DMA Implementation: Two Years Later, Where Do We Stand?
Presented by The Capitol Forum and Geradin Partners
Brussels | October 7, 2025
In September 2023, the European Commission designated the first “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), ushering in a new era of regulatory oversight for digital platforms across the EU. Two years on, the DMA’s contestability and fairness obligations are reshaping the competitive dynamics of digital markets—and raising urgent questions for enforcers, platforms, and the broader tech ecosystem.
Join leading voices from DG COMP, DG Connect, Spotify, OpenAI, BEUC, and other stakeholders for a full-day conference examining the practical impact and future trajectory of the DMA.
Through keynote remarks and expert-led panels, we’ll explore enforcement progress, emerging tensions between innovation and regulation, and the DMA’s evolving role in shaping digital and AI strategies in the EU and beyond
Agenda Highlights:
Two Years Since the First Designations: Where do we stand?
The DMA and Mobile Ecosystems: Implementation challenges and industry response
DMA and AI: How do new obligations intersect with fast-moving AI developments?
Private Enforcement: Emerging trends and legal theories under the DMA
This timely and highly curated event offers a platform for rigorous dialogue and actionable insights. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how the DMA is influencing business models, shaping platform behavior, and setting the tone for global digital regulation.
Networking coffee, lunch, and a closing drinks reception are included. Space is limited—advance registration is required.
Damien Geradin is the founding partner of Geradin Partners. Before founding Geradin Partners, Damien was a partner in the Brussels office of Covington & Burling LLP.
Damien has assisted clients in many high-stake European Commission investigations, including some of the most complex abuse of dominance cases with a focus on the tech, media and telecommunications sectors. He has also been involved in multiple cases before the EU courts, including the seminal judgment of the CJEU in Huawei v. ZTE regarding competition law and standard-essential patents. Additional important cases include Slovak Telekom v. Commission (refusal to supply and margin squeeze), Samsung SDI v. Commission (cartel), Sanoma v. Commission (State aid) and Apple v. Commission (DMA). Damien has also litigated a dozen cases on behalf of the Council of the EU in the trade sector.
Damien’s scholarly work has also been cited multiple times by Advocate Generals in their opinions. Damien is a professor of competition law and economics at Tilburg University. Over the years, he has held visiting Professorships at leading US law schools including Columbia, Harvard, Michigan and Yale. He was also a visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, for 15 years.
Javier Espinoza is an award-winning journalist. Mr. Espinoza is a leading voice in Brussels regulatory coverage. Prior to joining The Capitol Forum, he worked for more than 8 years at the Financial Times, where he held two core beats: first as Private Equity Correspondent for London, and later as the FT’s EU Correspondent covering competition and digital policy from Brussels. He was also part of the original team that launched the Financial Times’ Due Diligence newsletter in 2017, the FT’s popular daily briefing covering dealmaking and corporate finance.
Javier has contributed to some of the world’s most prominent media outlets, including the Daily Telegraph and the Wall Street Journal. His expertise spans across major industries, with a particular focus on the intersection of business, policy, and regulation in Europe.
Javier holds a master’s degree in political economy from King’s College London, an executive MBA from IE Business School, and an MA in international journalism from City University in London.
Andrea Appella is Visiting Professor at Kings College where he teaches an LLM course on competition and IP in the media industry. Previously he was a TMT Consultant at Herbert Smith Freehills. Andrea was a senior lawyer with significant experience in competition law and IP in the media industry, where he worked for most of his career. Until October 2022, he was Director, Global Competition at Netflix. Previously, he was Deputy General Counsel for Europe & Asia at 21st Century Fox. He is also a Visiting Professor at Kings College School of Law where he teaches the course “Competition and Intellectual Property in the Media Industry: Law and Practice”. His experience covers all the media sectors, i.e. movie production and distribution, broadcasting, licensing, publishing (newspapers, magazines and books), music and digital. After beginning his career as a solicitor at Herbert Smith (1994-1997), he worked for MTV Europe (1998-1999), Warner Bros (1999-2002) and Time Warner Europe (2003-2008), where he was Vice President and Associate General Counsel. Andrea was also Director of International at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in the UK (June 2008 – July 2009), where he was in charge of developing the OFT’s international strategy and led the team responsible for the OFT’s international activities (contributions to multilateral competition bodies such as OECD, ICN and ECN, bilateral relationships with foreign competition and consumer authorities, support of cross-border enforcement actions). Andrea is a former Co-Chair of the IBA Antitrust Committee. He was featured among the “Stars of the In-House Competition Bar” in Global Competition Review (March 2005) and in GCR’s list of top in-house antitrust lawyers in the world (Corporate Counsel 2019). He is a frequent speaker at competition law and media law conferences. Andrea earned his first law degree, magna cum laude, at the Libera Universita’ Internazionale degli Studi Sociali in Rome, and an L.L.M., with Merit, from the London School of Economics. He is a member of the bar in both Italy (as an avvocato) and England (as a solicitor).
