Competition & Antitrust
Most Competition & Antitrust work in Brussels is in three key areas: M&A approvals, Cartel or abuse of dominant position investigations, and State aid cases for the alleged beneficiaries, for the targeted States and for the complainants.
The global context for EU competition rules is changing quickly as EU sectors lose their competitiveness. Regulators are contemplating allowing large EU-based companies to gain scale through mergers, so they can cut costs and better compete with international rivals — even if such combinations could reduce competition or increase costs for consumers.
France and Germany have called for regulators to enable the creation of larger companies, stating in a joint paper: “We need to review the current European competition rules and practices to check whether they are still appropriate to contribute to achieving this goal and allow for establishing consortiums and consolidation in key sectors in order to strengthen European resilience.”
Transatlantic co-operation was often a feature of competition work but the situation is evolving as reported in The Financial Times recently: “US and European antitrust enforcers used to work so closely that Jonathan Kanter’s office in Washington was adorned with an elephant knitted by his then EU counterpart Margrethe Vestager. That camaraderie has all but evaporated as Donald Trump’s new team has taken charge. Far from cuddly toys, the main transatlantic exchanges between regulators in recent months seem to be barbed criticisms. “
Most euros spent in Brussels on Competition & Antitrust work are with the law firms. Hence, the legal lobbying firms have a particular advantage in providing relevant services and working alongside the relevant competition colleagues.
However, since the 1990s a number of Brussels public affairs consultancies have developed Competition & Antitrust practices which provide added-value services not typically provided by the law firms. For example, media relations is a sensitive area that requires specialist expertise and good press contacts, as a bad story can lead to a fall in stock price and even the Commission considering a case in a new light. Beyond Brussels some networked agencies can offer outreach to National Competition Authorities and relevant stakeholders around the European Union.