Germany: New Competition regulations in the works

Germany’s economics ministry has issued sweeping proposals that appear to promote a protectionist approach to European digital markets, including the creation of a digital watchdog with an antitrust mandate.

The draft law before the German Parliament is set to make some novel changes to competition law in Germany. The aim appears to be to address the limitations of current law in relation to enforcement issues that arise in ‘new’ markets in the digital economy.

The reform is the first major competition law change since 2013 and the first major change in the area of private cartel enforcement since 2005.

However, with digitalization constantly driving market changes, it seems a safe bet that subsequent changes will come within much shorter periods of time. In particular, the new law itself asks that the federal government shall monitor the application of some of the new rules, and report back to Parliament after a three-year period.

Full Content: Mondaq

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