The Reform of Article 102 TFEU: Evolution or Revolution?

A conference organised by the UCL Centre for Law, Economics & Society and the Inclusive Competition Forum (ICF)

About this event

In August 2024 the European Commission published its long-awaited draft Guidelines on Article 102 TFEU. The Guidelines constitute a significant development in the long saga of Article 102 Reform, starting with the Discussion Paper on Article 102 TFEU in 2005, followed by the publication of the European Commission’s Priority Guidance in 2009 and the subsequent decisional practice of the Commission and the case law of the EU Courts. For some, the Draft Guidelines on Article 102 TFEU mark an important shift in the Commission’s approach as it tries to find a balance between, on the one hand, sophistication/complexity and, on the other, predictability and effectiveness (including expediency and simplification) of enforcement. The recent case law of the EU Courts in 2023 and in September 2024, particularly the important win of the Commission in the Google Shopping case, also raise questions as to the role and position of the Commission and National Competition Authorities and that of the courts in “driving” this reform process and as to which parts of the old consensus are still relevant, and which have been or need to be abandoned. Is it an evolution or a revolution?

The workshop, co-organised by the Centre for Law, Economics and Society (CLES) at UCL and the Inclusive Competition Forum (ICF) aims to bring in the various stakeholders involved in this reform process and to engage in a critical but also constructive discussion about the Future of Article 102 TFEU in the wake of the significant changes taking place in the political and institutional landscape and the proposals put forward by the Letta and the Draghi report on Europe’s competitiveness.

The Programme

Registration: from 12.15

12.35 Welcome: Jean-Benoit Maisin, ICF & Ioannis Lianos, UCL Faculty of Laws
 
12.45 – 14.15 Panel 1: The Article 102 Draft Guidelines seen through the lenses of the recent case law of the CJEU: back to the drawing table or wind in the sails?

Panelists
Adriani Kalintiri, Lecturer in Competition Law, Kings College London
Damien Geradin, Founding partner, Geradin & Partners and Professor, Tilburg University
Jean Francois Bellis, Founding partner, Van Bael & Bellis
Simon Holmes, Member CAT and Visiting Professor Oxford University

Moderator and Commentator: Stavros Makris, Lecturer in Competition Law, UCL Faculty of Laws, ICF

Break: 14.15- 14.30

14.30 – 15.00 Panel 2: The Commission’s Perspective on the Way Ahead
Inge Bernaets, European Commission

Moderator: Ioannis Lianos, Director, Centre for Law, Economics and Society, UCL Faculty of laws, Member, UK CAT, ICF

followed by

15.00 – 16.15 Discussion: The Future of Article 102 TFEU – What is still missing?

  • Martijn Snoep, Chairman of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets
  • Ana Sofia Rodriguez, Member of the Board of the Portuguese Competition Authority
  • Damien Gerard, Director General, Belgian Competition Authority
  • Cristina Caffarra, Honorary professor, UCL Faculty of Laws, CEPR

and

16.15 – 17.45 Roundtable Discussion: The Stakeholders’ Perspective on Article 102 Reform and the Future of Competition Law: Is Competition Law (and the 12 Draft Guidelines) Fit for the European Social Contract?

  • Vanessa Turner, BEUC
  • Joakim Smedman, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  • Ulrich Miller, Rebalance Now
  • Irene Keizer, SOMO
  • Mark Dempsey, Article19
  • Ioannis Kouvakas, Privacy International
  • Claire Godfrey, Balanced Economy

17.45 – 19.00 Drinks reception

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Reforming Article 102 TFEU: A European Social Contract Approach?

A half day event organised by the UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society and the Inclusive Competition Forum

About this event

This open to the public workshop on “Reforming Article 102 TFEU” will be held at the Fondation Universitaire , Brussels on April 11th  between 2pm-6:15 pm. The purpose of the workshop will be to reflect on the Article 102 reform process, beyond the projected Guidelines on Exclusionary Conduct under Article 102 TFEU (also including exploitative abuses) and will involve various stakeholders whose voice is not usually heard in competition law debates.

Our aim is to reflect on the way ahead for Article 102 TFEU – and explore how this may better respond to the European social contract.

The event will be structured in two panels and will conclude with a policy discussion.

The first panel will discuss the current framework for exclusionary abuses and will engage with some of the ideas put forward by the European Commission in its Policy brief, the revised Communication but also the decisional practice of NCAs. The idea will be to examine the zeitgeist of Art. 102 TFEU.

The second panel will aim to explore the future of Article 102 and how this may respond better to the needs of the European social contract, going beyond the current discussion on exclusionary abuses.

The policy discussion will take stock of these developments and will explore how policymakers may respond better to the multitude of interests involved and represented by different stakeholders.

The Programme

14:00 Arrival and registration

14.15 Introduction:
Ioannis Lianos (Co-director, Centre for Law, Economics & Society, UCL Faculty of Laws; Member, Competition Appeal Tribunal UK; ICF)

14.30  Panel 1: The Zeitgeist of Article 102 TFEU: between continuity and change
Chair: Julian Nowag (Associate Professor, University of Lund, ICF)

Panellists

  • Inge Bernaets (Director, Policy and Strategy, European Commission)
  • Kati Cseres (Professor, University of Amsterdam, ICF)
  • Anna Gerbrandy (Professor, Utrecht University)
  • Simon Holmes (Visiting professor, Oxford University; Member, Competition Appeal Tribunal UK; ICF)
  • Deni Mantzari (Co-director, UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society; Associate professor, UCL Laws)
  • Stavros Makris (Lecturer, University of Glasgow)
  • Florian Wagner von Papp (Professor, Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg)

16:00 Comfort break

16.15 Panel 2: Article 102 TFEU and the European Social Contract
Chair: Ioannis Lianos (Co-director, Centre for Law, Economics & Society, UCL Faculty of Laws; Member, Competition Appeal Tribunal UK; ICF)

16:15 The Policymakers’ Perspective

  • Inge Bernaets (Director, Policy and Strategy, European Commission)
  • Damien Gerard (Director General, Belgian Competition Authority)
  • Dr. Thorsten Käseberg (Head of unit, competition policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Federal Republic of Germany

16:40 The Stakeholders’ Perspective

  • Dimitirs Giakoulas (IME -GSEVEE; Small Enterprises Institute of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchant)
  • Ioannis Kouvakas (Senior Legal Officer and Assistant General Counsel, Privacy International)
  • Ulrich Muller (Rebalance Now)
  • Agustin Reyna (Director, Legal and Economic Affairs (BEUC))
  • Maria Luisa Stasi (Head of Law and Policy for Digital Markets, The Article 19)
  • Suzanne Wixforth (Deputy Head of Unit for Economic Policies of the Austrian Chamber of Labour)
  • Severine Picard (Director, Progressive Policies)

18:15 Networking reception
19:00 Event ends.

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