| Our next event will be organized in Mallorca on May 2-4, 2024. |
|
SEMINAR |
|
As usual, the seminar will gather five panels of outstanding speakers, discussing the most recent hot topics in European antitrust. FridaySuper Bock: What’s brewing with RPM? The Super Bock judgment has stirred debates on RPM as a restriction by object. Traditionally considered as the cardinal sin of vertical restraints, the judgment sparks a doubt about this qualification, stating that fixing minimum resale prices in vertical agreements does not inherently constitute such a restriction, despite their qualification as hardcore restrictions under the VBER. We will explore the practical implications (if any!) of this judgment, assessing its potential impact on supplier pricing autonomy and the evidence requirements for competition authorities. Moderator: Pierre Galmiche – Aramis – France Speakers: Is excessive pricing excessively difficult to show? Although once the preserve of monopoly industries and nascent competition agencies, a number of cases have been undertaken by agencies in recent years. The majority of these once contested, have either been overturned on appeal or are have appeals to higher courts pending. Have the requirements for excessive pricing become too onerous for a competition agency to prove via infringement decision (versus Aspen style commitments)? What lessons do the cases hold for the next frontier of enforcement in the digital context, where the no price-based transaction may occur (and instead the transaction may involve users giving access to “excessive” amounts of private data)? Moderator: Nicole Kar – Antitrust and Foreign Investment Lawyer – UK Speakers: Parallel cartel and criminal investigations: Navigating through a minefield! In the past years, the number of leniency applications has been significantly declining in the EU. A new dark cloud for leniency might appear: The ECJ has been asked to clarify if, in cases of parallel criminal and cartel investigations, leniency information may be used by public prosecutors in criminal proceedings. At the heart of this preliminary proceeding lies the question to what extent leniency and settlement information are really protected by EU competition law. Another tantalizing question is whether the principle of ne bis in idem grants protection against parallel cartel and criminal law prosecution. Moderator: Martin Oder – Haslinger Nagele – Austria Speakers: SaturdayFestina [minus] lente: Interim Measures in Digital Markets While irreparable damage may loom behind any restrictive practice, the danger seems more acute in fast-changing digital markets. RealPlayer now sells gadgets for Windows users, and of the 12 web browsers set to benefit from the Commission’s 2009 Windows IE commitment decision only Chrome and Firefox meaningfully compete with Edge today. But then the Commission adopted interim measures in the 2019 Broadcom case, for the first time in almost two decades. NCAs have also seen the increased need for interim or rather salvaging relief and acted accordingly. How does this new enforcement culture play out in practice and is it working? Moderator: Stefan Rating – Marimón – Spain Speakers: Dialling into the DMA from the Member State perspective The DMA imposes a whole host of new and complex regulatory obligations on designated Gatekeepers. We cut through the noise to consider some potential implications at the Member State level, including how the European Commission will measure compliance with and detect infringements of the DMA and what role (if any) the Member States will play in that; the potential interplay between the DMA and Article 22 TFEU; the possibility of parallel investigations under national law in light of bpost and Nordzucker; and the scope for private enforcement of the DMA in the national courts. Moderator: Tara Kelly – Mason Hayes & Curran – Ireland Speakers: Conference Hotel:Hotel Bonanza Palace Playa |
|
REGISTRATION |
|
You can register using the following link: |
The ECLA Mallorca conference is sponsored by 