The European Commission is consulting stakeholders on the need to create a new competition tool and on its characteristics to address the structural problems of competition that the existing tools (Articles 101 and 102 TFEU) could not resolve.
AFEP member companies consider that existing tools have globally demonstrated on multiple occasions their plasticity by adapting to economic developments. No demonstration has been made regarding the existence of an “enforcement gap” that could be overcome by the creation of an NCT.
Companies however recommend keeping the ex-ante regulation envisaged in the package on digital services (Digital Services Act Package – DSA), to resolve problematic situations born from larger “gatekeepers” platforms’ structure and behaviour.
If an “enforcement gap” remained between the existing tools and ex ante regulation, the introduction of a possible additional tool should be the subject of a real impact study and in any case only target the same platforms.