On 10 November, 2021, the General Court of the EU rendered its long-awaited judgment in Google (Shopping). The decision contains remarkable interpretations of established principles in European competition law, including the essential facilities doctrine, indispensability analysis, anticompetitive effects, and the role of applicable regulatory mechanisms in antitrust evaluations. In addition, the ruling addresses, for the first time, the concept of self-preferencing, a novel phenomenon that has been permeating competition law discussions for the better part of a decade. The judgment is also rich with insights as to the development of a realist, all-things-considered approach undergirding EU competition assessments since the inception of the “more economic approach”.

In this issue of the BASEAK CORE Papers series, Of Counsel Barış Yüksel and Selçukhan Ünekbaş break down the judgment into its fundamental components, examining each in detail. The paper highlights key takeaways underlined by the General Court within the context of platforms in general, drawing on leading strands of academic research to devise conclusions for the future of competition enforcement not only in the EU, but also in Turkey.

To download BASEAK CORE Papers No. 18 (only in Turkish), please follow this link.