The Quest for Pro-Competitive Regulation in the EU: Who Cares?

strong>Europe Column

CPI Europe Column edited by Anna Tzanaki (Competition Policy International) & Juan Delgado(Global Economics Group) presents:

The Quest for Pro-Competitive Regulation in the EU: Who Cares? by Juan Delgado & Héctor Otero
(Global Economics Group)

The year 2015 has left on the table a number of issues that show the different approach to the promotion of competitive markets in different jurisdictions across Europe. For example, the disruptive entry of Uber and other online platform businesses has triggered different reactions in different countries (or even across cities) from entry accommodation to stricter regulation and even to entry banning.

The commitment to competitive markets has been at the core of the European Union (EU) policies. There exists nowadays a general consensus across Europe about the benefits that society obtains from competition. Such commitment has been successfully implemented in the last decades through competition and single market policies. The activity of the European Commission (EC) and the EU Member States in prosecuting anticompetitive practices, especially cartels, controlling mergers and state aid, and removing obstacles to the free movement of goods and services has been particularly intense in the last decades.

However, as shown by the difficulties in implementing the Services Directive and by the diverse reactions to the disruption brought by online platforms in regulated markets, developing competitive market