EU Trends and Developments Contributed by: Andrzej Kmiecik, Richard Burton and Catherine Gordley, Van Bael & Bellis
All Change at the European Commission: New Competition Commissioner Takes the Reins December 2024 saw a new European Commis - sion take office, with a fresh slate of Commis - sioners now in the process of establishing their priorities during a time of significant economic and geopolitical challenges for the EU. In the new Commission, Teresa Ribera has taken over the reins as Commissioner for Competition from Margrethe Vestager, following her ten-year tenure in the post. Commissioner Ribera com - bines the competition portfolio with the position of Commission Vice-President for “Clean, Just and Competitive Transition” , already highlight - ing the increasing link between competition policy and the EU’s sustainability goals. In the same vein, in her mission letter to Commissioner Ribera, Commission President Von Der Leyen stressed the need for competition policy to pro - mote the EU’s competitiveness while pursuing its objectives to transition to a decarbonised and circular economy through the European Green Deal. President Von der Leyen also emphasised the need to modernise the EU’s competition policy and to speed up the enforcement of the competition rules when tackling anti-competitive practices. President Von der Leyen’s mission let - ter fits within a broader renewed focus on the need for the EU to boost its competitiveness relative to other global players, to promote inno - vation and to achieve its decarbonisation goals, which were the focus of the recently published Draghi report. The new Competition Commissioner can be expected to use the Commission’s competi - tion law powers – including its cartel enforce - ment powers – as tools to realise these policy priorities. The question is to what extent this will represent a significant change from the status
quo and what impact this may have on future trends in cartel enforcement activities in the EU. The Commission’s enforcement record in recent years already shows it laying solid groundwork in these areas. Boosting Competitiveness: New Sectors in the Enforcement Spotlight As President Von der Leyen’s mission letter suggests, cartel enforcement is regarded as an important tool in boosting competitiveness across the European economy by ensuring that markets remain open to free and fair competition. One of the key features of the Commission’s pri - oritisation in cartel enforcement in recent years has been its desire to set precedents and ensure the deterrent effect of the cartel prohibition across the European economy. For example, in its 2023 Hand Grenades and SNBB decisions, the Commission concluded its first cartel inves - tigations in the defence and pharmaceutical sec - tors, respectively. While the total fines imposed in these two cases were relatively modest, the Commission was keen to emphasise the fact that these were its first cartel decisions in these sectors, which are of strategic importance to the European economy. The clear message from the Commission is that no economic sector is immune from anti - trust scrutiny and that it will act decisively to ensure that competitive markets are preserved. In ensuring the deterrent effect of the cartel pro - hibition, it can be expected that the Commission will continue to seek to set further precedents by sanctioning cartels in sectors of the economy that have not yet been the subject of cartel deci - sions. Though it is difficult to predict which areas may attract the Commission’s spotlight, this will likely impact on the Commission’s prioritisation of its existing caseload as well as the use of its
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