Competition law Blog

Official Blog of the European Competition and Regulatory Law Review (CoRe)

The CoRe Blog is the interactive online platform for up-to-date analysis of EU competition law developments. It’s the blog companion of the quarterly double-blind peer-reviewed European Competition and Regulatory Law Review (CoRe). The CoRe Blog fills in the gaps that a quarterly can’t address: immediate updates and analysis of breaking news in EU competition.

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19. June 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2018:773 Infineon Technologies AG v European Commission
Competition Blogs - christian wiediger c3ZWXOv1Ndc unsplash
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 26 September 2018 Case name (short version) Infineon Technologies AG v European Commission Case Citation C-99/ 17 P ECLI:EU:C:2018:773 Key words Appeal — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for smart card chips — Network of bilateral contacts — Exchanges of commercially sensitive information — Challenge of the authenticity of […]
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14. June 2019  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

U.S. antitrust agencies divide jurisdiction over Big Tech and single out Google for investigation
Competition Blogs - kai wenzel 06MHFfYv6YY unsplash
Last year, I wrote about how the United States considers boarding the tech regulation train that has been racing through Europe. It seems that they have now taken another decisive step in that direction: the U.S. antitrust agencies have agreed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will oversee investigations of Google and Apple, while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for antitrust […]
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5. June 2019  |   Features by Rita Paukste

Collusive conduct in financial instruments trading: a look at the issues of dealing via chatrooms
Competition Blogs - priscilla du preez BjhUu6BpUZA unsplash
Following the benchmark currency rate manipulation scandal, the banking sector has had no chance to restore their reputation. Lately, major EU banks have been having competition law issues because of their traders’ collusive behaviour in the bond and global foreign exchange (FX) markets. Two Statements of Objections concerning bond cartels and collusive conduct by certain traders have been issued recently […]
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14. May 2019  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

App stores and (potential) abuses of dominance – an opportunity to reshape competition law enforcement in digital markets
smartphone menu
During the past few weeks the number of complaints against Apple’s practices concerning the App Store has not gone unnoticed. While previous complaints by unhappy developers were perceived as isolated cases it would seem that now the flood gates have been opened, and the stream is primarily targeting Apple. In Europe, this development has been given quite some media coverage […]
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29. May 2019  |   CoRe News by Lexxion Publisher

CoRe Podcast – Online Platforms: Competition Law & Regulation
Competition Blogs - Podcast Guests 825x400 1
The European Competition and Regulatory Law Review presents its first podcast with speakers from the symposium “Transparency and Non-Discrimination Requirements for Online Platforms” (6 Jun 2019, Brussels). Listen to the podcast here. Are you interested in online platforms, competition law and regulation, and would like to learn more? If yes, our Symposium “Transparency and Non-Discrimination Requirements for Online Platforms: Competition Law & […]
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2. May 2019  |   Features by Virgilio Pereira

Are settlement proceedings the poor relation of EU antitrust policy?
calculator
Leniency and settlement policies are crucial antitrust enforcement tools. They reward defendants’ cooperation and seek to reinforce effectiveness in law enforcement by replacing a non-cooperative equilibrium with a more cooperative dynamic between defendants and competition enforcers. As recently acknowledged by the OECD, settlements are picking up, and becoming an essential aspect of antitrust enforcement. Accordingly, a significant challenge of every leniency […]
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24. April 2019  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

Spotify lodges antitrust complaint against Apple: it’s ‘time to play fair’ in the music streaming industry
Competition Blogs - sara kurfess wXU9yeANElg unsplash
On March 13th, Spotify filed a formal antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Commission (EC). In the complaint, Spotify alleges that Apple has been using its App Store to impede Spotify’s competitive potential to the advantage of Apple Music—its biggest competitor in the music streaming business. In what follows, I quickly examine the contentious history between Spotify and Apple before surveying […]
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29. April 2019  |   CoRe News by Lexxion Publisher

Interview with the new CoRe Blog editor Rita Griguolaite
Competition Blogs - interview
We are very happy to welcome you to the editorial team of the CoRe Blog. What motivated you to take on the position? I have been following the CoRe Blog from the moment of its launch and witnessed its blossoming among the other blogs in the field. The most exciting aspect of joining the editorial team is a possibility to […]
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26. April 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2018:373 Agria Polsk sp. z o.o. and Others v European Commission
crop field with combines
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 20 September 2018 Case name (short version) Agria Polska sp. z o.o. and Others v European Commission Case Citation C-373/17 P ECLI:EU:C:2018:756 Key words Appeal — Competition — Rejection of a complaint by the European Commission — Lack of Union interest Basic context By their appeal, Agria Polska sp. z o.o., Agria […]
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26. April 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2018:58 Schenker Ltd v European Commission
Competition Blogs - ashim d silva pGcqw1ARGyg unsplash
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 9 March 2018 Case name (short version) Schenker Ltd v European Commission Case Citation C-263/16 P ECLI:EU:C:2018:58 Key words Appeal — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Article 101 TFEU — Price fixing — International air freight forwarding services — Pricing agreement affecting the final price of the services Basic context By its appeal, Schenker Ltd (‘Schenker […]
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Anja Naumann

Blog Editor

LL.M., PhD, currently legal trainee at the Higher Regional Court of Berlin.

