Hauptgutachten. Wettbewerb 2020

The Monopolies Commission's Biennial Report XXIII, titled “Competition 2020”, analyses how distortions of competition in the internal market, which are caused by subsidies granted by third countries such as China, can be reduced. It proposes the introduction of an instrument that aims to control such third country subsidies. In the Corona crisis, competition law should continue to be applied with no compromises as to substantive law, and rescue packages granted by the State should be accompanied by measures to promote competition. With regard to the digital platform economy, the Commission endorses the introduction of ex ante regulation of dominant companies at EU level. The sector exemption for hospital mergers, as proposed in the context of the 10th amendment to the German Competition Act (GWB), is rejected. Further, the Report includes an analysis of the economic concentration in Germany and of the decision-making practice in competition law in the past two years.