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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1. April 2022  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The French judgment on Google’s Play Store: a shift towards platform exploitation?
Competition Blogs - The French judgment on
On 28 March 2022, the Commercial Court of Paris fined Google €2 million for the imbalanced terms and conditions of its Play Store. While the fine is minimal, Google is also obliged to adapt those T&Cs, including the 30% fee—a much more far-reaching implication. Except for some news articles, the French judgment did not receive a lot of attention (which […]
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8. March 2022  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

The DMA and EU competition law: complementing or cannibalizing enforcement?
Competition Blogs - 2
The proposal of the DMA signals a significant change with respect to the application and enforcement of EU competition policy to online platforms. Despite the clear synergy between the two frameworks, the European Commission insists that the DMA is introduced with the idea of complementing, rather than replacing, the enforcement of EU competition law in the case of online platforms. […]
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11. February 2022  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The antitrust books you should’ve read in 2021 [part 2]
Competition Blogs - 3
In a CoRe Blog post last month, I introduced the first three ‘antitrust books you should’ve read in 2021’. In this second instalment, I take a look at the next and final three books. Antitrust takes a political–historical look at the evolution of U.S. antitrust law, while How Antitrust Failed Workers zooms in on issues of labour market power. One […]
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28. January 2022  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The antitrust books you should’ve read in 2021 [part 1]
Competition Blogs - library g1a03e6555 640
Following yearly tradition, I’m happy to present the antitrust books you should have read last year. In each of the 2019 and 2020 editions, I expressed surprise at the exceptional amount of competition law publishing, and this year is no different. Looking for explanations for this extended anomaly, two candidates emerge: either I wasn’t paying close enough attention before and […]
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18. January 2022  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

The Apple App Store case in the Netherlands – a potential game changer
smartphone menu
Just before 2021 ended, Apple suffered a loss in the Netherlands where a national court in preliminary relief proceedings struck down its attempt to block the remedies imposed by the Dutch competition authority following a finding of abuse of dominance. As a result, as of last weekend, Apple is forced to accept third-party payment solutions implemented in (paid) dating apps […]
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21. September 2021  |   Features by Alice Rinaldi

Spielberg’s antitrust: Netflix, Amazon and the Draft Digital Markets Act
Competition Blogs - streaming services guide 1618259319
The recent legislative reform proposals presented by the European Commission (“EC”) have revived the debate on how Competition Law should deal with potentially abusive conduct in digital markets. Drawing upon the case law concerning violations of Art. 102 TFEU, the draft Digital Markets Act (“Draft DMA”) tries to re-design the structure of digital markets by codifying a series of dos […]
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7. September 2021  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

A Different View of Platform Regulation: Reviewing Josh Hawley’s ‘The Tyranny of Big Tech’
Competition Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts 33
The United States is quickly catching up with the European Union when it comes to tech regulation. The latest example is the proposed Open App Markets Act. While the bill’s provisions deserve discussion, one feature stands out: that it is was introduced by senators from both major parties. While Democrats and Republicans are not known for agreeing on much, the […]
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19. April 2021  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The Commission’s Article 22 EUMR Guidance: catching killer acquisitions through the merger referral procedure?
Article 22, Merger Regulation, European Commission, Guidance, killer acquisitions, GAFAM
Over the past five years, the EU’s merger control regime has been hotly debated. The main concern driving the debate has been the intensive acquisition activity in the tech and pharmaceutical sectors. However, many of those acquisitions escape the jurisdictional thresholds of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) and therefore cannot be reviewed by the European Commission (EC). On 26 March […]
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6. April 2021  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Online platforms and the essential facility doctrine – a status update following Slovak Telekom and the DMA
competition law, art. 102 tfeu, online platforms, data sharing, refusal to supply
The recent judgment of the CJEU in Slovak Telekom provides important guidance on the application of the Bronner case law in cases concerning abusive market access obstacles. Such guidance is of particular value in the context of online platforms, where issues of access have been considered being unsolvable because of the stringent criteria of the refusal to supply case law. […]
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23. March 2021  |   Features by Inês F. Neves

A role for competition policy in fighting gender inequality: not a matter of if, but how
Competition Blogs - pexels tim mossholder 1722196
Competition policy is normally thought to be fit at promoting and protecting effective competition in markets, this way enhancing efficient outcomes to the benefit of consumers. As a result, while one may point to some indicia on the relevance of other public interests and values (let us consider, for instance, Articles 101(3) and 106 of the Treaty on the Functioning […]
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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 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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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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26. April 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2018:60 Deutsche Bahn and Others v Commission
Competition Blogs - deutsche bahn 1
Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 1 February 2018 Case name (short version) Deutsche Bahn and Others v Commission Case Citation C-264/16 P ECLI:EU:C:2018:60 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 their appeal, Deutsche Bahn AG, Schenker […]
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12. April 2019  |   Case Digests by Lexxion Publisher

2018:590 Orange Polska v Commission
Competition Blogs - m 13
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 25 July 2018 Case name (short version) Orange Polska v Commission Case Citation C-123/16 P ECLI:EU:C:2018: 590 Key words Appeal — Competition — Article 102 TFEU — Abuse of dominant position — Polish wholesale market for fixed broadband internet access — Refusal to give access to the network and to supply wholesale […]
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12. April 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2018:270 MEO – Serviços de Comuniçações e Multimédia SA v Autoridade da Concorrência
old phone
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 19 April 2018 Case name (short version) MEO – Serviços de Comuniçações e Multimédia SA v Autoridade da Concorrência Case Citation C-525/16 ECLI:EU:C:2018:270 Key words Reference for a preliminary ruling — Competition — Abuse of dominant position — Subparagraph (c) of the second paragraph of Article 102 TFEU — Concept of ‘competitive […]
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12. April 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2017:753 Marine Harvest ASA v Commission
Competition Blogs - anastasiia vasileva SLE08nqpEbk unsplash
  Court General Court Date of ruling 24 November 2017 Case name (short version) Marine Harvest ASA v Commission Case Citation Case T-704/14 ECLI:EU:T:2017:753 Key words Appeal — Competition — Concentrations — Decision imposing a fine for putting into effect a concentration prior to its notification and authorisation — Article 4(1), Article 7(1) and (2) and Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No […]
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14. February 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2017:643 Austria Asphalt GmbH & Co OG v Bundeskartellanwalt
Competition Blogs - tim gouw EzpQjBUisJA unsplash
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 7 September 2017 Case name (short version) Austria Asphalt GmbH & Co OG v Bundeskartellanwalt Case Citation ECLI:EU:C:2017:643 C-248/16 Key words Reference for a preliminary ruling — Competition — Concentrations between undertakings — Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 — Article 3(1)(b) and (4) — Scope — Definition of ‘concentration’ — Change in the […]
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11. February 2019  |   Case Digests by Lexxion Publisher

2017:1008 Trioplast Industrier v Commission
Competition Blogs - joni gutierrez 2YH sdHvprQ unsplash
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 20 December 2017 Case name (short version) Trioplast Industrier v Commission Case Citation ECLI:EU:C:2017:1008 C-364/16 P Key words Appeal — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Market in industrial plastic bags — Formal notice from the European Commission to the appellant for the payment of default interest on the amount of the […]
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11. February 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2018:371 Ernst & Young v Konkurrenceradet
Competition Blogs - stellrweb djb1whucfBY unsplash
Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 31 May 2018 Case name (short version) Ernst & Young P/S v Konkurrenceradet Case Citation C-633/16 ECLI:EU:C:2018:371 Key words Reference for a preliminary ruling — Control of concentrations of undertakings — Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 — Article 7(1) — Implementation of a concentration prior to notification to the European Commission and declaration of […]
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7. September 2021  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

