EU Competition Policy

🔴 Today, the European Commission has concluded that three German measures in favour of Ryanair and the Frankfurt-Hahn airport are incompatible with EU State aid rules ❌ Germany must now recover the incompatible aid, including interest. 🛑 In a separate decision, the Commission also found that other public funding measures for Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, Haitec AG, and Ryanair do not constitute State aid. 💶 On this basis, the Commission ordered Germany to recover approximately €13 to €14 million, plus interest, from Ryanair and €1.25 million, plus interest, from Frankfurt-Hahn airport. ⚖ Incompatible State aid must be recovered without delay to remove the distortion of competition created by the aid. ℹ Under EU state aid rules, there are no fines, and the purpose of recovery is to restore the situation in the internal market before the aid was paid. 👌 By paying back the unlawful aid, the beneficiary forfeits the advantage that it has enjoyed over its competitors. All detailed information can be found at the link below ⬇ 🔗 https://europa.eu/!NWXwKn #EUStateAid #EUCompetition #Ryanair #Frankfurt #Airport

Today, DG Competition participated in the 28th Annual Competition Conference organised by the International Bar Association ⬇ 🗣 Director-General Olivier Guersent joined the “Enforcers Roundtable” session alongside leading agency heads, including Benoît Coeuré, John Elias, and Athanasia Gavala, in a discussion moderated by Frédéric Jenny from the OECD - OCDE. 🤝 The panel explored the latest developments in competition policy, the key priorities for today, and the strategic focus areas for the future. Discussions centred as well on the coordination of efforts and the future of international cooperation among global antitrust agencies. 👩💻 Olivier Guersent took the opportunity to highlight DG COMP's ongoing initiatives, particularly in the realm of competition and artificial intelligence.   📍 EU Competition policy plays a pivotal role in ensuring that AI-driven markets remain competitive and innovation-driven, while simultaneously providing consumers and businesses with a wide choice of AI solutions. Today's event was also an opportunity to stress DG Competition's dual role 1️⃣ To enforce competition rules, preserving the integrity of the Single Market and foster its development 2️⃣ To support EU industrial policies Driving better living standards for all Europeans and giving all European businesses fair chances to succeed. 🌐These fora are invaluable in fostering dialogue, enhancing cooperation, and shaping the future of global competition policy. Through collaborative efforts, we can ensure fair competition and innovation thrive in an increasingly complex global economy. Autorité de la concurrence Hellenic Competition Commission U.S. Department of Justice #EUCompetition #AnnualCompetitionConference #IBA

You can read here below the speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager at the 28th Annual Competition Conference of the International Bar Association 👇 🔗 https://europa.eu/!vB7HPj 🗨 "[...] I think it is fair to say that a profound updating of European competition rules is in motion. The work is not finished, but competition policy is a continuum”. #EUCompetition #IBAcomp

🔴 The European Commission has published today a Staff Working Document summarising the findings of the evaluation of the EU antitrust procedural framework 👇 This evaluation focuses on Regulation 1/2003 and Regulation 773/2004, which establish the procedural framework for implementing EU competition rules under Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. 🔑These regulations have been instrumental in shaping EU antitrust enforcement during the last 20 years. Main findings of the evaluation ✨⬇ 📌 The Regulations have generally achieved their objective of effective, efficient and uniform application of EU competition rules. 📌 The two main changes brought about by Regulation 1/2003 were a success: I) the removal of the old system requiring the notification of agreements to the Commission for companies to benefit from an exemption under Article 101(3) TFEU, and II) the modernised system of parallel enforcement of EU competition rules by the Commission and national competition authorities (NCAs) and courts. NCAs have become key enforcers of EU competition law together with the Commission. 📌The evaluation also underlines the need for faster investigations. It identified several issues, some of which are connected to digitalisation, which may impact the effectiveness of investigation tools and powers that were written for ‘paper world’ investigations. Some aspects of cooperation within the ECN could also be improved further. The Commission collected evidence from different sources, including an external evaluation support study published today together with the summaries of the stakeholders’ workshop and the NCAs’ feedback 📂 📅 During the next months, the Commission will reflect on the evaluation results and decide whether to launch a process for the revision of the Regulations. Staff Working Document 🔗 https://europa.eu/!kWgyXK For more information about the publication and the evaluation 🔗 https://europa.eu/!tj8Bnq #EUCompetition #EUAntitrust #20YearsReg1 #StaffWorkingDocument

