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Robert Klotz

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Robert Klotz is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition Practice Group in the firm's Brussels office.

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This 1970 hit by Simon & Garfunkel is a beautiful song about giving a helping hand to someone caught in a situation of distress.  And there is also broad consensus around the world that the digital platform markets are caught in troubled waters. A few mighty rivers run so high and so fast that they are drowning smaller creeks around them and carrying away anyone riding them. Different attempts to contain these massive flows have been made, but they were not strong enough. This has led to a widely visible enforcement gap, because the tools needed to build solid bridges for smaller rivals and consumers were either missing or not properly applied so far.
Continue Reading “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Crossing the Enforcement Gulf for Digital Platforms

With digital platforms present in every aspect of our lives, it was only a matter of time before regulators started to think about how to manage the new issues and competition concerns they raise. Leading platforms have grown in size and market power raising concerns for regulators about dominance and market foreclosure.
Continue Reading Digital Platforms Face New EU Regulations

The ever increasing market power and often criticised conduct of data driven platforms is not new, but lately the efforts to tackle these appear to have taken a decisive turn. We are now on the verge of new rules and tools to tackle the competition issues arising with the tech giants.
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Continue Reading Digital Platforms — New EU Regulations and Competition Law Tools

Introduction

Our “trends for 2018” are only a selection of interesting developments to watch for in 2018.

Within the political and legislative cycle of the European Union, 2018 promises to be an eventful year, given that it is the last full year before the 2019 EU elections when a new European Commission will be appointed and the European Parliament will hold new elections. This means, in practice, that there will be pressure in 2018 on the current European Commission and European Parliament to act on all their initiatives and to complete their legislative agenda.

Our team of EU lawyers will continue to report on noteworthy developments including for instance, Brexit and its implications for competition and regulatory policies, the surge in foreign direct investment controls, the opening of new competition enforcement fronts, the practical implementation of the EU damages directive, as well as the development of alternative means of resolution in competition investigations and their impact on rights of defence.
Continue Reading 10 EU Competition & Regulatory Trends to Watch for in 2018

The existing EU regulatory framework for electronic communications obliges the EU Member States to provide in their national laws for certain powers and responsibilities of national regulatory authorities (“NRA”), in particular related to the analysis of markets likely to be regulated ex-ante. The fundamental principle since 2003 is that only companies with significant market power (“SMP”) shall be made subject to ex-ante obligations. This is a carefully balanced regulatory system, taking into account the important goal of stimulating market entry, and thus promoting effective competition, while at the same time establishing adequate investment incentives for the network operators.
Continue Reading EU Telecoms Regulation Based on Unilateral Market Power Would be Contrary to EU Law

Sheppard Mullin’s EU team has created a list of major legal shifts that await General Counsel and Compliance Officers in the areas of competition, EU regulatory and trade in 2017. These challenges may have an impact on your corporate and commercial strategies.

Our predictions include:…

Continue Reading Top 12 EU Legal Developments to Watch in 2017