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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29. October 2019  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Lessons and questions from Google Android- Part 1 – the market definition
Two Androids
On the 19th of September the Google decision was finally made public after a long waiting period, which in hindsight may seem less surprising given its length (327 pages!) and extensive scope of analysis. As in the case of Microsoft, the decision provides us with lots of material for discussion. The decision covers the market definition as well as the […]
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17. October 2019  |   Features by Rita Paukste

Competition law and public procurement – an easy catch for competition enforcers?
Competition Blogs - competition law
If you ask what the common recent trends are among EU Member States in competition law enforcement, the answer surprisingly (or not) would be related not to digital economies but to public procurement. Lately national competition authorities had quite a fruitful harvest investigating competition law infringements in public procurement markets. Among them are, for example, the French, Italian, Dutch, Hellenic, […]
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26. September 2019  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

‘We have reached “peak cloning” in Silicon Valley’: when does copying your competitor’s product become anticompetitive?
same sneakers with different price
‘We have reached “peak cloning” in Silicon Valley’, read a recent tweet by Jeff Morris Jr. (Tinder’s director of product). ‘There are no rules anymore’, the author continued, ‘if you build a product that works, Amazon or Facebook will copy it.’ The tweet was prompted by the apparent copying by Amazon of Allbirds. Allbirds is a brand famous for its merino wool […]
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7. October 2019  |   CoRe News by Lexxion Publisher

Are You Joining Us? 24 Oct 2019, Conference in Brussels: Dynamic Competition in Dynamic Markets
CoRe is partnering up with our friends from across the Atlantic – Competition Policy International (CPI) – for the 1-day conference Dynamic Competition in Dynamic Markets: A Path Forward. You can attend for free but you have to register first. The event is on 24 October 2019, at The Hotel in Brussels. Last seats available so be quick – we’re closing registration soon […]
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19. September 2019  |   Features by Lennard Michaux

Crossroads in EU Competition Law: green light or stop sign for non-economic goals?
Competition Blogs - alex kalinin 8bs Kz8ACdM unsplash
On the 6th of September, Reuters broke the news that the U.S. Department of Justice launched an antitrust investigation in the voluntary agreements on emission standards between four automakers and the State of California. This probe should be viewed in the light of a larger bureaucratic conflict. As part of its general deregulatory program, the Trump Administration is planning to roll back the heightened […]
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6. September 2019  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Ex-ante competition law enforcement and online platforms – a tool with no (clear) instructions
wood working tools
The interest of national competition authorities in the matter of online platforms and competition law is becoming increasingly visible. In the case of the Dutch competition authority this growing interest has recently resulted in a call for introducing ex-ante enforcement tools in the context of online platforms. Although the idea may indeed be constructive for the adaption of the current […]
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21. August 2019  |   Case Digests by Kiran Desai

2019:235 Eco-Bat Technologies Ltd and Others v European Commission
car battery, recycle sign
  Court Court of Justice Date of ruling 21 March 2019 Case name (short version) Eco-Bat Technologies Ltd and Others v European Commission Case Citation C-312/18 P ECLI:EU:C:2019:235 Key words Appeal — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Market for car battery recycling — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU and imposing fines — Correcting decision adding the […]
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25. July 2019  |   Features by Rita Paukste

Is there hope for competition in the rail sector?
Competition Blogs - alcom
The blocking of the Siemens-Alstom merger reminded everyone of the ‘pros and cons’ arguments in the debate on the liberalisation and competition in network industries. Despite the EU actions to liberalise rail markets and open them to competition, the issues relevant to incumbents who own both the rail infrastructure and freight operations are still at present. Several years ago the Commission imposed […]
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4. July 2019  |   Features by Rita Paukste

Audit and consulting services sector to face ‘unbundling’ by competition laws?
office table, laptops, papers
Lately in Europe, international accounting and consulting firms have been facing a number of legal issues due to infringements of audit, finance and competition laws. After a market study, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published proposals for improvements in the auditing sector; among them, legislative amendments to split up auditing from consulting services. This ‘unbundling’ of activities will […]
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26. June 2019  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

The return of the MFN clauses – platform ranking as an enforcement mechanism for price parity
Competition Blogs - glenn carstens peters npxXWgQ33ZQ unsplash
The MFN cases of the past few years have delivered a series of uncoordinated cases that created a fragmented approach towards MFN clauses. Nowadays it would appear that there is a growing consensus in Europe that wide MFN clauses should be prohibited which, also led major platform like Expedia to abandon these pricing strategies. The recent claim put forward by […]
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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 >>