>> Anja’s CoRe Blog posts >>

Daniel Mandrescu
Blog editor Assistant Professor EU competition law, Europa Institute, Leiden University >> Daniel's CoRe blog posts >>
Friso Bostoen

Blog Editor

Assistant Professor of Competition Law and Digital Regulation, Tilburg University

Friso Bostoen is an assistant professor of competition law and digital regulation at Tilburg University. Previously, he was a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute. He holds degrees from KU Leuven (PhD, LLM) and Harvard University (LLM). Friso’s research focuses on antitrust enforcement in digital markets. His work has resulted in numerous international publications, presentations, and awards (including the AdC Competition Policy Award 2019 and the Concurrences PhD Award 2022). In addition, Friso edits the CoRe Blog and hosts the Monopoly Attack podcast.

>> Friso’s CoRe Blog posts >>

Nelly Stratieva

Head of Editorial Department and Data Protection Officer

Responsible for EStAL (European State Aid Law Quarterly), EPPPL (European Public Private Partnership Law Review) and CoRe (European Competition and Regulatory Law Review). Overseeing Lexxion Publisher’s privacy and data protection compliance.

Parsa Tonkaboni
Picture Rita Paukste
Rita Paukste

Former Blog Editor

Senior Associate, Motieka & Audzevicius PLP, Vilnius

>> Rita’s CoRe Blog posts >>

19. June 2018  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The AT&T-Time Warner decision and its implications for vertical merger enforcement in the U.S.
Competition Blogs - Netflix image
Last week’s big antitrust news came from the other side of the Atlantic. On June 12th, judge Leon from the District Court of Columbia gave the AT&T-Time Warner (TW) merger the go-ahead by rejecting the government’s case against it. The proceedings leading up to the decision were contentious, as the judge stressed in the opening paragraph of his opinion: If […]
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7. June 2018  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

When Algorithmic Pricing meets Concerted Practices- the case of Partneo
Competition Blogs - emile guillemot zegxcRu2f4E unsplash
Algorithmic collusion, algorithmic cartels, AI price fixing cartels and many other pseudo computer science themes have become a source of great interest for competition law authorities, practitioners and academics. The allure of these topics is understandable; the idea that cartels can come into existence without human intervention is a fascinating matter despite the fact that fully automated (not to mention […]
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31. May 2018  |   Features by Anja Naumann

The Commission’s Gazprom decision – an environmentally relevant demonstration of the Commission’s power
Competition Blogs - Global Warming Pollution Environment Smoke
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is making a name for herself as the Commissioner who really takes on the ‘big whales’ of international corporations and holds them accountable to EU competition law. After the Commission took on international tech giants like Google and Facebook under Vestager’s stewardship, the Russian energy giant Gazprom has now been added as the latest feather in […]
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25. May 2018  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The Commission proposes a Regulation on platform-to-business trading practices
Competition Blogs - Apps photo
On 26 April 2018, the European Commission adopted its Proposal for a Regulation ‘on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services’. In short, the proposal seeks to regulate the relation between platforms and businesses by imposing a number of transparency obligations on the former. In this blog post, I will take a closer look at the […]
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18. May 2018  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Online platforms and refusal to deal – Unlockd vs. Google – a seminal case in the making?
Competition Blogs - brooke lark W1B2LpQOBxA unsplash
The recent standoff between advertisement application developer Unlockd and Google, concerning the removal of Unlockd from the Google Play Store and AdMob marketplace, may turn out to be one of the most important competition law cases of the year. This case, which will likely require a competition law review of Google’s terms and conditions for these platforms, provides the opportunity […]
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10. May 2018  |   Features by Anja Naumann

New Commission proposal for more whistleblower protection: more of the same for competition law?
Competition Blogs - whistle 2475470 1920
In a press release of 23 April 2018, the EU Commission announced the proposal of a new Directive that is set to introduce new, EU-wide rules for the better protection of whistleblowers. The press release underlines the importance of whistleblowers in uncovering breaches of EU law, as demonstrated by recent scandals, such as Dieselgate, Panama Papers, or Cambridge Analytica. Without […]
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4. May 2018  |   Features by Tom Verdonk

Protecting David against Goliath: Commission’s Proposal against Unfair Trading Practices in the Food Supply Chain
Competition Blogs - B2B UTPs Agriculture
In response to concerns over so-called unfair trading practices (UTPs) between businesses arising from significant imbalances of economic power, the European Commission has for years devoted much attention to the functioning of the food supply chain. Despite these efforts, actual enforcement actions and legislative developments unfolded predominantly on the Member State level. On April 12, however, the Commission may have […]
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1. May 2018  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Price discrimination and abuse of dominance – MEO Case C-525/16
Competition Blogs - tv 2964103 1920
The recent case of MEO delivers a meaningful clarification concerning the importance of an effects analysis in the case of art. 102 (c) TFEU. While not providing an ultimate solution for all comparable future cases, the CJEU in this case clearly indicates that term ‘competitive disadvantage’ constitutes an independent element of art. 102 (c) TFEU that requires proof. Background to […]
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23. April 2018  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

Innovation in EU merger control
Competition Blogs - innovation
The Commission’s assessment of the effects of mergers on innovation has fascinated scholars and practitioners for the last two years or so. On 12 April 2018, the Commission’s Deputy Director General for Mergers Carles Esteva Mosso comprehensively addressed the issue at the Spring Meeting of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law. This blogpost traces earlier developments and gleans new insights […]
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16. April 2018  |   Features by Anja Naumann

Fines and files – news of the German sausage cartel
Competition Blogs - sausage 3065327 1920
The German ‘sausage cartel’ has truly turned into the gift that keeps on giving. However, while so far the gifts given were, with only one setback, rather in favour of the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) with high fines totalling EUR 338.5 million being imposed on members of the cartel, the latest developments seem like a welcome gift for the sausage […]
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