News
The 21st ASCOLA Conference, 2026
The 21st ASCOLA Conference took place in London almost two weeks ago. Without a doubt, it is one of the most important conferences for scholars of competition law.
The conference programme covered a wide range of topics, including digital markets, competition law enforcement, regulation, and the very foundations of competition law. Plenary sessions provided an excellent opportunity to discuss timely and significant issues for scholars. The conference and its social programme also provided the perfect environment in which to reconnect with colleagues and forge new friendships.
We are therefore very pleased that a strong representation from the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies had the opportunity to present the results of our research.
Maciej Bernatt gave a presentation on the politicisation of competition agencies and chaired the panel on Competition Law Foundations.
Simbarashe Tavuyanago presented his research on lessons to be learned from South Africa regarding transformative constitutionalism and competition law.
Magdalena Knapp presented a paper entitled 'Welfare and Profit Implications of Resale-Below-Cost Regulations in Food Supply Chains' co-authored with Zombor Berezvai.
Joanna Mazur and Adrian Żądło presented their paper 'Bigness versus Innovation in Merger Control' and received valuable feedback from the discussant, Dina Waked.
Call for Papers | Conference: “Enforcing the Rules of the Game: Competition, Regulation, and the Evolving Architecture of EU Law Enforcement”
We kindly invite you to submit papers for the conference, 'Enforcing the Rules of the Game: Competition, Regulation and the Evolving Architecture of EU Law Enforcement, which will take place in Warsaw on 10–11 May 2027.
The conference is jointly organised by the University of Warsaw, the Polish Academy of Sciences, IE University and Utrecht University.
The central theme of the conference is the evolution of the structure of EU law enforcement at the intersection of competition law, horizontal regulations, and sector-specific regulations.
Topics of Interest:
I. Competition Law and Regulation: Coherence, Convergence, Complementarity, and Conflict
II. Institutional Design, Authorities' Cooperation, Judicial Review and Multi-Level Enforcement
III. Enforcement in the Digital and AI Era: Sovereignty, Dependency, Hyperscalers, AI Governance, Non-Economic Interests and Regulatory Experimentation
IV. Enforcement Theory, Methodology, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Key Dates:
15 October 2026 – Deadline for abstract submission
5 November 2026 – Notification of acceptance
1 March 2027 – Submission of working papers
10–11 May 2027 – Conference
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should count up to 500 words and should include:
1. The title of the proposed paper
2. The research question(s) and main argument
3. The methodology employed (doctrinal, empirical, comparative, interdisciplinary, etc.)
4. The author(s)' name(s), institutional affiliation(s), and contact details
Please submit abstracts to:
Selected papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of the Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies (YARS®).
Participation is free of charge.
More information here: Third EULEN Conference: Call for Papers
Seminar: ‘Recalibrating (the principles underlying) EU internal market in the face of the green transition ' with Professor Sybe de Vries
We are delighted to invite you to attend a seminar on “Recalibrating (the principles underlying) EU internal market in the face of the green transition”, taking place on 16 June 2026 from 16:00 to 18:00 in room 114 in Collegium Iuridicum IV at the Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Warsaw (Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 47, Warsaw).
The seminar is co-organised by the Centre for Antitrust & Regulatory Studies, Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw and the Department of European Law, Faculty of Law and Administration University of Warsaw. ASCOLA Central Europe Chapter is a partner of the seminar.
The seminar will be delivered by Sybe de Vries, Professor of Public Economic Law, co-director of the Utrecht Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe (Renforce), Utrecht University, Netherlands and visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges) and at the University of Trento (Italy).
The event will be held in person and conducted in English. Participation is free of charge.
Registration: https://forms.gle/rW4MXT4oN96jxxmX9
Invitation to the conference 'Ex Post Evaluation of State Aid: The Case of Aid to Banks in Crisis'
We are excited to invite you to the conference “Ex Post Evaluation of State Aid – The Case of Aid to Banks in Crisis”, organised by the State Aid Laboratory operating within the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies (CARS) at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, in cooperation with E.CA Economics.
Date: 10 June 2026, 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Venue: University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, 1/3 Szturmowa Street, Warsaw, Faculty Council Room B205.
Conference Programme:
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Presentation of the findings of the report “Study on the Impact of State Aid Rules for Banks in Difficulty”, prepared for the European Commission by E.CA Economics
Speakers:
- Dr Elżbieta Głowicka (E.CA Economics)
- Dr Dorota Skała (University of Szczecin)
4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. – Refreshment break
4:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Panel discussion
Panellists:
- Prof. Małgorzata Olszak, PhD, Habil. (University of Warsaw)
- Prof. Adam A. Ambroziak, PhD, Habil. (Warsaw School of Economics)
- Dr Elżbieta Głowicka (E.CA Economics)
- Dr Dorota Skała (University of Szczecin)
- Dr Michał Bernat (University of Warsaw)
Moderator:
- Dr Artur Salbert
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/Konferencja-pomoc-publiczna
Seminar: 'Democracy and competition law: Lessons from Japan' with Professor Yuka Aoyagi
The Centre for Antitrust & Regulatory Studies (CARS) is delighted to invite you to attend a seminar on 'Democracy and competition law: Lessons from Japan' by Yuka Aoyagi, Professor in competition law, Hosei University, Tokyo and Visiting Fellow, European University Institute, Florence.
