Georg Schmittmann on the Commission’s guidance on the application of the referral mechanism set out in Art. 22 of the European Merger Control Regulation In the epic fantasy novel „Lord of the Rings“, the evil Lord Sauron secretly forged the “One Ring”. His intentions were pretty clear. He wanted an all-powerful magic ring. “One Ring to Rule them all, One Ring to find them”, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote. Not to compare the European Commission with the evil Lord Sauron,…
Das Europäische Gericht hat sich im Streit zwischen der EU-Kommission und Irland wegen der Steuerzahlungen von Apple auf die Seite der Iren gestellt. Für Wettbewerbskommissarin Margrethe Vestager und ihre Strategie, digitale Konzerne zu regulieren, war das ein herber Schlag. Andreas Bartosch ordnet die Entscheidung ein. Fiskalbeihilfen gehören seit jeher zu dem m.E. geistig Anspruchsvollsten, was die Anwendung des EU-Beihilfenrechts zu bieten hat. Dabei steht das Tatbestandsmerkmal der materiellen Selektivität stets im Zentrum der Analyse. Letzteres habe ich mir einmal erlaubt,…
The competition community has seen with some joy the reappointment of Margrethe Vestager to the competition portfolio in the new EU Commission. While Vestager also secured the post as Executive Vice President for digital issues, there is another stronghold for economic policy in the Commission: Sylvie Goulard, nominated as Commissioner for Internal Market. We spoke with David Bosco, competition law professor at the University of Aix-Marseille, to learn more about a woman who is rumoured to become the most influential…
Breaking News: Margrethe Vestager remains in charge of competition in the new European Commission. While overseeing the digital agenda of the Commission as a Vice President, she will also head DG COMP as the Commissioner. Enforcing competition rules, dealing with state aid and coordinating the digital promises of Ursula von der Leyen’s college of Commissioners seems a lot for one person – but, hey, she took on Google, Apple and the like without fear. Mme. Vestager will probably become the…