Conference Programme

Wednesday, 28 February 2024

Registration at Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzleramt, Berlin
from 16:00

Evening programme, Reception and buffet dinner at Restaurant "Nolle", Berlin
19:00

Thursday, 29 February 2024

Registration at Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzleramt, Berlin
from 8:00

22nd International Conference on Competition

08:50OpeningAndreas Mundt, President, Bundeskartellamt, Bonn
09:00SpeechMarco Buschmann, Federal Minister of Justice, Berlin
09:20SpeechSven Giegold, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin
09:40SpeechMargrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President and European Commissioner for Competition, Brussels
10:00Q&ARikard Jermsten (Moderator), Director General, Swedish Competition Authority, Stockholm
10:10SpeechJonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC
10:30SpeechTobias Meyer, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Group, Bonn
10:50Q&AAndreas Mundt (Moderator), President, Bundeskartellamt, Bonn
11:00Coffee break
11:30 -13:00Panel I:Disrupted times - Steering through the rough sea
SpeechArndt G. Kirchhoff, Chairman, Kirchhoff Group Advisory Board and Member of the Presidential Board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Iserlohn
ModeratorMartijn Snoep, Chairman, Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets, Amsterdam
PanellistsCani Fernández, President, National Markets and Competition Commission, Madrid
Veronika Grimm, Member of the Economic Advisory Council, Chair of Economic Theory, Friedrich-Alexander University, Nuremberg
Olivier Guersent, Director-General for Competition, European Commission, Brussels
Discussion

Competition law and competition policy have always had to respond to changes. However, the current political climate is marked by multiple crises – the continued disruption of supply chains, inflation, rising demands on green energy and sustainability – occurring all at once and amid a backdrop of geopolitical shifts. This has increased pressure on competition authorities around the globe to come up with solutions to tackle these challenges.

13:00 Lunch
14:30 - 16:00Panel II:AI – Blessing or curse?
SpeechSarah Cardell, Chief Executive, Competition and Markets Authority, London
ModeratorAriel Ezrachi, Professor of Competition Law, Oxford University, Oxford
PanellistsRima Alaily, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft, Washington DC
Cristina Caffarra, Economic Expert, CEPR Competition Research Policy Network and University College, London
Tobias Haar, General Counsel, Aleph Alpha GmbH, Heidelberg
Johannes Reck, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, GetYourGuide, Berlin
Discussion

AI is the buzzword of the moment. But how will this new technology affect young start-ups and large tech companies? Will we see a reshuffling of the cards or will existing power structures be consolidated? What role is there to be played by competition authorities, or has the die already been cast?

16:00Coffee break
16:30 - 17:10Power Talk IThe Brandeisian ambitions – What’s here to last?
ModeratorRupprecht Podszun, Chair for Civil Law, German and European Competition Law, Director of the Institute for Competition Law, University of Düsseldorf, and President, Academic society for Competition Law (ASCOLA), Düsseldorf
PanellistsWilliam E. Kovacic, Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy, George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC
David Lawrence, Policy Director, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC
Fiona Scott Morton, Professor of Economics, Yale School of Management, New Haven
Discussion

The US agencies are pushing hard against corporate growth with major cases and new merger guidelines. At the same time the courts seem reluctant to follow suit, and ambitious efforts to amend US antitrust law in Congress are beginning to fade. With the end of the legislative term approaching, is there reason to worry that the movement could pass without leaving a lasting mark?

19:00 Evening programmeReception and dinner, “Deep”, Berlin

Friday, 1 March 2024

09:00 - 10:30Panel III:Abuse of dominance – What are we aiming at?
Moderator Tommaso Valletti, Professor of Economics, Imperial College, London, and Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
PanellistsIngo Brinker, Partner, GleissLutz, and Chairman, Competition Lawyers’ Association (Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht), Munich/Brussels
Benoît Cœuré, President, Autorité de la concurrence, Paris
John Fingleton, Founder and Chair, Fingleton Ltd., London
Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Presiding Judge, Federal Court of Justice, Karlsruhe
Heike Schweitzer, Chair for Civil Law, German and European Economic and Competition Law and Economics, Humboldt University, Berlin
Discussion

Abuse control remains a laborious work, not only with regard to digital markets. Cases have become more and more complex, requiring authorities to develop new theories of harm while respecting high standards of proof and procedural rights. In addition, the question arises as to what we actually want to achieve with abuse control. Obviously, we want to create fairness for market participants, but how do we also achieve more contestability? Is separation of data a viable option or do we even have to go further by splitting up Big Tech companies?

10:30Coffee break 
11:00 - 12:15Panel IV:Merger Control – Challenges and perspectives
Moderator Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, President, Autoridade da Concorrência, Lisbon
PanellistsTomaso Duso, Member of the Monopolies Commission and Professor of Empirical Industrial Economics, German Institute for Economic Research, Technische Universität, Berlin
Nelson Jung, Partner, Clifford Chance, London
Daniela Seeliger, Partner, Linklaters, Düsseldorf
Sir Marcus Smith, Partner, Competition Appeal Tribunal, London
12:15 - 12:45Power Talk IIFast forward – AI-supported investigations as the next level?
Moderator Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty Affiliate at Stanford University CodeX Center, Amsterdam/Stanford
PanellistsIoannis Lianos, Former President, Hellenic Competition Commission, Member, Competition Appeal Tribunal, London
Aik Kor Sia, Chief Executive, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, Singapore
Discussion

Cartel prosecution remains at the core of competition authorities’ responsibilities but needs to be continuously refined. What potential do Artificial Intelligence and Supervisory Technologies have for improving antitrust enforcement? Can new detection tools compensate for a decline in leniency applications? How will competition authorities be staffed in the future? What are today’s challenges, and where are we headed?

12:45Closing speech Andreas Mundt, President, Bundeskartellamt, Bonn

Conference Hotel

The venue for the 22nd International Conference on Competition is the Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzlerplatz in Berlin (Ella-Trebe-Straße 5, 10557 Berlin). The conference will take place in Hall A+B on the ground floor of the hotel.

Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzleramt - Außenansicht
Source: Steigenberger Hotel

Further information about the hotel is available on the Website of the Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzlerplatz.

Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzleramt
Ella-Trebe-Straße 5
10557 Berlin