The seminar is co-organised by CARS UW and the ASCOLA Central Europe Chapter.
The seminar will take place on Monday 22 June 2026, from 4 pm to 6 pm, in Room B-104 at the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw (Szturmowa 1/3, Warsaw).
The event will be held in person and conducted in English. Participation is free of charge.
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/CARS-seminar
New publication co-edited by Maciej Bernatt and Amber Darr
European Law Journal, Volume 32, Issue 1 is out, co-edited by Maciej Bernatt and Amber Darr was published. The kaleidoscope focuses on transformative aspects of competition law and lessons for EU law, see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.
Contents:
- Maciej Bernatt, Amber Darr, Transformative Competition Law
- Liat Ariella Davis, Transformative Competition Law Adjudication: A Dworkinian Perspective
- Umut Aydin, Competition Law and Transitions to and Away From Democracy
- Francisco E. Beneke, Corporate Lobbying as Anticompetitive Behaviour in the EU
- Jimena Tamayo Velasco, Economic Dependence: A New Frontier in EU Competition Law?
- Vellah Kedogo Kigwiru, Making Public Interest Considerations in Merger Control Regimes Work: Reassessing the Legal Test
- Dennis M. Davis, Competition Law and Public Interest: A Challenge for Adjudication
Seminar: "Non-compete clauses in employment contracts: U.S. antitrust and beyond' with Professor Spencer Waller
The Centre for Antitrust & Regulatory Studies (CARS) is delighted to invite you to attend a seminar on “Non-compete clauses in employment contracts: U.S. antitrust and beyond”, taking place on 15 May 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00 in the Faculty Council Hall at the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw (Szturmowa 1/3, Warsaw).
The seminar is co-organised by CARS UW and the ASCOLA Central Europe Chapter.
The seminar will be delivered by Professor Spencer Waller, who holds the John Paul Stevens Chair in Competition Law at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and is Director of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies.
Academic commentary will be provided by Dr. Simbarashe Tavuyanago (CARS & University of Warsaw), while Mec. Małgorzata Modzelewska de Raad (Modzelewska & Paśnik) will offer insights from a practical perspective.
The event will be held in person and conducted in English. Participation is free of charge.
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/5n8r9kr4
New research project - Horizontal Agreements in Poland in 2004–2024. Analysis of the Decision-Making Practice of the Polish Competition Authority
Researchers at the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies (CARS) at the Faculty of Management of the University of Warsaw are conducting research on the quality of competition law enforcement in Poland with regard to horizontal agreements in the years 2004-2024. The research conducted by Maciej Bernatt and Antoni Napieralski is part of the international research project COMPO 2.0 ‘Competition System Maturity and Cartel Enforcement in Selected Widening Countries’ (https://www.eui.eu/research-
The project, led by the European University Institute (EUI), analyses the maturity of competition law enforcement systems in Central and Eastern European countries. The involvement of CARS experts specialising in competition law strengthens empirical and comparative research on competition law, contributing to the development of enforcement standards in the region.
YARS 2025 issues published
We are excited to share that the new issue of YARS vol. 18(31), edited by Agata Jurkowska-Gomułka and 18(32) edited by Magdalena and Marek Porzeżyńscy, has just been published. The issue addresses the regulatory and competition law challenges linked to data sharing.
See the YARS 18(31) and the YARS 18(32)
Guest lecture: Ordoliberalism, Neoliberalism, and Beyond: Toward a Human-Centred Digital Economy (dr Anselm Küsters)
The Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies is pleased to invite you to a guest lecture by Dr Anselm Küsters, LL.M., who is currently serving as Interim Professor of Digital Humanities at the University of Stuttgart, as well as Head of the Digitalization Department at the Centre for European Policy (cep) in Berlin. The lecture will be delivered in English.
The lecture will take place on 19 February at 6:00 p.m. in Room B109 at the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw (1/3 Szturmowa Street, 02-678 Warsaw). The lecture is open to the public.
Abstract:
This lecture offers a wide-ranging intellectual journey through the evolution of European competition law, from its ordoliberal roots to its neoliberal reinterpretations and today’s unresolved tensions. Drawing on original research using Natural Language Processing methods, Dr Anselm Küsters reveals how ordoliberal concepts once shaped the language and practice of EU competition policy and how their meaning gradually shifted over time. Building on this historical analysis, the lecture then turns toward the future, presenting digital decentralization—developed in the forthcoming book Small is beautiful 2.0—as a promising framework for rethinking competition and digital regulation. By connecting conceptual history with concrete policy perspectives, the lecture invites the audience to rethink how platform economies and artificial intelligence might be governed in a way that places human agency, fairness, and democratic values back at the center of economic life.
The event is held under the patronage of the Civic Development Forum Foundation.
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