LLX Roundtable on antirust liability for refusals to deal
In what circumstances can EU competition law impose on a dominant firm a duty to supply a competitor? On 19 May 2021, the Europa Institute organised a virtual Leiden Law Exchange (LLX) Roundtable to discuss the European Court of Justice’s recent clarifications on the matter.
Following the well-established format of the LLX, the roundtable brought together academics, practitioners, and enforcement officials to engage in an open discussion under the Chatham House Rule.
The participants discussed the implications of the recent judgments of the Court of Justice in Slovak Telekom v Commission (C-165/19 P) and Deutsche Telekom v Commission (C-152/19 P) on the principles and evidentiary standards to find a refusal to deal abusive under Article 102 TFEU. Particular attention was paid to the challenges involved in applying the 'essential facilities' doctrine in the context of digital markets.
Three distinguished speakers provided a short introduction from their respective field of expertise, after which the floor was opened for discussion: Professor Alison Jones (Professor of Law at King’s College); Dr Jorge Padilla (Senior Managing Director and Head of Compass Lexecon EMEA); and Dr Assimakis Komninos (Partner at the Brussels office of White & Case LLP). The discussion was chaired by Dr Ben van Rompuy.
The organisers, Dr Ben van Rompuy and Daniel Mândrescu, would like to thank the speakers and the other participants for their valuable insights and contribution to the discussion.