28. September 2018  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The Commission’s Amazon probe: overcoming the antitrust paradox
Competition Blogs - P037742 506967 640x400 1
In a press conference on September 19th, EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager announced a preliminary investigation into Amazon. At the heart of the potentially abusive conduct is Amazon’s ‘dual role’. One the one hand, Amazon offers a marketplace for third-party sellers to offer their products to consumers. On the other hand, Amazon offers its own products through its marketplace. The Commission’s […]
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18. September 2018  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Market definition for two-(or multi) sided platforms – demand interdependence and substitution as guiding principles
blackboard whit charts
The past year has led to a lot of discussion on the relation between competition law and (online) platforms and a lot of disagreement on how competition law should apply in such cases as displayed by comments on the major cases of Amex and Google. Unsurprisingly, one of the most contentious aspects of these cases was the market definition. It […]
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7. September 2018  |   Features by Anja Naumann

New momentum for abandoning the 50+1 rule of the German Bundesliga?
Competition Blogs - football 1396740 1920
Have you recovered from the World Cup yet? Whether or not, it is now time to focus on the national football leagues again and support the football club of your choice (for better or worse). With regard to the German Bundesliga, the old issue of club-ownership has come back into focus over the summer when the Deutsche Fußball Liga (‘DFL’ […]
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28. August 2018  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The United States considers boarding the tech regulation train
Competition Blogs - capitol 720677 1280
On August 24th, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the opening session of its Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century. Starting in September, these hearings will ‘examine whether broad-based changes in the economy […] require adjustments to competition and consumer protection enforcement priorities of the Commission’. A focus on new technologies is readily apparent, as […]
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16. August 2018  |   Features by Anja Naumann

Cartel deterrence through cartel enforcement – a discussion of recent research
Competition Blogs - knowledge 1052010 1920
With the buzz surrounding the EU Commission’s recent Android decision (read about our take on it here) still very much ongoing, we will turn our focus to something a little different this week. This post discusses a recently published article ‘Does enforcement deter cartels? A tale of two tails’ by Iwan Bos, Stephen Davies, Joseph E. Harrington Jr, and Peter […]
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7. August 2018  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Price monitoring software and competition – new possibilities for RPM in absence of sufficient deterrence
Competition Blogs - coding 1853305 1280
Shortly after the dropping the A-bomb on Google for its alleged tying practices, the Commission imposed fines of over €111 million on Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer for fixing the minimum resale prices of their online retailers. This recent case shows that the Commission is serious about taking on competition law infringements in the online sphere, however, it […]
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27. July 2018  |   Features by Friso Bostoen

The Commission’s Android decision: Google cements its dominance in search… to the benefit of consumers?
Competition Blogs - pathum danthanarayana t8TOMKe6xZU unsplash
Last week’s Commission decision on Google’s Android operating system made for great headlines. On top of the eye-watering fine of €4.3 billion, it even had the dubious honour of eliciting a presidential tweet. It was the kind of decision that sparked extensive papers long before its adoption, and a barrage of commentary immediately afterwards. Now that the dust has settled, […]
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17. July 2018  |   Features by Daniel Mandrescu

Tales of two-sided markets, market definitions and anti-competitive effects – insights from Ohio v. American Express
Competition Blogs - ryan born 16317 unsplash
  The case of Ohio v. Amex is the final phase of a long legal battle that started back in 2010 where Amex was accused of infringing section 1 of the Sherman Act for imposing its anti-steering provisions on merchants accepting Amex. While not delivering on all fronts, the case of Amex is an important one in the context of […]
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10. July 2018  |   Features by Michele Giannino

Webtaxi: The Luxembourg Competition Authority exempts an algorithmic price-fixing arrangement on efficiency grounds
Competition Blogs - drive taxi
With the increasing digitalization of economy, algorithms are more and more often relied on by businesses in their economic activities for many purposes including setting prices. Competition authorities have concerns that the use of algorithmic pricing may result in undertakings coordinating their pricing policies to the detriment of competition (see here, here and here). The decision recently handed down by […]
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29. June 2018  |   Features by Anja Naumann

The German cement cartel – a landmark decision for private damages actions
Competition Blogs - crack 695010 1920
The German cement cartel has been occupying German courts of all levels for some time. From the feasibility of the assignment of claims to a third party (see here), or a reduction of fines by nearly 50% by the Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf; in German see here) to the recent decision of the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof […]
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