030177 VO EU Competition Law (2026S)

The course discusses EU competition and State aid law. In particular, the course analyses the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the case-law of the EU Court of Justice concerning anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance, merger control, as well as State aid rules and rules on the margins of competition law, such as the Digital Markets Act, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation or Foreign Direct Investment Control. The course includes the basics of competition economics.

This is an advanced course, which builds upon the course VO Introduction to European Law, held during the winter term. Therefore, students are expected to have basic background knowledge about the EU institutions and the EU legal sources.

The course is a hybrid course. All sessions will be in presence, live streamed and recorded. Students will benefit most from the in-class discussions, (mock) cases and quizzes, if they participate in person. It will not be possible to participate in the class discussions and ask questions if the student only participates online. Questions are only answered during class and not via email.