A Different View of Platform Regulation: Reviewing Josh Hawley’s ‘The Tyranny of Big Tech’
Competition Blogs - State Aid Uncovered SM posts 33
The United States is quickly catching up with the European Union when it comes to tech regulation. The latest example is the proposed Open App Markets Act. While the bill’s provisions deserve discussion, one feature stands out: that it is was introduced by senators from both major parties. While Democrats and Republicans are not known for agreeing on much, the […]
read more
No Comments
19. April 2021  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The Commission’s Article 22 EUMR Guidance: catching killer acquisitions through the merger referral procedure?
Article 22, Merger Regulation, European Commission, Guidance, killer acquisitions, GAFAM
Over the past five years, the EU’s merger control regime has been hotly debated. The main concern driving the debate has been the intensive acquisition activity in the tech and pharmaceutical sectors. However, many of those acquisitions escape the jurisdictional thresholds of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) and therefore cannot be reviewed by the European Commission (EC). On 26 March […]
read more
No Comments
6. April 2021  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Online platforms and the essential facility doctrine – a status update following Slovak Telekom and the DMA
competition law, art. 102 tfeu, online platforms, data sharing, refusal to supply
The recent judgment of the CJEU in Slovak Telekom provides important guidance on the application of the Bronner case law in cases concerning abusive market access obstacles. Such guidance is of particular value in the context of online platforms, where issues of access have been considered being unsolvable because of the stringent criteria of the refusal to supply case law. […]
read more
No Comments
23. March 2021  |   Features by Inês F. Neves

A role for competition policy in fighting gender inequality: not a matter of if, but how
Competition Blogs - pexels tim mossholder 1722196
Competition policy is normally thought to be fit at promoting and protecting effective competition in markets, this way enhancing efficient outcomes to the benefit of consumers. As a result, while one may point to some indicia on the relevance of other public interests and values (let us consider, for instance, Articles 101(3) and 106 of the Treaty on the Functioning […]
read more
No Comments
18. February 2021  |   Features by Alexandr Svetlicinii

“Three Great Mountains” for the Chinese State-Owned Investments in the European Union
Competition Blogs - brexit 4100607 1920
In April of 1948, Chairman Mao Zedong in his speech to a conference of political cadres mentioned the “three great mountains” that need to be overcome by the revolutionary forces: imperialism, feudalism and crony capitalism. The commentators of the current affairs argued that the current Chinese leadership is facing the “three great mountains” of pandemic containment, post-pandemic economic recovery and […]
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26. February 2021  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The antitrust books you should’ve read in 2020 [part 2]
book review, antitrust books, Nicolas Petit, John Kwoka, Anu Bradford
In a CoRe Blog post last month, I introduced the first three ‘antitrust books you should’ve read in 2020’. In this second instalment, I take a look at the next and final three books. Two books, Big Tech and the Digital Economy and Controlling Mergers and Market Power, offer fresh and thoughtful analyses of two crucial but controversial branches of […]
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25. January 2021  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The antitrust books you should’ve read in 2020 [part 1]
Competition Blogs - books 2596809 1280
One year ago, I wrote The Antitrust Books You Should’ve Read in 2019. In the conclusion, I looked ahead to books to be published in 2020. Given the many books that were already announced, I remarked that ‘the question will be where to find the time to read them all.’ The past year gave us the answer: stuck at home, […]
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9. December 2020  |   Features by Martyn Dobbin

Pricing algorithms and competition: what competitive concerns do pricing algorithms raise?
Algorithmic Code
Introduction Through Big Data and increasing digitalisation of commerce, algorithmic pricing (AP) has become a staple of markets globally. While this increased prevalence has produced a multitude of procompetitive market outcomes – for example, increased supply-side and demand-side efficiencies – there exists palpable academic and administrative concern that AP may greater facilitate the emergence of collusion in digital markets. In […]
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3. December 2020  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Why you (often) don’t need the essential facility doctrine in the digital economy? – Interpreting Lithuanian Railways and Slovak Telekom
Competition Blogs - problem 4612945 1280
The insights from Lithuanian Railways and Slovak Telekom may have serious implications for the application of the Oscar Bronner case law in the future. These insights may prove, however, to have the most value in the digital economy where it would appear that the essential facility doctrine might often not even be needed – not even in the case of […]
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26. November 2020  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Lithuanian Railways and Slovak Telecom – Implications for the Essential Facility Doctrine
Competition Blogs - phone 4119457 640
The recent cases of Lithuanian Railways and Slovak Telekom address the matter of refusal to deal. Both cases, which do not engage in the assessment of this abuse, in fact, provide important guidance on the scope of application of the essential facility doctrine for current practice that will be covered in this post. Refusals to deal and the essential facility […]
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