The Brussels Beat

New episode of The Brussels Beat!

In the latest episode, The Capitol Forum’s European Executive Editor Javier Espinoza sits down with Marc van der Woude, former president of the EU General Court, to discuss why regulators should be bolder in enforcing competition rules and whether Europe’s antitrust framework is equipped to address the challenges of today’s data-driven economy.

In this episode of the Brussels Beat, Javier Espinoza speaks with Andreas Mundt, president of Germany's Bundeskartellamt and the EU's longest-serving national competition chief. Mundt argues the European Commission shouldn't be the sole public enforcer of the Digital Markets Act, and explains why being unable to touch the DMA leaves cases in Bonn on shakier ground than they need to be.

They also explore:

• Why the predicted turf war between Germany's Section 19a regime and the DMA never materialized, and how national authorities have coordinated on Apple's App Tracking Transparency program.
• Amazon's argument that Germany's digital markets regime duplicates Brussels, following the Bundeskartellamt's €59 million fine over seller pricing.
• Whether artificial intelligence makes existing digital market problems worse, and if Europe risks regulating a technology it doesn't yet have.

In this episode of the Brussels Beat, Javier Espinoza speaks with Werner Stengg, a member of the European Union's tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen’s cabinet, and his fifteen year old son Jakob, with whom he has co-authored a dystopian AI novel in which a computer has decided to get rid of mankind. They discuss whether Europe’s digital laws are capable of preventing such a scenario, and whether Europe strikes the right balance between innovation and regulation.

They also explore:

• Whether today’s digital regulators are out of touch with the needs of future generations.

• The merits of restricting minors’ access to digital platforms as younger generations grow up alongside digital technologies.

• The current transatlantic disagreements over the enforcement of Europe’s digital rulebook against Big Tech companies.

In this episode of The Brussels Beat, Javier Espinoza speaks with Teresa Ribera, the EU commissioner in charge of competition policy, about what to expect in the European Commission’s revamped merger guidelines and tensions with the U.S. over the bloc’s digital rules.

They discuss the commission’s planned approach to evaluating deals, which Ribera said will consider economic benefits of a merger but maintain a high standard of proof. 

They also explore:

• The debate over whether lax merger control or market fragmentation is getting in the way of European “champions”
• Why Donald Trump might personally want to get behind the EU’s Digital Markets Act
• The limits of the commission’s planned “dialogue” with the U.S. on the bloc’s digital rules  

In this episode of The Brussels Beat, Javier Espinoza speaks with Benoît Cœuré, president of France’s competition authority, about growing tensions between EU ambitions for European companies to scale up and member states’ resistance to regulatory harmonization.

They discuss why cross-border consolidation in sectors like telecoms, energy and finance remains limited despite calls from the Draghi report.

They also explore:

• What national antitrust enforcers can—and can’t—do to respond to the global energy crisis stemming from the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran

• The upcoming overhaul of EU merger guidelines and how efficiency arguments may be treated

• His authority’s work policing no-poach agreements and studying the rapidly evolving market for AI chatbots

In this episode, The Capitol Forum's Europe Executive Editor Javier Espinoza sits down with Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel to pull back the curtain on the shifting landscape of global travel.

In this conversation they discuss:

•  The strategic impact of the EU’s Digital Markets Act and what "gatekeeper" status actually means for the platform's bottom line.

• How AI is transitioning from a buzzword to a tool that creates a frictionless, "Connected Trip" for millions of users.

•  The delicate balance of maintaining dominance while fostering a fair ecosystem for small hotels and independent operators.

The head of Spain's competition watchdog, Cani Fernández, sees room for national social media bans in the European Union.

In an interview with The Capitol Forum, Fernandez who is president of the National Commission for Markets and Competition, told Europe Executive Editor that while the European Digital Services Act is strong, there is also "a margin of maneuver" for individual member states to go farther, including enacting national social media bans for minors.

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Why is the European tech sector struggling compared to the Chinese and American ones? Nadia Calvino, the influential president of the European Investment Bank, has a bold plan to invest heavily in computing infrastructure to give Europe a competitive edge in the A.I. race.

In this exclusive interview with Europe Executive Editor Javier Espinoza the two discuss:

• The European Investment Bank’s plan to back and finance five A.I. “gigafactories” to provide European start ups with access to high capacity computing power. 

• Calvino’s vision for the European Investment Bank to create larger capital markets to compete with American venture capital.

• How the Ukraine war and trade tensions with the U.S. are impacting Calvino’s work at the EIB.

Competition policy is not a silver bullet, according to Portugal's competition chief Nuno Cunha Rodrigues. In this interview with The Capitol Forum's Javier Espinoza, Rodrigues outlines why the EU and Portugal need a more robust political and regulatory regime to really see European markets thrive. 

In this conversation they discuss: 

• Rodrigues' efforts to encourage consumer mobility in the banking, rail and energy sectors. 
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• His desire for a more comprehensive and integrated European banking and currency policy
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• The EU's need to have a stronger political voice amongst member states to build unified competition and regulatory policies. 

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Can the European Union create a coalition to build a competitive tech sector?

In today’s episode of Brussels Beat Javier Espinoza sits down with Member of European Parliament Eva Maydell to discuss the E.U. and European Commission’s efforts to implement simplification in the tech sector. 

In this conversation they talk about:

• The political divisions that need to be overcome for the European Parliament to create a stronger regulatory environment. 

• The E.U.’s efforts to make the European tech industry more competitive with the United States’ and China’s. 

• Why Maydell is skeptical of a global artificial intelligence arms race, and the need to create an A.I. framework that gives the E.U. a competitive edge. 

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