Conference programme

Heads of leading agencies will discuss recent developments, what they are prioritising today and what they expect the focus of competition law will be going forward. The panel will touch on topical issues such as agency independence, governmental policies and how they affect enforcement in the context of innovation, growth, scale and industrial policy. The panel will also discuss international cooperation among the world’s antitrust agencies and what we can expect to see in this respect in the coming years.

Interim measures have reemerged as a critical enforcement tool as agencies grapple with rapid developments in fast moving markets − in particular in digital and AI markets. Recent actions, including the European Commission notifying Meta of possible interim measures being used to address the exclusion of third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp, signal a willingness to intervene early to prevent irreparable competitive harm. At the other end of a case, agencies have had difficulties but also successes in crafting appropriate remedies. The panel will discuss how agencies around the world deploy these powers both at the beginning and end of a case with a focus on achieving results, and how parties under investigation and complainants can strategically navigate these issues.

To say that AI is a ‘hot topic’ in competition law in 2026 would be an understatement. Agencies are grappling with enforcement relating to AI markets from consolidation and vertical integration to exclusionary abuse conduct and entrenchment of dominance, to algorithmic collusion. This panel will pick on several cutting-edge topics including a focus on the role of AI agents, that is, autonomous and semi-autonomous systems that are increasingly shaping commercial behaviour.

In an era defined by hyper-concentration and intricate vertical integration, the lines between "aggressive, but legitimate competition" and "anticompetitive unilateral conduct" have never been more blurred. Worldwide, the traditional toolkit of antitrust enforcement against dominant companies - unilateral conduct, monopolisation, and economic dependency - is undergoing a radical transformation.

With the EU poised to release its landmark guidelines and global jurisdictions pivoting toward more assertive stances, the legal landscape is shifting beneath our feet. This panel moves beyond the theory to tackle the high-stakes realities of modern enforcement and will discuss, amongst others, the following topics:

• Redefining the boundaries: Is "market definition" still a viable anchor in a world of ecosystem competition, or is it becoming an analytical relic? (e.g. Moving from product-based silos to multi-sided platform ecosystems.)
• The burden of proof: How are new evidentiary presumptions flipping the script on how we establish dominance? (e.g. The shift toward reparable harm and structural presumptions in digital markets)
• Economic dependency: As platforms become "essential partners" for smaller players, where does legitimate bargaining end and abuse begin? (e.g. Android Auto- to what extent must dominant platforms provide third-party access to their proprietary ecosystems?). Should there be more room for antitrust enforcement against non-dominant players on whom other market players are economically dependent?

Competition authorities worldwide are reassessing how merger control should operate in a period marked by geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain fragility and rapid technological change. Beyond traditional theories of harm, agencies increasingly consider how transactions affect resilience, scale and innovation pathways, alongside the classic assessment of price and quality effects. Political sensitivities, security concerns and other non-competition factors (and instruments such as FDI laws) may impact the analysis. New enforcement practices and guidelines (in particular, the forthcoming EU new guidelines) will reshape how merger control analysis takes place in this new era.

This panel will explore how these factors are taken into account in merger reviews both from a regulator’s perspective, but also through practical tips by practitioners and companies that are grappling with these issues in deal making.