GCLC's 20th Annual Conference: Present and future role of competition policy and the EU's open strategic autonomy
On April 29th and 30th, 2025, the College of Europe’s Global Competition Law Centre (GCLC) marked its 20th anniversary with a landmark conference in Brussels that brought together leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers to reflect on the current and future role of competition policy within the broader context of open strategic autonomy.
In a rapidly evolving global political landscape, where economic sovereignty, sustainability, and industrial policy are increasingly intertwined, this year’s GCLC Annual Conference offered a timely and ambitious platform to discuss how competition tools must adapt to serve the EU’s broader strategic objectives, while safeguarding the integrity and fairness of the internal market.
Discussions ranged from State aid reform to the FSR, outbound investment screening, merger control, supply-chain resilience, and the implications of the Draghi and Letta reports – all under the broader lens of how competition law can enable a clean, just, and competitive transition for Europe.
We warmly thank all the distinguished speakers who contributed to the depth and quality of the two-day discussions: Rector Federica MOGHERINI, Massimo MEROLA, Bernd MEYRING, Miguel MOTA DELGADO, Koen VAN DE CASTEELE, Lluís SAURÍ, Lars BAY LARSEN, René REPASI, Marc VAN DER WOUDE, Jacques DERENNE, Sonsoles CENTENO, Luigi MALFERRARI, Elias DEUTSCHER, Alexandros BELLIS, Merit OLTHOFF, Eddy DE SMIJTER, Lena HORNKOHL, Victor DE PESLIN LACHERT, Adina CLAICI, Michela ANGELI, Giorgio MONTI, Maciej BERNATT, Jesús María CALDERÓN ARGÜELLO, Jose RIVAS, Guillaume LORIOT, Juan Jorge PIERNAS LÓPEZ, Elisabetta RIGHINI, Fernando CASTILLO DE LA TORRE, Flore BOREL, Alfonso LAMADRID DE PABLO, Sven KÖLLING, Leo FLYNN, Maria SEGURA CATALÁN, Nektaria TSORI, and Teresa RIBERA.
A special congratulations goes to alumnus Jaime CASTILLO (Albright Promotion 2025-2024), who was awarded this year’s GCLC Prize for the best Master’s thesis in competition law and policy, as well as to the team of our Global Competition Law Centre for two decades of outstanding contributions to the European competition debate!
Photos of the Event
