buck has said.

03 March 2023

Uncertainty will not thwart merger enforcement in dynamic markets, CMA head says

The inherent unpredictability of merger control assessments in digital markets means agencies will sometimes get cases wrong, but enforcers have to be comfortable working in that framework, the head of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has said.

02 March 2023

Apple case is now about fairness, Vestager claims

The European Commission’s new statement of objections against Apple reflects the agency’s recalibration of the case as an exploitative abuse of dominance to take a “more direct focus on consumers themselves”, Margrethe Vestager has said.

02 March 2023

Portugal has “pipeline” of no-poach cases, agency head says

The Portuguese Competition Authority’s first-ever no-poach case spurred a stream of employee tip-offs and company leniency requests that has led to further investigations in labour markets, Margarida Matos Rosa has said.

02 March 2023

Enforcers must push for legislative change, Coscelli says

Antitrust agencies “need to be brave” in calling for change when they see enforcement gaps and outcomes that are “not right”, the former head of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has said.

02 March 2023

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