Agenda
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08:30 - 09:00
Registration and breakfast
09:00 - 09:05
Welcome address
Margaret Sanderson
Vice President and Practice Leader, Charles River Associates
09:05 - 09:30
Keynote address
Teresa Ribera
Executive Vice-President, European Commission
Raphaël De Coninck - Discussant
Vice President, Charles River Associates
09:30 - 10:45
Session 1: Competition and Trade: Partners for Growth in a Global Economy?
As tariffs rise and trade agreements take center stage, the connection between competition and trade has never been more intriguing. How are new trade barriers shaking up competition policy, and what happens when trade objectives collide with antitrust enforcement – as illustrated in the Google ad-tech case? Are competition and trade still partners for global growth, or are they heading for a showdown?
Marcus Bokkerink
Former Chair, Pinsent Masons, former CMA
Benoît Coeuré
President, Autorité de la concurrence
Paola Conconi
BP Professor of Economics, University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at New College
Denis Redonnet
Deputy Director-General, DG Trade, European Commission
Emanuele Tarantino
Chief Competition Economist, DG Competition, European Commission
Benno Buehler - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
10:45 - 11:15
Break
11:15 - 12:00
Spotlight on Merger Guidelines
The Commission's consultation on merger review raises questions about the role and scope of merger control. What are the emerging themes and how do they compare to the issues that animated the recent merger review guidelines in the UK and the US.
Joel Bamford
Executive Director for Mergers, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Guillaume Loriot
Deputy Director-General for Mergers, DG Competition, European Commission
Alison Hole - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
12:00 - 13:15
Session 2: All points of the compass: What's Next for Merger Control Under the New Guidelines?
The Commission is consulting on how (and whether) to incorporate broader considerations from competitiveness and resilience, to decarbonization, into merger control and how to adapt to the realities of digitization and globalization. Meanwhile, case-by-case enforcement continues with renewed focus on portfolio effects. What will merger enforcement look like under the new guidelines, and will this update similarly last the test of time?
Daniele Calisti
Head of Unit, Mergers, DG Competition, European Commission
Fernando Castillo de la Torre
Director in the Legal Service, European Commission
Damien Gerard
Prosecutor General, Belgian Competition Authority
Elisabetta Iossa
Commissioner, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM)
Ted Rosenbaum
Acting Director, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission
Oliver Latham - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
13:15 - 14:30
Lunch
14:30 - 15:15
The Interplay of Law and Economics at the EU General Court and the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal
The Honourable Mrs Justice Bacon, President of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, and Judge Marc van der Woude, President of the EU General Court, will discuss how economic theory and evidence are taken into account in their respective cases, and how their judgements in turn set out the requirements for economic evidence.
Mrs Justice Kelyn Bacon
President, UK Competition Appeal Tribunal
Marc van der Woude
President, General Court, European Union
Philip Kalmus - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
15:15 - 16:30
Session 3: Dominance and Disruption: Article 102 TFEU in the Digital Age
As the Article 102 guidelines near finalization, enforcement presses on with complex questions: What’s the threshold for anticompetitive foreclosure (Teams, FB Marketplace)? When does the AEC test apply (Search)? Is unfairness the upcoming 102 theory of harm beyond exclusion and exploitation (Apple Spotify/Match)? Should competition law protect non-rational consumers? Do remedies ever work (Ad Tech)? Is AI a game changer (Search US)? Should that which is without remedy be without regard?
Pinar Akman
Professor of Law, University of Leeds
Leonardo Bursztyn
Professor of Economics, University of Chicago
Michael Jacobides
Sir Donald Gordon Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, London Business School
Linsey McCallum
Deputy Director-General for Antitrust, DG Competition, European Commission
Martijn Snoep
Chairman, Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM)
Mikaël Hervé - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
16:30 - 17:00
Break
17:00 - 18:15
Session 4: Digital Regulation in Action: The DMA, AI, and the Future of Competition
In 2025 the DMA began to show its teeth with multiple non-compliance decisions and the UK DMCCA began to catch up with its first SMS designations. But 2025 was also the year where accusations of unintended consequences became more vociferous and where digital regulation seemed at risk of becoming a geopolitical bargaining chip. What next for DMA enforcement and digital regulation more generally?
Andreas Mundt
President, Bundeskartellamt
Nancy Rose
Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Applied Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Melissa Schilling
Professor of Management, NYU Stern School of Business
Fiona Scott Morton
Theodore Nierenberg Professor of Economics; Yale School of Management, Senior Consultant to CRA
Hans Zenger
Head of Unit, Chief Economist Team, DG Competition, European Commission
Matteo Foschi - Moderator
Vice President, Charles River Associates
18:15 - 19:00
Closing remarks and cocktail reception