Competition law Blog

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

On a weekly basis Phedon Nicolaides posts critical analysis pieces on the latest State aid judgments and decisions on his blog State Aid Uncovered. Each article presents the main points of a court ruling or Commission‘s decision, places them in the context of similar case law or practice, assesses the underlying reasoning, and identifies any inconsistencies or contradictions.
Occasional guest blog posts by other State aid experts complement the State aid knowledge hub.

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When the industry strikes back – UPS claims 1.7 billion Euro for the blocked merger with TNT

The recent fines imposed by the Commission on companies have made headlines quite a few times since the beginning of 2018. This growing press coverage is undeniably linked to size of the fines as well as the parties on whom these were imposed. However while the Commission was busy fining companies for their anticompetitive behavior, United Parcel Services (UPS) decided […]

The Uber-Grab merger and the potentially anti-competitive consequences of the battle for ride-hailing dominance

On March 26th, news broke that ride-hailing giant Uber agreed to sell its Southeast Asian operations to its local competitor Grab. The move may sound familiar, as Uber previously retreated from the Chinese market by selling its operations to Didi Chuxing. From a competition law perspective, these acquisitions raise questions of both merger control and restrictive agreements, which are explored […]

The EU Commission’s Qualcomm decision – does it take two to tango?

In its latest strike against anti-competitive behaviour in the tech industry, the EU Commission has fined the US chipset manufacturer Qualcomm over 997 million Euros for imposing an exclusive purchasing obligation on one of its major customers and preventing competitors’ access to the market for baseband chipsets. This blogpost gives a brief overview of the decision based on the Commission’s […]

Can consumers pay too much when they pay nothing? The Bundeskartellamt’s Facebook case

Can consumers pay too much when they pay nothing? The question might seem absurd, but a recent investigation by the Bundeskartellamt raises the question: it is accusing Facebook, which offers its services for free, of an infringement that looks a lot like excessive pricing. In this blog post, I unpack the Facebook case by explaining the social network’s business model, […]

The first judgement of 2018: Hoffman-La Roche v AGCM (Case C- 179/16) – a remarkable case for its unremarkable implications

It goes without saying that the name Hoffmann La-Roche serves as an indispensable reference case for most competition lawyers, making it a great case for the launch of a new competition law blog! Although this recent Hoffmann La-Roche case is not likely to become as unmissable a reference point as the ‘original’ Hoffman La-Roche case, it is nevertheless noteworthy. The […]
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 >>

Features ×

When the industry strikes back – UPS claims 1.7 billion Euro for the blocked merger with TNT

The recent fines imposed by the Commission on companies have made headlines quite a few times since the beginning of 2018. This growing press coverage is undeniably linked to size of the fines as well as the parties on whom these were imposed. However while the Commission was busy fining companies for their anticompetitive behavior, United Parcel Services (UPS) decided […]

The Uber-Grab merger and the potentially anti-competitive consequences of the battle for ride-hailing dominance

On March 26th, news broke that ride-hailing giant Uber agreed to sell its Southeast Asian operations to its local competitor Grab. The move may sound familiar, as Uber previously retreated from the Chinese market by selling its operations to Didi Chuxing. From a competition law perspective, these acquisitions raise questions of both merger control and restrictive agreements, which are explored […]

The EU Commission’s Qualcomm decision – does it take two to tango?

In its latest strike against anti-competitive behaviour in the tech industry, the EU Commission has fined the US chipset manufacturer Qualcomm over 997 million Euros for imposing an exclusive purchasing obligation on one of its major customers and preventing competitors’ access to the market for baseband chipsets. This blogpost gives a brief overview of the decision based on the Commission’s […]

Can consumers pay too much when they pay nothing? The Bundeskartellamt’s Facebook case

Can consumers pay too much when they pay nothing? The question might seem absurd, but a recent investigation by the Bundeskartellamt raises the question: it is accusing Facebook, which offers its services for free, of an infringement that looks a lot like excessive pricing. In this blog post, I unpack the Facebook case by explaining the social network’s business model, […]

The first judgement of 2018: Hoffman-La Roche v AGCM (Case C- 179/16) – a remarkable case for its unremarkable implications

It goes without saying that the name Hoffmann La-Roche serves as an indispensable reference case for most competition lawyers, making it a great case for the launch of a new competition law blog! Although this recent Hoffmann La-Roche case is not likely to become as unmissable a reference point as the ‘original’ Hoffman La-Roche case, it is nevertheless noteworthy. The […]

Features ×

When the industry strikes back – UPS claims 1.7 billion Euro for the blocked merger with TNT

The recent fines imposed by the Commission on companies have made headlines quite a few times since the beginning of 2018. This growing press coverage is undeniably linked to size of the fines as well as the parties on whom these were imposed. However while the Commission was busy fining companies for their anticompetitive behavior, United Parcel Services (UPS) decided […]

The Uber-Grab merger and the potentially anti-competitive consequences of the battle for ride-hailing dominance

On March 26th, news broke that ride-hailing giant Uber agreed to sell its Southeast Asian operations to its local competitor Grab. The move may sound familiar, as Uber previously retreated from the Chinese market by selling its operations to Didi Chuxing. From a competition law perspective, these acquisitions raise questions of both merger control and restrictive agreements, which are explored […]

The EU Commission’s Qualcomm decision – does it take two to tango?

In its latest strike against anti-competitive behaviour in the tech industry, the EU Commission has fined the US chipset manufacturer Qualcomm over 997 million Euros for imposing an exclusive purchasing obligation on one of its major customers and preventing competitors’ access to the market for baseband chipsets. This blogpost gives a brief overview of the decision based on the Commission’s […]

Can consumers pay too much when they pay nothing? The Bundeskartellamt’s Facebook case

Can consumers pay too much when they pay nothing? The question might seem absurd, but a recent investigation by the Bundeskartellamt raises the question: it is accusing Facebook, which offers its services for free, of an infringement that looks a lot like excessive pricing. In this blog post, I unpack the Facebook case by explaining the social network’s business model, […]

The first judgement of 2018: Hoffman-La Roche v AGCM (Case C- 179/16) – a remarkable case for its unremarkable implications

It goes without saying that the name Hoffmann La-Roche serves as an indispensable reference case for most competition lawyers, making it a great case for the launch of a new competition law blog! Although this recent Hoffmann La-Roche case is not likely to become as unmissable a reference point as the ‘original’ Hoffman La-Roche case, it is nevertheless noteworthy. The […]

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