Jean-François Bellis and Isabelle Van Damme address the FIDE Congress in Sofia, Bulgaria on the new geopolitical dimension of the EU Competition and Trade Policies
- 05/06/2023
- News
The 30th Congress of FIDE (International Federation for European Law) was held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 31 May to 3 June 2023, with over 500 in attendance. One of the three topics discussed in the Congress was “The new geopolitical dimension of the EU competition and trade policies”. As general rapporteurs on this topic, Jean-François Bellis and Isabelle Van Damme prepared a report discussing the contributions of 21 national FIDE associations. Ben Smulders, deputy-general director of DG Competition prepared the institutional report.
Over two days of discussions, six panels examined specific issues bearing on the new concept of EU strategic autonomy, including the comeback of EU industrial policy and its implications for state aid, the treatment of foreign subsidies, sustainability agreements under Article 101 TFEU, European champions and EU merger control, the corporate sustainability proposal and its impact on supply chains as well as FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) control in the EU.