Konstantina Bania is based in Brussels and London. She is and one of the leading experts in the area of EU platform regulation, including the DMA, the DSA, and the AI Act. She has a unique understanding of the DMA, having advised on the legislative process that led to the adoption of the DMA, the interpretation of the DMA after it entered into force, matters arising from designation decisions (or failure to designate), and non-compliance investigations. Konstantina has led and been involved in several cases against gatekeepers, which concern matters ranging from interoperability, self-preferencing in ranking, to anti-steering. She is the co-editor and co-author of one of the first treatises on the DMA “The Digital Markets Act: A Guide to the Regulation of Big Tech in the EU” (Hart Publishing, 2024).
Filomena Chirico leads the Unit in DG Connect in charge of the implementation of the Digital Markets Act within the Platforms Directorate. After a Master’s Degree in law, a PhD in institutional economics and a post-doc in Law and economics, she joined the European Commission, first in DG competition, then the Secretariat General and DG Research. Until end of 2022, she was Expert member of Cabinet of Commissioner Breton, with responsibility for the preparation and negotiations of both the Digital Services and the Digital Markets Act.
Jörn is a Director heading Burford Capital’s investment activity and operations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, focused on working with companies, funds, investors and law firms engaged in complex commercial litigation and arbitration in Europe and abroad. His work is being recognised by the leading directories including Chambers (Band 1), Lexology (Thought Leader Global Elite & Client Choice Award 2025), and Leaders League (Litigation Funding Europe).
Burford Capital is the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the London and New York Stock Exchange, and it works with law firms and clients around the world.
Prior to joining Burford, Jörn was a senior disputes lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills in Hong Kong and Schellenberg Wittmer in Zurich. In this role, he handled complex multi-jurisdictional commercial matters for global businesses across numerous sectors including automotive, energy production, industrial manufacturing and construction. He had previously worked at The Boston Consulting Group, the German Parliament, and the Foreign Relations Office of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Jörn has held various academic positions, including as research assistant in German private law and international human rights law, taught Swiss private law at the University of Basel, and has published in the fields of arbitration, legal finance, as well as contract and public international law.
A Swiss and Canadian national, Daniel Friedlaender has been working in public affairs and policy for over 20 years. He holds an MA in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe, as well as an executive MBA from Imperial College, focusing on digital innovation and platform convergence.
Friedlaender started as a political staffer in Canada prior to moving to Europe, first working in strategic communications before representing the global recording industry.
In 2016 he was hired to open and lead the new office of the Sky Group (later part of Comcast) in Brussels. As Head of the EU Office and Sky’s European Affairs Director, Friedlaender worked across the creative, cultural, telecoms, and technology sectors. In this role, he also chaired the European VoD Coalition and sat on the board of the Association of Commercial Television, as well as many other organisations.
Ranked both in Chambers and Legal 500, Helen has extensive experience in all aspects of competition law, including merger control, cartels, dominance and vertical restraints. Clients value her in-house and private practice expertise, which allows her to understand business drivers and offer clear and practical advice, even in the most complex of matters.
She regularly advises international companies on their European and international M&A and competition law matters including AkzoNobel, Booking.com, Just Eat Takeaway, Celanese, DSM-Firmenich, TomTom and SHV.
Helen is one of the ACM’s five non-governmental advisors supporting the development of competition policy within the International Competition Network. She teaches students of the Grotius Academie and of the Brussels School of Competition Masters programme. She is dual-qualified as both a solicitor (England & Wales) and Dutch advocaat. Helen is also included in Global Competition Review’s prestigious Women in Antitrust list and is part of the leadership team of W@ NL, a platform to promote female talent in the area of competition law.
Edith Hancock covers European competition enforcement for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal from Brussels.
Before joining WSJ, Edith worked as a competition reporter for Politico Europe. She holds a master’s degree in Business and Economics journalism from Columbia University in New York and in Interactive Journalism from City University in London.
Thomas Höppner joined the Berlin office of Geradin Partners in September 2025, after ten years as a partner at Hausfeld. He is advising a broad range of businesses, including broadcasters, app developers and e-commerce firms on (non-) compliance with the DMA and general competition law. He is litigating cases before EU and national courts and advocates a stronger enforcement of the DMA. His book “Self-Preferencing in Online Search Under Article 6(5) DMA” (Nomos, 2024) formed the basis for the Initiative for Neutral Search, co-signed by more than 150 companies and associations. Since 2016, he is also a professor for business and IP law.
Stijn Huijts is a Partner at Geradin Partners in Brussels. Before joining the firm, he was a Legal Director at the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), where he led the legal teams in several major investigations and court proceedings. At Geradin Partners, Stijn focusses on competition law and digital regulation. Recent work includes representing Corning Incorporated in European Commission investigation AT.40728 and acting for 34 news media groups in their claim for damages against Google in relation to Google’s abusive conduct in the ad tech sector. In relation to the DMA, Stijn acts for a rival app store developer with respect to access to iOS and Android, as well as advising several news publishers on self-preferencing and access issues concerning Google Search, including Google’s AI Overviews.
Kayvan Hazemi-Jebelli (Kay) is Senior Director for Europe at the Chamber of Progress, based in Brussels. Kay previously worked as Competition & Regulatory Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association, and has over a decade’s experience working as a competition lawyer in private practice, in the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition, as a visiting researcher at King’s College London, and as Senior Legal Counsel at a leading UK media and communications company. Before that, he worked as a computer engineer.
