6th EU-India Competition Week

29-30 January 2024

About

T he 6th EU-India Competition Week took place online on 29 and 30 January 2024. The Competition Week gathered officials from the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition (DG Competition) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to strengthen their dialogue on competition policy.

The two days of discussions covered a wide range of topics, including on the approach to digital mergers, substantive assessment in merger reviews, and experiences in capturing mergers based on transaction value. Participants will also discuss competition law and policy with regards to sustainability goals and the renewable energy sector, building up on last year’s discussions.

The importance of strengthening cooperation and partnership between the EU and India was highlighted in the Joint Communication: Elements for an EU strategy on India adopted on 20 November 2018. This year’s EU-India Competition Week also builds on the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of competition law signed between DG Competition and the Competition Commission of India on 21 November 2013 and on all previous Competition Weeks organised since 2018.

Schedule

Reviewing digital mergers – experiences with substantive assessment and capturing transaction-value mergers

09:00-09:05: Introduction

Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project

09:05-09:30 Opening remarks

  • Mrs Ravneet Kaur, Chair, CCI
  • Mr Seppo NURMI, Deputy Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Union to India and Bhutan, New Delhi

09:30-12:00 Reviewing digital mergers: substantive assessments and capturing transaction-value mergers

Overview:

  • What are the concerns about digital mergers?
  • Substantive assessment of digital platform mergers – key issues, e.g. theories of harm, understanding key markets in the sector, dealing with data challenges, developing and assessing suitable remedies, etc;
  • Case examples;
  • Capturing transaction-value deals: (i) Approach in EU with Article 22 referrals and case experience; (ii) Approach in India with the introduction of deal value threshold in the Competition Act (2023) and new draft Combination Regulations and case experience.

Presentations by

  • Ms Laura CORBETT, Case handler, Mergers: Information, Communication and Media, DG Competition, European Commission
  • Dr. Bidyadhar Majhi, Adviser (Economics), Competition Commission of India

Discussion and Q&A session

Moderator:  Ms Hilary JENNINGS, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project

Competition, renewable energy and sustainable development – developments and impacts in theory and practice

09:00-09:05: Introduction

09:05-11:45 Competition law and policy, sustainability goals and the renewable energy sector

Overview:

  • Addressing the green agenda – the different approaches: e.g. sustainability guidelines, legislative amendments, competition law enforcement, merger control and other competition policy interventions;
  • Interaction of technological innovation and market disruption in energy markets, including the impact of technological innovations in renewable energy on existing energy markets and potential impact on future market structures;
  • Interaction of environmental regulations and market dynamics in the energy sector, including the interplay between environmental regulations and competition laws;
  • Scope of e.g. guidelines related to (i) sustainability measures and (ii) government interventions;
  • Evaluation of sustainability agreements, including non-problematic agreements and effects assessment; what about borderline cases and sustainability standardisation agreements? Exemptions?
  • Application of competition law to sustainability agreements – in theory and practice
  • Application of competition law and policy tools to renewable energy use in the context of climate protection and promotion of sustainable low carbon energy.

Presentations by

  • Ms Vera POZZATO, Policy Officer, Antitrust case support and policy, DG Competition, European Commission
  • Ms Graça DA COSTA, EU State aid law and policy adviser (former DG COMP Senior Expert)
  • Mr Rakesh Kumar, Adviser (Economics), Competition Commission of India

Q&A and discussion session

Moderator:  Ms. Hilary Jennings, Special Adviser on Competition Policy, Competition Cooperation Project

11:45 – 12:00 Closing remarks

Dr. Sanjay Kumar Pandey, Adviser (Law), Competition Commission of India

Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission