Hipster antitrust, the European way?

On 25 October 2019, the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies hosted the fourth Annual Conference of the Florence Competition Programme (FCP) at the European University Institute (EUI) campus in Florence. The conference discussed the main ideas behind the new 'hipster antitrust' movement in USA and its influence on EU competition policy. The event was opened with a keynote speech delivered by Prof. Marina Lao, Seton Hall University. The conference was divided into three panels, which dealt respectively with i) 'The goals of EU competition policy: shall we go beyond consumers’ welfare?'; ii) 'Exploitative abuses in the pharma and digital markets' and iii) 'How to tackle concentration in digital markets'. The event gathered different stakeholders, including competition enforcers, as well as representatives from academia, industry, law and economic consulting firms. The diversity of views ensured a lively debate. This Policy Brief summarises the main points raised during the discussion and seeks to stimulate further debate