Rising concentration, rising profits, rising prices – and decreasing costs. Disentangling the root causes of recent paradigm shifts in applied competition policy, this panel discusses the latest insights into the drivers of increasing concentration and profits. Can we identify the boundaries between efficient and harmful concentration? How much of it is to blame for Europe’s cost-of-living crisis – and what tools do Authorities have to tame it (beyond merger control)? The panel will discuss recent experiences in detecting collusion, preventing public price announcements, price and pass-on controls, and blaming and shaming along the (food) supply chain. 

We’ve entered the most important phase of digital regulation: concrete application. We can think of digital regulation like AI. Both have expanded fast in recent years and have huge potential, but they require training and their full effects are yet to be seen. Both are built on a projection of past data and previous experiences, but their true value depends on how we use them in the future and for what ultimate objective. Both come in two phases: design and application.

Many regulatory tools have been designed in Europe – now comes the time of practical application. A lot of learning by doing is underway. A panel of top enforcers and academics will discuss first experiences and what to expect next.

In the digital age, the intersection of exploitation and privacy takes centre stage. A particular challenge in this space is to draw the line where exploitation starts. Valuable insights can be gleaned from recent and ongoing cases of exploitation and privacy in both the UK and the EU. What can be inferred from these cases for the identification of excessive prices? What is the role of competition enforcement in safeguarding privacy? The panel will discuss how our Antitrust toolkit can be refined to meet these challenges and the implications for businesses, competition agencies and data protection authorities.

The more economic approach is here to stay, but possibly not everywhere and not necessarily in its current shape and form. The Commission has updated its 102 Guidance Paper in light of judgements of the European Courts. The DMA uses simpler concepts than relevant markets and dominance. Higher Courts give judges at lower courts more guidance on economic issues. The panel will discuss which economic evidence and techniques have been successful, which have been found wanting and how economic evidence needs to evolve to better address legal requirements.

2023 has seen major developments in merger control: new theories of harm, including a greater focus on dynamic competition and “ecosystem” effects; clarity from the European Courts on how to assess mergers in oligopolistic markets; and a growing number of divergent outcomes between regulators worldwide. A panel of senior enforcers and top academics will discuss these developments and what is likely to come next.