Measuring the Invisible: The Deterrence Effects of EU Competition Enforcement

How can we measure something that doesn’t happen like companies deciding not to break the rules because of effective competition enforcement?

This question was at the heart of the session “Measuring the Invisible: The Deterrence Effects of EU Competition Enforcement”, organised by Lear during the 2025 edition of the Lear Competition Festival (LCF), which has just concluded.
The discussion explored how the impact of EU competition enforcement goes far beyond fines and official decisions. Its real value lies in preventing anticompetitive behaviour before it takes place a dimension that is harder to capture but crucial for assessing policy effectiveness.

The session drew on the findings of a study commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) to Verian Group and Lear. Based on surveys and interviews with legal and business experts, the research analyses how enforcement in antitrust and merger control can shape corporate behaviour and strengthen market fairness.
Chaired by Salvatore Nava, Partner at Lear, the panel featured Andreas Bovin (European Commission), Lefkothea Nteka (Lambadarios Law Firm), and Giancarlo Spagnolo (University of Rome Tor Vergata & Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics – SITE).

Together, they discussed the study’s preliminary results and how they can support the Commission’s broader efforts to measure and enhance the impact of EU competition policy.

To see the full session here: https://bit.ly/4qbmJcL