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,…
The European Court has sided with Ireland in the dispute between the EU Commission and Ireland over Apple’s tax payments. For Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and her strategy to regulate digital companies, this was a bitter blow. Andreas Bartosch looks at the decision. Fiscal aid has always been one of the most intellectually challenging aspects of the application of EU state aid law. The element of material selectivity is always at the centre of analysis. I once took the liberty…
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…