Teresa Ribera proposed to lead DG Competition: a new era for EU competition law?

On 17 September 2024, the re-elected president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, revealed Teresa Ribera, the current Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition, as her nominee for the role of Executive Vice-President ("EVP") for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. Ribera's mandate will include leading DG Competition, replacing outgoing Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Prior to being formally appointed, Ribera must be vetted by the European Parliament, a process which includes answering written questions and attending a hearing expected to take place next month.

A huge mandate

As EVP for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Ribera will have a very wide-ranging list of responsibilities, including overseeing both Europe´s clean energy transition and antitrust enforcement alongside modernization of competition policy. She is tasked with leading the European Union towards decarbonization whilst also improving its competitiveness, drawing on recommendations made in the recent Draghi Report (see our previous blog post here).

What is to be expected from Ribera's mandate?

Ribera will have two main areas of focus: energy transition and competition policy.

Energy transition

The formal title of Ribera's EVP role makes clear that her mandate will focus on the EU´s ecological transition, competitiveness and sustainability, which aligns well with her prior career trajectory as Spain's environmental minister and extensive experience on climate change policy. In the mission letter (which sets out the framework for Ribera's role as EVP and President von der Leyen's expectations of her mandate), there is a clear emphasis on driving Europe's decarbonization efforts, including ensuring that Europe meets its 2030 climate targets and achieves carbon neutrality by 2050. We can therefore expect that Ribera will focus on matters such as reducing energy prices, eliminating reliance on fossil fuels, and investing in clean energy infrastructure while addressing energy poverty. Ribera will also need to coordinate with other European Commissioners – including in particular Wopke Hoekstra, proposed Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth - to foster growth and competition within clean technologies and industries, ensuring Europe remains globally competitive in these areas.

Competition policy

Ribera will be taking over as the new leader of DG Competition at an important time for antitrust enforcement and modernization of European competition policy. This takes place against the backdrop of the recommendations in the recent Draghi Report, which calls for a more innovation-orientated approach and improvement in the speed and predictability of decision-making as well as new regulation in digital markets.

A number of the specific areas of focus included in Ribera's mission letter are connected to her responsibilities for sustainability and the clean energy transition, such as developing a new framework for state aid focused on renewable energy and decarbonization as well as speeding up the enforcement of the rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance, with a particular focus on restrictive practices affecting sustainability and the food and farming sectors.

However, Ribera's mandate in respect of competition policy also extends more broadly. She will be in charge of the EU Commission's extensive powers in the whole competition field in a time of flux, with her mission letter expressly advocating "a new approach to competition policy – one that is more supportive of companies scaling up in global markets, allows European businesses and consumers to reap all the benefits of effective competition and is better geared to our common goals". 

One of Ribera's biggest challenges will involve addressing calls to modernise European merger control policy to encourage investment and increase European competitiveness on the global stage, whilst ensuring that competition concerns associated with particular transactions can be identified and addressed effectively. She has been expressly tasked with reviewing the Horizontal Merger Control Guidelines, which, according to President von der Leyen’s mission letter, “should give adequate weight to the European economy’s more acute needs in respect of resilience, efficiency and innovation”. This draws on the recommendation in the recent Draghi Report for a greater emphasis on innovation and future competition.

In addition, Ribera has been asked to consider the Commission's approach to so-called "killer acquisitions" and how to move forward following the recent EU Court of Justice ruling in Illumina/Grail, which has limited the Commission’s use of the referral mechanism in Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation to scrutinize acquisitions of strategically important companies with turnover falling below the notification thresholds of the EU Merger Regulation, particularly in the tech and healthcare sectors (see our previous blog post here).

Whilst not yet formally appointed, in a recent press interview Ribera already signalled her intention to expedite and potentially shorten investigation deadlines, whilst also reforming European merger control policy to support European businesses in scaling up to compete on the international stage against competitors from China and the United States (as also advocated by the recent Draghi Report). A change in approach to regulation of mergers involving the creation or further growth of so-called "European champions" is potentially controversial and will no doubt attract considerable attention as more details emerge.

Looking beyond merger control policy, Ribera's mission letter also emphasises a desire to ease the application of competition rules to facilitate co-operation between operators in sectors such as technology and artificial intelligence, again in line with recommendations made in the recent Draghi Report.

In respect of digital markets, which have been a particular focus for competition law enforcement in recent years and the subject of new regulation under the Digital Markets Act, Ribera has been tasked with addressing the challenges and dynamics of such markets (including platform economies and data-driven business models) and ensuring the Commission takes rapid and effective enforcement action under the Digital Markets Act. She will do so in coordination with the new Executive Vice-President for Tech-Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen.

President von der Leyen has also tasked Ribera with rigorously implementing the still relatively new Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which has introduced additional complexity to public procurement procedures and certain major transactions (see our overview blog post here).

Other responsibilities

Ribera has also been tasked with overseeing EU-wide communication efforts to promote transparency, citizen participation, and trust in EU initiatives. In this regard, she will need to engage more closely with European citizens, particularly the younger generation, and strengthen dialogue with local entities, rural areas, and all regions in Europe, as well as combat disinformation by providing clear and accurate information about EU actions and policies.

Finally, Ribera will need to emphasize the importance of gender balance and diversity within the EU Commission’s staff and policies, ensuring fair representation and inclusivity in decision-making processes.

Next steps

As noted above, before officially taking on their roles, the nominated Commissioners, including Ribera, must undergo a parliamentary approval process.

The process involves hearings where each nominee will present their credentials and answer questions from relevant parliamentary committees. Ribera's hearing is likely to take place before the Economic Affairs Committee, though other committees such as Environment or Energy may also be involved due to the broad nature of her portfolio. The parliamentary committees will then assess the candidates, and if they do not reach agreement to approve them by a two-thirds majority, further steps such as additional hearings or written questions may be required.

Once all the candidates are approved, President von der Leyen will present the new Commission to the European Parliament for a final vote, which is expected to take place in November or December 2024.