EU flags fly outside the European Union Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
BRUSSELS, July 28, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The European Union Commission is considering creating a new directorate headed by two senior antitrust officials, two people familiar with the matter said.
Such a move could ease concerns that the EU competition watchdog could struggle to acquire tech giants such as Alphabet’s ( GOOGL.O ) unit Google, Amazon ( AMZN.O ), Apple ( AAPL.O ), Meta and Microsoft ( MSFT.O ). To comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Read more
The main rules agreed in March will take effect next year. They prevent the companies from making their own products optional, from forcing app developers to use their payment systems, and from using users’ data for competing services.
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The new directorate of the commission’s powerful antitrust arm could be headed by Alberto Bachiga, director of information, communications and media, responsible for antitrust and issues affecting the tech, media and consumer electronics industries, one of the people said.
Bachiga said he could be helped by Thomas Krammler, head of the division that deals with antitrust issues in e-commerce and the information economy, and who currently leads investigations into Apple and Amazon.
Both officials are liaising with those in the Directorate General of Communications Networks, Content and Technology, which jointly enforces the DMA, a third person said.
Bacchiega and Kramler could not be reached for comment because they are on summer vacation.
The EU executive said it was organizing itself internally to effectively implement the DMA.
“The implementation of the DMA is estimated to require approximately 80 staff as required,” the spokesperson said.
“The internal organization is based on the relevant knowledge of all the DGS (Directors-General) and the relevant services and ensures the appropriate human resources of the relevant DGs and services,” he said.
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Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Hugh Lawson
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