Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition, will not return for a third term and will step down this year. According to the Financial TimesThe Danish government will nominate another candidate as EU Commissioner after Vestager’s party did not perform well in the last election. Vestager is considered one of Europe’s leading antitrust authorities and has cracked down on big tech companies during her time in office. The market abuse cases she has brought over the years inspired the creation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to ensure that large companies do not abuse their market power.
Apple, Google, Meta and other major industry players had to change their business practices after the DMA came into force. Google, for example, announced that it would now display price comparison results from third-party aggregators when searching for services such as flights or hotels. It will also make it easier for Android users to switch search engines. Apple said it would allow companies to set up their own app stores for iOS, but reiterated its own strict rules that developers must abide by.
Under Vestager, the EU began investigating Apple, Alphabet and Meta in March to examine their efforts to comply with the DMA. In an interview with CNBC Afterward, Vestager said Apple had “very serious” non-compliance issues. Vestager had already ruled in 2016 that Irish tax authorities had given Apple a “favorable deal” for over a decade and ordered the company to pay Ireland 14.3 billion euros ($15.72 billion) in taxes. The EU’s General Court overturned her order in 2020, but the Commission had appealed that decision.
The European Commission also fined Google €4.3 billion ($5 billion) for antitrust violations related to Android, and $2.8 billion for favoring its own price comparison services over others in search under its leadership. Most recently, the EU fined Apple €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) for suppressing rival music streaming services in the App Store.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will begin interviewing new candidates next week. Just said. Vestager’s successor is expected to replace her in the autumn.
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