EU competition law vs sector regulation in shaping the digital single market. Back to the future?

On 28 June, 2018, the Florence Competition Programme (FCP) and the Communications and Media Area of the Florence School of Regulation (FSR C&M) of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), jointly organised with Bird & Bird LLP, a workshop in Brussels. The title of the event was ‘EU Competition Law vs Sector Regulation in Shaping the Digital Single Market. Back to the Future?’. The workshop aimed to discuss the interaction of competition policy and sector-specific regulation in the context of the Digital Single Market (DSM) Strategy that was adopted by the European Commission in May 2015. It included two panels, which dealt, respectively, with the concerns expressed by regulators on geo-blocking and the revision of the European Commission’s Guidelines on Significant Market Power (SMP) in the electronic communications sector. The event gathered representatives from National Competition Authorities (NCAs), the European Commission, academia, industry, as well as law and economic consulting firms. The diversity of views ensured a lively debate. This Policy Brief summarises the main points that were raised during the discussion and seeks to stimulate further debate.