Abuse of Dominance, Collusion, and Mergers

Professor Pinar Akman from the University of Leeds gave the keynote speech on the first day. She addressed the complex issue of defining abuse of a dominant position in EU competition law. In recent years, regulation brought forth the importance of addressing exclusionary abuse, especially in the context of digital markets and gatekeepers. Yet, what exactly constitutes abuse is far from clear. Professor Akman analyses the evolution of the jurisprudence on abuse in EU competition law, highlighting its shortcomings and ambiguities. The keynote lecture draws a clear picture of the challenges of this area of competition law, ranging from the definitions of exclusionary and exploitative abuse to the variety of tests for abusive conduct, from the somewhat lost distinction between ‘as efficient competitor test’ and ‘as efficient competitor standard’ to the promotion of ex-ante regulation aimed at Big Tech and the digital gatekeepers. Professor Akman argues that the jurisprudence evolved to take a less formalistic and more economic approach. At the same time, the Commission seems to have distanced itself from it in favour of a more „holistic“ approach.

The second day of the conference comprised a variety of topics, ranging from platform design, over energy, and transportation economics to the economics of innovation. It featured a special session on mergers provided by the Bundeskartellamt, in which the chief economist and one of his deputies presented two recent merger cases. Two invited sessions provided new and timely insights into the economics of acqui-hiring and patenting. The highlight of the second conference day was the keynote lecture by Professor Leslie Marx from Duke University.