Agenda
Times and sessions are subject to change.
07:30 - 09:00
Registration and breakfast
09:00 - 09:05
Welcome address
Margaret Sanderson
Vice President, Charles River Associates
09:05 - 09:30
Keynote address
Margrethe Vestager
Executive Vice-President, European Commission
Raphaël De Coninck
Vice President, Charles River Associates
09:30 - 10:45
Session 1: Regaining competitiveness—boom or bust for competition policy?
Is it time to upgrade the competition regulatory regime to combat the slowing economic growth in Europe? Are there new factors that should be taken into account when designing and implementing competition policy and enforcement? Should competition policy change to support a new Industrial Deal, as suggested by the Draghi Report?
Jan De Loecker
Professor of Economics at the KU Leuven, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, Research Associate at the NBER, and a Research Fellow at the CEPR
Elisabetta Iossa
Commissioner, Italian Antitrust Authority
Andreas Mundt
President, Bundeskartellamt
Nathan Miller
Chief Economist Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice
Andrea Wechsler
Committee Member on Industry, Research and Energy, European Parliament
Dan Donath - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
10:45 - 11:00
Break
11:00 - 11:30
Spotlight session: Tech Titans with Antitrust 2.0? Spotlight with Olivier Guersent
Over the past five years, antitrust enforcement in Europe has evolved to address Tech Titans. Hear from Olivier Guersent on past, present, and future goals. What are the implications for tech firms? Are there signs of improved enforcement? Has over-enforcement caused issues, or is more action needed? Which strategies and bodies are most effective?
Olivier Guersent
Director-General, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Fiona Scott Morton
Theodore Nierenberg Professor of Economics at the Yale University School of Management, Senior Consultant at Charles River Associates
11:30 - 12:45
Session 2: Digital Regulation and ‘Growth Mission’: is the DMA meeting its goals? Can Europe regulate itself to boost productivity?
The DMA aims to boost Europe’s competitiveness and economic growth, complementing antitrust and industrial policies. In practice it faces complex issues: what is effective compliance? How to deal with new technologies? How to improve Europe’s productivity? Is a ‘New Competition Tool’ needed? Nearly two years later, is the DMA on track to meet its objectives or should it adjust its course?
Lucia Bonova
Head of Unit – Digital Platforms, DG COMP, European Commission
Axel Desmedt
President, Belgian Competition Authority
Ariel Ezrachi
Slaughter and May Professor of Competition Law, The University of Oxford
Amelia Fletcher
Professor of Competition Policy, NBS and Deputy Director at the Centre for Competition Policy
Antonio Rangel
Bing Professor of Neuroscience, Behavioral Biology, and Economics; Head Faculty in Residence, California Institute of Technology
Mikaël Hervé - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
12:45 - 13:45
Lunch
13:45 - 14:30
Economics and Antitrust – a success story? Discussion with Anna Marcoulli and Honourable Mr Justice Peter Roth
Judge Anna Marcoulli and Honourable Mr Justice Peter Roth discuss recent developments in competition policy in the courts and will explore the successes and challenges in the field of economics and antitrust law.
Anna Marcoulli
Judge, General Court of the European Union (Luxembourg)
Sir Peter Roth
Judge, Chancery Division of the High Court of England and Wales
Philip Kalmus - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
14:30 - 15:30
Session 3: Abuse of dominance – bright future with the ‘workable effects-based approach’?
With recent landmark rulings giving greater weight to economic analysis in abuse cases, the European Commission's draft Guidelines on exclusionary abuses emphasize presumptions over a coherent economic approach. Will the new framework mark a path towards faster, more efficient enforcement—or a step back to formalism in competition law?
Pinar Akman
Member of Competition Appeal Tribunal, Professor of Law, University of Leeds
Chiara Fumagalli
Full Professor of Economics and Dean of the Undergraduate School, Bocconi University
Henry Liu
Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission
Linsey McCallum
Deputy Director-General, Antitrust & Regulation of Digital Platforms, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Thibaud Vergé
Vice President, French Competition Authority and Professor of Economics, ENSAE Paris (on leave)
Benno Buehler - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
15:30 - 16:00
Break
16:00 - 17:10
Session 4: Emerging theories of merger harm: Platforms and Ecosystems
With the increasing prevalence of high-profile merger cases involving platforms or ecosystem theories of harm (Bookings /eTraveli, Amazon/iRobot, Adobe/Figma), it’s time to take stock. Do these theories require new economic tools? Can we delineate clearly between ecosystem theories of harm and ‘efficiency offense’ theories? Has Illumina/Grail left a gap in the ability to address them, and will the courts follow the competition authorities?
Diane Coyle
Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Guillaume Loriot
Deputy Director-General, Mergers, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Martijn Snoep
Chairman, Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM)
Nathan Soderstrom
Associate Director for Merger Analysis in the Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission
Mike Walker
Chief Economic Adviser, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Matthew Bennett - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
17:10 - 17:30
Antitrust in the US: Past, Present, and Future: Spotlight with Maureen Ohlhausen
After the November U.S. elections, how should antitrust practitioners around the world anticipate changes, if any, to the current U.S. enforcement agenda? What are the likely implications for cooperation between international and U.S. antitrust enforcement authorities? Do past enforcement priorities inform the likely priorities over the next four years? Which changes might be most immediate? And which changes made by the past U.S. administration are likely to continue in full force through the next four years?
Maureen Ohlhausen
Partner, Wilson Sonsini, and former Commissioner, FTC
Elizabeth Bailey - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
17:30 - 18:30
Session 5: Learning from the past or generals fighting the last war: how to harness the next wave of innovation?
21st century antitrust enforcement has focussed on digital, tech and “Web 2.0”, but the focus is shifting to the next wave of innovation. Will new technologies like AI disrupt or entrench incumbent business models and what role should antitrust play at this early stage? What lessons can be learned from the last wave of technology to better harness the next?
Emilio Calvano
Professor of Economics at LUISS Guido Carli University of Rome, Associate Faculty at Toulouse School of Economics
Maxime Cohen
Scale AI Chair Professor, McGill University
Ana Sofia Rodrigues
Commissioner, Portuguese Competition Authority
Hans Zenger
Head of Unit at the Chief Economist Team, DG Competition, European Commission
Oliver Latham - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
18:30 - 18:35
Closing remarks
Raphaël De Coninck
Vice President, Charles River Associates
18:35 - 19:30
Cocktail reception