About: Margrethe Vestager
Commission on track for digital levy proposal by June
The European Commission is on track with plans to present a digital tax by June despite recent progress at the level of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Commission's Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager has said.
Portuguese Presidency rebuts Vestager’s concerns about ePrivacy proposal
The Portuguese Presidency of the EU has rebutted claims from the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Digital, Margarethe Vestager, that the country's prosed text for the ePrivacy regulation poses a risk to EU data protection standards as outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
MEP vies to target rogue traders in Digital Services Act
Online sellers of dangerous and counterfeit goods could be further targeted under the European Parliament's Internal Market committee report on the Digital Services Act, the lead MEP on the text said on Tuesday (23 February).
EU needs cross-border network of 5G ‘corridors’ to spur recovery, says Vestager
European Union countries should use a chunk of the bloc's €750 billion recovery fund to set up 5G corridors to help the 27-country bloc to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic, Europe's digital chief said on Monday (8 February).
Commission vies to ‘put order into chaos’ with new digital crackdown
Online platform giants will be forced to abide by a broad range of obligations as part of ambitious new plans laid out by the European Commission in its Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) on Tuesday (15 December).
New EU rules to define gatekeepers by users, areas of business
Tech companies with millions of European users or active in at least two sectors will be classified as online gatekeepers subject to tough new EU rules aimed at curbing their power, three people familiar with the matter said.
Italy’s port tax perks against EU rules, Vestager warns
Italy’s regime of offering corporate tax-exemption to its ports and harbours is a breach of EU competition rules, the European Commission announced on Friday (4 December), giving the government until 1 January 2022 to ditch the tax perks.
New EU data brokers won’t have to be European, Commission says
The European Commission has decided against imposing geographical restrictions on the establishment of so-called 'data sharing services,' as part of ambitious new plans laid out in the executive's landmark Data Governance Act.
Vestager: Amazon has illegally abused market position with Big Data tactics
Amazon has violated EU antitrust rules in its use of non-public merchant data, cementing the platform's dominance in the eCommerce market and marginalizing third-party sellers, the European Commission's Vice President for Digital, Margrethe Vestager, has said.
Dutch Deputy Prime Minister calls for Digital Services Act regulation against AirBnB
As a means to tackle the negative side effects of the online short term rentals market, governments should be allowed better access to data from platforms such as Airbnb as part of the EU's Digital Services Act, the Netherland's Deputy Prime Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said.
German EU presidency pushes for cybersecurity ‘by design’ in connected devices
Laptops, smart phones and other connected devices in Europe should be subject to new cybersecurity standards throughout the "entire life cycle" of products, according to draft EU Council conclusions on the subject, obtained by EURACTIV.
Vestager distances Commission from option of ‘Big Tech Breakups’
The EU has the power to execute a potential breakup of global Big Tech giants, but it is not currently the "right thing to do," the EU's Vice-President for Digital Affairs, Margrethe Vestager, has said.
Parliament adopts ambitious stance on EU’s future regulation of digital platforms
The European Parliament has overwhelmingly backed a series of reports which could have a profound impact on the future of the platform economy, supporting a possible ban on targeted advertising, reporting procedures for illegal content, and better detection of fraudulent vendors.
Poland and Hungary score against Commission over taxes
The EU Court of Justice’s advocate general dismissed on Thursday (15 October) the European Commission’s appeal about Poland and Hungary’s tax regimes and recommended upholding the verdict in favour of the two eastern member states.
‘No second shutdown’, Germany’s Altmaier promises business leaders
Speaking at the annual Industry Day event, Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) promised business leaders that there would not be a second shutdown. He also took the opportunity to be critical of his SPD colleague, Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU to launch review of state aid rules in early 2021
The European Commission will launch a ‘comprehensive review’ of EU competition rules in early 2021, Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday (2 October).
EU considers allowing more state aid to boost green projects
European Union governments may be allowed to grant more state aid to projects that help the bloc achieve its climate goals, Europe’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday (22 September), calling such an incentive a “green bonus”.
Commission concedes delay in 5G deployment across EU
The European Commission has admitted that there will be a delay on targets to launch 5G telecommunications networks across all EU member states by the end of 2020, owing to postponements in spectrum frequency auctions that have occurred as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
New EU regulation on high performance computers expected in the coming days
The European Commission wants supercomputers on European soil, saying it is essential for technological sovereignty. The executive was supposed to announce its new regulation on High-Performance Computers (HPC) on Tuesday (15 September), but there is a delay of several days. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU launches ‘in-depth’ probe of Google bid for Fitbit
The European Commission launched an "in-depth investigation" on Tuesday (4 August) into whether US tech giant Google's planned €1.7 billion purchase of smartwatch maker Fitbit would give it an unfair market advantage.
EU clears creation of world’s second-largest trainmaker
The European Commission on Friday (31 July) signed off on a merger between French trainmaker Alstom and the rail arm of Canadian firm Bombardier, setting a number of competition criteria in the process.
Vestager calls for EU-US ‘common vision’ on platform competition policy
Worldwide jurisdictions and particularly the EU and the US should formulate "common visions" on how best to regulate competition in the platform economy, the Commission's digital chief Margrethe Vestager has said.
Facebook accused of ‘copy, acquire and kill’ tactics in US antitrust hearing
Social media giant Facebook has come in for heavy criticism as part of a US congressional hearing into the dominance of online tech platforms, being accused of ‘copy, acquire and kill’ tactics as part of its history in acquiring smaller...