EU call for contributions on how competition policy can promote the Green Deal

On 13 October 2020, the European Commission called for contributions from various stakeholders on how the EU competition rules can be used to support the goals set out in the EU Green Deal. 

Interestingly, the Commission flags upfront that short of any legislative amendments, competition policy’s contribution to the Green Deal "can only take place within these clearly-defined boundaries".

Hopefully this is not a signal that the Commission is minded to take a more conservative stance on how the existing rules can be flexed to accommodate green goals. In particular, it would be interesting to see if the consultation persuades the Commission to follow in the footsteps of braver national authorities such as the Dutch competition authority (which published its sustainability draft guidelines in July) and the Greek competition authority (which recently released a sustainability position paper promising that guidelines will follow).

Watch this space...