⏳ Just two weeks left until the deadline for our Student Challenge on the "Protecting Competition in a Changing World" Report 👇 👨🎓 If you're a university student interested in competition, don't miss this opportunity to share your ideas with us and possibly present your views to Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager here in Brussels🤝 Just two easy steps to participate: 1️⃣ Watch the “Protecting Competition in a Changing World” conference at the link below and study the evidence presented at the conference https://lnkd.in/gW7RzBjd 2️⃣ Choose a panel discussion, envision yourself as a speaker and tell us what you would have talked about. 📅 Submit your abstract to [email protected] by 20 September 2024. You can find all additional information about the Student Challenge at the link below ⬇ 🔗 https://europa.eu/!7MQ4W6 #EUCompetition #Student #StudentChallenge #ProtectingCompetition

DG Competition is pleased to welcome Deputy-Director Mr. Kentaro Doi of the Japan Fair Trade Commission as a Seconded National Expert ⬇    🤝 For the next 10 months, Mr. Doi will be seconded to the Directorate dealing with Digital Platforms where he will contribute to our ongoing work.    🌏 This secondment reflects the long-standing collaboration between DG COMP and the JFTC, providing valuable opportunities for both sides.    ℹ It enables JFTC staff to gain deep insights into DG COMP's operations and policies, while also enriching DG COMP with a Japanese perspective on competition enforcement.   For more information about DG Competition's international relations 👇  🔗 https://europa.eu/!GMD7KC   #EUCompetition #JFTC #secondement #enforcement #EUJAPAN #DMA

Read here below the Statement by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager on today's Court of Justice judgment on the Illumina/GRAIL merger jurisdiction decisions ⬇ 🔗 https://europa.eu/!CHNXKD 🗣 "[...] We will consider the next steps to ensure that the Commission is able to review those few cases where a deal would have an impact in Europe but does not otherwise meet the EU notification thresholds". #EUCompetition #EUMergerControl #Illumina #Grail #Vestager

🎙️ Le jeudi 12 septembre, rejoignez Inge Bernaerts, Directrice à la DG COMP, pour une conversation enrichissante avec nos amis francophones de L'Entente. Une occasion unique d'explorer les enjeux de la concurrence au sein de l'UE avec une experte de premier plan. Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ci-dessous 👇 #EUCompetition #Concurrence #DroitDeLaConcurrence

📄 Read the European Competition Network (ECN) Joint Statement on the EU Commission’s initiative to adopt new Guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings 👇 You can also find the Joint statement and more information about the ECN, following the link below ⬇️ 🔗 https://europa.eu/!C4P3dK #EUCompetition #EuropeanCompetitionNetwork #ECN

📣 The European Commission has launched a call for evidence to seek feedback on the revision of the State Aid Aviation Guidelines ✈ 📃 The Aviation Guidelines set out the conditions under which Member States and local authorities may grant State aid to airports and airlines 🛬 🎯 The purpose of the call for evidence is to gather facts and evidence on this framework's functioning and assess the extent to which the guidelines may or may not need to be amended or revised. In particular, the call for evidence seeks to: 📌 analyse the evolution of the aviation market since the adoption of the Aviation Guidelines and the needs of the aviation sector; 📌 assess if the Aviation Guidelines should be updated and simplified to reduce administrative burden and improve compliance by Member States; 📌 assess how to better align the Aviation Guidelines with the priorities of the European Green Deal. 🔴 All interested parties can submit their views in any official EU language on the Commission's Have Your Say Portal until 8 October 2024 📅 The Commission will prepare a public consultation planned for the last quarter of 2024. To participate ⬇ https://europa.eu/!h8r4RH For all information 👇 https://europa.eu/!bcQY6p #EUCompetition #StateAid #Aviation #CallForEvidence #EUCommission