Competition
Europe’s economy is falling behind: a new Commissioner can help it catch up
Est. 5minEU leaders are sounding the alarm on Europe’s industry and innovation falling behind the US and others. Europe’s economic muscles have atrophied while the United States and China are pushing the world into the next generation of innovation and industry. Deep changes are required.
EU rebuffs threat of Beijing probe, stands by foreign subsidies law
Est. 4minThe European Commission has dismissed China's announcement that it could launch an investigation into the EU executive’s alleged misuse of anti-subsidy legislation, saying the framework fully respects business confidentiality rules.
Germany wants upcoming Commission to pursue ‘EU only’ free trade agenda
Est. 5minAhead of the EU leaders’ meeting on Thursday and Friday (27-28 June), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted for the next European Commission to conclude more free trade agreements (FTA) with third countries – without consensus among EU member states if need be.
The Brief – Who cares about competitiveness?
Est. 7minSometime next month, former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi—“the guy who saved the euro”—will publish his much-anticipated report on the competitiveness of the European economy.
EU competition chief warns against Franco-German push to loosen merger rules
Est. 5minEuropean Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager has warned against the idea of watering down competition rules to allow for “European champions”, an age-old idea that could gain new momentum as part of an expected “competitiveness deal” by the next Commission.
The EU’s economic destiny, according to the Letta report
In today's episode of Today in the EU, we decrypt the 147-page long report by former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta that all EU institutions have been waiting for. Letta's analysis of the EU's single market was commissioned by the European Council a year ago.
Unions issue ‘urgent’ call for EU industrial policy to respect workers’ rights
Est. 5min“When we give vast amounts of taxpayers’ money to private industry, we should be ensuring they are creating quality jobs that make this collective investment worthwhile."
EU raids target top tyre firms over suspected cartel
Est. 3minThe European Commission said on Tuesday (30 January) it had launched surprise inspections of tyre companies in several EU countries after suspicions of price collusion.
Germany’s Habeck wants market power of food industry scrutinised
Est. 5minAs nationwide farmers' protests continue, the German government wants to have the market power of supermarkets and the food industry scrutinised, blaming their price-setting power for the poor economic situation of many farms.
EU Commission seeks feedback over Apple Pay’s commitments
Est. 4minThe European Commission shared commitments by Apple to allow third-party payments on Friday (19 January) and invited comments on them due to competition concerns over restricted access to the technology used for contactless payments on mobile devices.
Brussels clears French ‘green’ state aid worth over €8 billion in just one month
Est. 3minIn the space of just one month, the European Commission has approved more than €8 billion in French state aid to decarbonise industry and develop renewable energies, according to EU figures released this week.
Farmers’ protests: German Greens put blame on supermarket chains
Est. 5minAs farmers continue to stage huge traffic-blocking protests across Germany, a growing number of voices within the ruling Greens are blaming major supermarket chains' pricing policies for many farms' currently dire economic situation.
EU Commission allows state aid for pan-European cloud project
Est. 4minThe EU executive gave the green light to public spending up to €1.2 billion by seven member states for their common research interest project on interoperable cloud and edge computing for multi-providers.
MEPs call to ramp up Big Tech enforcement in competition review
Est. 5minThe European Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee adopted the annual competition policy report with a broad majority on Monday (4 December), suggesting expanding the reach of the EU’s Big Tech law to the cloud and Artificial Intelligence sectors. The Digital Markets Act …
‘We have a real problem’: European industry fears decline
Est. 6minThe EU has fallen behind the US and China in terms of economic growth and innovation, the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) warns in its latest paper, calling for a deeper integration of the EU's single market, a capital markets union, and better incentives to invest in Europe.
Germany’s Habeck calls for ‘Zeitenwende’ on industrial subsidies
Est. 5minIn a plea to coalition partners and the European Commission, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) called for more subsidies to secure industrial production and jobs.
Digital Networks Act: Breton lays out vision for EU telecom operators
Est. 4minThierry Breton, the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, unveiled the core proposals of a highly awaited EU telecom legislation, the Digital Networks Act (DNA), where he supported the concentration of telecom operators and the creation of EU telecom "champions".
‘Easy access to illegal content’ likely to be curbed in France
Est. 5minFrance wants to make it harder to access and punish illegal behaviour online, according to a text on securing and regulating the digital environment that lawmakers agreed in committee.
French electric car battery start-up secures historic €2 bln financing
Est. 3minFrench electric battery maker Verkor announced on Thursday (14 September) it had secured €2 billion in financing, the largest amount an early-stage start-up ever received in France, in a sign of strength for the European battery industry in its race against Chinese competitors.
How will the EU’s investigation into Chinese electric vehicle subsidies work?
Est. 5minEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday (13 September) announced an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electrical vehicles (EVs), a move that could lead to countervailing duties on EVs from China within nine months.
EU connectivity law: The business model of tower companies
This week's Euractiv’s Tech Brief Podcast looks at the specific business model of tower companies and their potential regulation under a new EU legislation: the Gigabit Infrastructure Act.
Digital competition law: EU Commission unveils its ‘gatekeepers’ list
Est. 5minThe European Commission unveiled on Wednesday (6 September) its list of online services designated as "gatekeepers", which will now have six months to adapt to strict antitrust practices or face up to 20% global annual turnover fines.
Small mergers face scrutiny as EU Commission takes tougher stance
Est. 5minThe European Commission announced it would use a novel competition tool to assess two mergers that do not have an EU dimension under the EU's competition regulation, but nevertheless threaten competition in the single market.
French antitrust watchdog strikes Apple’s app tracking system
Est. 4minFrance's Competition Authority suspects Apple of abusing a dominant market position and being non-transparent in how it tracks iOS users, according to a statement of objections sent to the company on Tuesday (25 July). In 2020, French trade associations representing the …