| 8:30 | Reception |
| 9:15 | Chair’s opening remarks Weijer VerLoren van Themaat, Lawyer at Houthoff |
| 9:30 | The Digital Markets Act package In recent years, there has been much debate, including at our congress, on the pros and cons of regulating digital markets. On 15 December 2020, a concrete proposal was published for a European Regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector which would give the Commission far-reaching powers regarding the ‘gatekeepers’. Olivier Guersent will discuss how the Commission intends to deal with its new powers in practice. Keynote speaker: Olivier Guersent, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition Commentator: Pinar Akman*, Professor of Competition Law, University of Leeds and Director at the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Digital Governance Moderator: Chris Fonteijn, Partner at Flint Global *to be confirmed |
| 11.00u | Break |
| 11.15u | Dutch competition law decisions in the past year Ruben Elkerbout, Lawyer at Stek, and Anke Prompers, Appeals Coordinator at the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets |
| 12.45u | Lunch |
| 13.45u | Session round 1 Choose one out of the three sessions: Session A: Economic highlights of the past year We will discuss the most important economic findings and conclusions in the competition case law and decision-making practice in the Netherlands in the past year. We will also explore market studies and regulatory decisions with interesting economic considerations. Gulbahar Tezel, Economist at PwC Theon van Dijk, Chief Economist at the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets Session B: Private enforcement The introductory speakers will discuss with a panel of legal and economic experts about recent decisions and important related themes, such as jurisdictional challenges, the binding effect of European Commission decisions and harm. Machteld de Monchy, Lawyer at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Stephanie The, Lawyer at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Willem Heemskerk, Lawyer at Pels Rijcken Theodoor Verheij, Lawyer at Brande & Verheij Nicole Rosenboom, Economist at Oxera Session C: Foreign direct investment The recent Dutch developments related to the screening of investments for national security risks are central to this panel. We will address the latest state of affairs of the Economy and National Security Act (Wet Toetsing Economie en Nationale Veiligheid) and discuss and clarify substantive and procedural bottlenecks. The panel will also explore the trend in FDI screening to examine the underlying structure of private equity vehicles and make a comparison with the regimes abroad that are currently more developed (including Germany and France). Ivo Nobel, Head of the Investment Screening Agency at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Winfred Knibbeler, Lawyer at Freshfields Victorine Dijkstra, Lawyer at Houthoff |
| 15:00 | Change of rooms |
| 15:10 | Session round 2: Session D: Competition, privacy & consumer law According to supervisory authorities, Facebook’s data practices violate privacy rules, consumer law and competition legislation. Surcharging and geo-blocking are other examples of technologies where more than one instrument can be used to prevent consumer detriment. In this session, we will examine the interrelationship between privacy, consumer protection and competition: – What is the interrelationship between these legal rules? – Do they offer different solutions to the same problems or do these legal rules actually address different problems? – How can they reinforce each other? – What are the experiences with the relative effectiveness of these instruments? – Are the theories of harm mutually consistent? – How do the Competition Department and the Consumer Department work together? – How does the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets work together with the Dutch Data Protection Authority? Cees Dekker, Lawyer at Nysingh Edwin van Houten, Director of the Consumer Department of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets Lousine Hovhanisian, Lawyer at Allen & Overy Session E: Verticals In June 2022, the block exemption and guidelines on vertical agreements will be replaced. The most recent consultation suggests radical changes because the distribution landscape has drastically changed in the past decade. Many, often complex, online distribution models have been developed which must be included in the new block exemption. The question is also how to take into account ‘gatekeeper platforms’ and increased market power of some categories of buyers. The panel will examine the proposed changes of the European block exemption and guidelines and discuss their possible impact on business strategies and where the proposed rules risk falling short. Finally, we will address the question of whether there is a need for special rules for the Dutch market. Paul Lugard, Lawyer at Baker Botts Lumine van Uden, Lawyer at Houthoff Pablo Amador Sanchez, senior legal counsel, Legal Affairs ACM Session F: Judiciary Some observations about competition cases by the judiciary. Henk-Jaap Albers, Justice at the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal Jan Aerts, Senior Justice at the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal |
| 16:25 | Break |
| 16:45 | Presentation of thesis awards 2021 The three nominees for the thesis awards will give short pitches and Herman Speyart, the chair of the jury, will present the awards. |
| 17:00 | Interview with Martijn Snoep, Chair of the Board of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets Weijer VerLoren van Themaat and Martijn Snoep will reflect on some of the day’s themes and the state of affairs at the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. |
| 17:45 | Drinks at KIT, sponsored by RBB Economics |
| 18:30 | Dinner with speech by Wouter Bos, CEO InvestNL Location: Koningszaal (King’s Hall) of ARTIS Amsterdam Royal Zoo, sponsored by RBB Economics |
Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen
Mauritskade 63
1092 AD Amsterdam
Parking
The KIT does not have parking facilities. You can park on the public road in the area. The nearest parking garage is:
QPark Oostpoort
Polderweg 92
1093 KP Amsterdam
(from here a 10-minute walk or three stops with tram 19)
Public transport
From Central Station: tram 14 (Alexanderplein stop)
From Muiderpoort station: tram 3 (stop Linnaeusstraat)
From Station Zuid: metro 51 to Weesperplein and tram 7 or 19 (Alexanderplein stop)
Drinks and dinner are sponsored by:
