EU Competition Law: Enforcement, Digital Dominance, Horizontal Cooperation & Strategic Compliance (101 & 102 TFEU)

A New Era for Articles 101 & 102 TFEU and the Implications for Businesses in Greece and the EU

Competition Law as a System of Market Governance

EU competition law is undergoing a structural transformation. The developments of 2025 and the regulatory pipeline for 2026 confirm the emergence of an enforcement model that is:

• digital-first

• data-driven

• innovation-sensitive

• forward-looking

The combined impact of:

• the evaluation of Regulation 1/2003

• the revision of EU Horizontal Cooperation Rules (HBERs & Horizontal Guidelines)

• the expansion of Article 101 TFEU cartel enforcement into labour, sustainability and data environments

• the transformation of Article 102 TFEU in digital ecosystems and AI markets

signals a shift from traditional antitrust analysis to competition law as a tool of economic governance, technological sovereignty, and market design. For companies active in Greece and across the EU, competition law is no longer a reactive compliance function. It is a core strategic parameter for M&A, joint ventures, distribution, IP licensing, digital platform architecture and AI deployment.

The Reform of Regulation 1/2003 – Toward Faster and More Convergent Enforcement

The ongoing review of Regulation 1/2003 aims to modernise the procedural framework of EU antitrust enforcement while preserving the decentralised system.

The evaluation identifies:

• excessive investigation length

• procedural fragmentation among NCAs

• evidentiary inconsistencies

• limited use of interim measures and settlements

The reform trajectory points toward:

• enhanced investigative tools in digital environments

• stronger procedural harmonisation

• more effective evidence gathering

• faster enforcement

This will raise the standard for:

• internal antitrust compliance

• dawn-raid preparedness

• legal professional privilege management

Horizontal Cooperation in the New Economy – The Strategic Role of the HBERs and Horizontal Guidelines

The 2023 Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations (R&D and Specialisation BERs) and the revised Horizontal Guidelines constitute a cornerstone of modern EU competition policy. They provide a safe harbour for cooperation between competitors under market-share thresholds and in the absence of hardcore restrictions, while also delivering a sophisticated framework for assessing complex collaboration models.

3.1 Innovation, Digitalisation and Sustainability

The new framework explicitly:

• protects innovation competition

• accommodates data-driven collaboration

• recognises sustainability agreements

and introduces a structured methodology for assessing whether sustainability cooperation can fall outside Article 101 where it does not harm competitive parameters. This is particularly relevant in Greece, where the Hellenic Competition Commission:

• operates a sustainability sandbox

• may issue no-action letters for sustainability initiatives

thereby increasing legal certainty for green cooperation projects.

3.2 Information Exchange and Data Sharing

The Horizontal Guidelines fundamentally reshape the treatment of information exchange by:

• addressing indirect exchanges via platforms and algorithms

• defining commercially sensitive information in digital markets

• recommending structural safeguards (e.g., clean teams)

This directly intersects with 2025 enforcement practice, where digital communications (e.g. trader chatrooms) were treated as restrictions by object.

3.3 Joint Purchasing, Bidding Consortia and Infrastructure Sharing

The revised rules:

• distinguish legitimate joint purchasing from buyer cartels

• provide guidance on bidding consortia

• introduce a dedicated framework for telecom infrastructure sharing

These are of particular importance for:

• energy projects

• large infrastructure tenders

• technology partnerships

• defence and industrial alliances

3.4 Specialisation Agreements and SMEs

The possibility for multi-party specialisation agreements enhances:

• industrial cooperation

• production efficiency

• SME competitiveness

while maintaining strict withdrawal powers for competition authorities in individual cases.

Article 101 TFEU – The Expanding Boundaries of Collusion

4.1 Labour Markets and Corporate Structures

The Delivery Hero / Glovo decision establishes that:

• no-poach agreements are restrictions by object

• minority shareholdings can facilitate collusion

This brings HR policies and investment structures within antitrust risk analysis.

4.2 Sustainability and Trade Associations

The ELV recycling cartel confirms that sustainability cannot serve as a shield for coordination.

Trade associations are now high-risk environments.

4.3 Resale Price Maintenance and Hybrid Distribution

The first RPM decisions in seven years demonstrate that:

• indirect pricing pressure is sufficient

• monitoring systems create liability

• ex officio investigations are increasing

Luxury and franchising models must redesign their distribution strategies.

4.4 Financial Markets and Pharmaceutical Supply Chains

The UBS, SNBB and pay-for-delay case law confirms:

• a strict approach to information exchange

• global cartel enforcement convergence

• the need for early competition-law review in pharma settlements

Article 102 TFEU – Dominance in Digital Ecosystems and Innovation Markets

5.1 Self-Preferencing and Data Control

The Meta Marketplace and Google AdTech decisions confirm that dominance today is defined by:

• ecosystem control

• data leverage

• intermediation power

5.2 Interoperability and the Transformation of the Bronner Doctrine

The Android Auto judgment lowers the access threshold:

Refusal to ensure interoperability may be abusive even where access is not indispensable.

5.3 IP Strategy as Abuse – The Teva Case

The combination of:

• patent manipulation

• disparagement

creates a new category of exclusionary abuse in pharmaceutical markets.

5.4 Digital Aftermarkets and Lock-In

The SAP investigation confirms that:

post-contractual restrictions and switching barriers are core enforcement targets.

5.5 Essential Infrastructure and State Regulation

The Lukoil opinion refines the limits of the essential facilities doctrine where infrastructure is shaped by regulatory frameworks.

Artificial Intelligence as the Next Antitrust Frontier

The investigations into:

• Google’s use of publisher content for AI

• Meta’s AI access restrictions

demonstrate that AI input foreclosure and data access are becoming central Article 102 concerns.

Vertical Agreements – Contractual Precision as a Compliance Imperative

Recent case law and the VBER regime confirm that:

vertical restrictions are assessed based on their implementation in practice, not their formal structure.

Exclusive distribution requires:

• explicit contractual protection

• network-wide alignment

Merger Control – Innovation, Resilience and Industrial Policy

The revision of the EU Merger Guidelines moves the analysis toward:

• innovation capacity

• supply-chain resilience

• sustainability

• strategic autonomy

This is particularly relevant for:

• energy

• digital infrastructure

• transport

• agri-food

• defence

Legal Professional Privilege and Internal Investigations

The Commission confirms a strict EU concept of LPP limited to external counsel.

Companies must redesign:

• internal investigation protocols

• document management systems

• dawn-raid strategies

Strategic Implications for Businesses in Greece and the EU

Competition law must now be embedded in:

• corporate governance

• digital strategy

• HR policies

• IP management

• M&A planning

• ESG and sustainability initiatives

Priority actions for 2026:

1. Antitrust audit of horizontal cooperation and joint ventures

2. Competition-law review of data-sharing and AI models

3. Redesign of distribution and pricing systems

4. Dawn-raid and privilege protocols

5. Early antitrust integration in transactions

Competition Law as a Driver of Economic Sovereignty

EU competition law is no longer limited to correcting market failures.

It is now a central instrument for:

• regulating digital power

• protecting innovation

• enabling sustainable cooperation

• securing resilient supply chains

For businesses, the challenge is not merely compliance.

It is strategic positioning within the new European competition architecture.