Kay received his B.Sc. in Computer Science & Engineering from UCLA, his J.D. from the University of the Pacific, and his LL.M. in Competition Law from King’s College London. Kay enjoys teaching and knowledge sharing, and has lectured on competition law and policy in several universities, in Europe and the US. He also started a podcast on European tech policy.
Kay has been passionate about technology ever since his dad brought home an x286 based PC in the 80s. He grew up in Silicon Valley and learned to build computers in high-school (which he then sold on the internet, in the 90s). When he’s not working to help all people benefit from technological leaps, he enjoys visiting museums, live music, and walking in nature.
Thomas is head of the unit dealing with e-commerce and the data economy in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition. Before that, he was Head of the Digital Single Market Task Force responsible for the e-commerce sector inquiry. Mr. Kramler holds a law degree and a PhD from the University of Vienna, Austria. He has graduated with a Master’s degree in European Community Law from the College of Europe (Bruges). Previously Mr. Kramler was deputy head of the unit responsible for antitrust cases in the information industries, internet and consumer electronics sectors.
Before joining the European Commission Mr. Kramler worked as agent representing the Austrian government before the European Courts in Luxemburg.
Agustín Reyna is the Director General of BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, which serves as the umbrella group for 44 independent consumer organisations across 31 European countries.
BEUC’s primary mission is to act as a strong consumer voice in Brussels and to ensure that consumer interests are given their proper weight in all EU policies.
Agustín joined BEUC in 2010 and has since held various positions, including Director of the Legal and Economic Department. Since 2018, he has served as a non-governmental advisor for the European Commission to the International Competition Network and represents BEUC in numerous European and international forums. Additionally, he is a member of ESMA’s Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group. Agustín holds a law degree from the National University of Córdoba in Argentina, an advanced master’s degree in ICT Law from the University of Namur in Belgium, and a PhD in Law from the University of Bremen in Germany.
Elodie Vandenhende has been Deputy Head of the Digital Economy Unit of the French Competition Authority, based in Paris, since 2021. After studying law in France and the United States, Elodie Vandenhende began her career as a lawyer specialising in competition law. A member of the bars of Paris and New York, she practised for several years within a reputable American law firm. She was then appointed to the Office of the Minister of Economy and Finance in 2009 as technical advisor for European affairs. From 2012, she joined the DGCCRF, where she specialised in litigation relating to restrictive competitive practices. In this capacity, she was responsible for the actions taken by the State against certain practices by digital platforms (practices implemented concerning online hotel bookings or practices with regard to vendors using online marketplaces). At the Autorité, she notably co-authored the Autorité’s opinions on the competitive functioning of the cloud (2023) and generative AI (2024).
Francesco Versace is an expert specializing in digital, platform, AI, and telecom regulation and competition policy, with over 13 years of experience in the field. With his deep expertise, he has a strong ability to assess risks and opportunities in the external political environment, influencing companies’ business decisions. He also possesses extensive knowledge of the EU decision-making process and maintains a robust network in Brussels, Italy, Europe, and the United States. Currently, Francesco serves as Associate Director of Government Affairs at Spotify, where he is responsible for political and regulatory engagement on EU digital policies. His current focus areas include AI, competition policy and regulation, telecoms, net neutrality, and copyright. Previously, Francesco worked at Vodafone Group and the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), among others. His career reflects his in-depth expertise and influence in the strategic areas of telecommunications and digital policy both in Europe and globally.
Angela Mills Wade has been the Executive Director of the European Publishers’ Council (EPC) since 1991. Previously, Angela worked as Head of European Affairs and Special Issues at the UK Advertising Association; European Executive for the ITV Companies’ Association and Assistant European Executive at the Retail Consortium.
The European Publishers Council is a high level group of Chairmen and CEOs of leading European media corporations actively involved in multimedia markets spanning newspaper, magazine, book, journal, internet and online database publishers, and radio and TV broadcasting.
The EPC is not a trade association but a high level group of the most senior representatives of newspaper and magazine publishers in Europe. Members have been working since 1991 to review the impact of proposed European legislation on the press, and then express an agreed opinion to the initiators of the legislation, politicians and opinion-formers with a view to influencing the content of final directives and regulations. The overall objective has always been to encourage good law-making for the media industry.
The Hotel Brussels
Address: Bd de Waterloo 38, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
On the Web: https://www.thehotel-brussels.be
A 2-minute walk from a metro station, this hotel is 10 minutes on foot from the Magritte Museum, and 15 minutes’ walk from the iconic Manneken Pis statue.
Questions? Contact The Capitol Forum team at info@thecapitolforum-news.com
DMA Implementation: Two Years Later, Where Do We Stand?
Presented by Geradin Partners and The Capitol Forum
Brussels | October 2025
08:45 – 09:15 – Registration and Networking Coffee
09:15 – 09:30 – Introductory Remarks
09:30 – 10:00 – Opening Keynote
10:00 – 11:15 – Panel 1: Two Years Since the First Designation Decisions: Where Do We Stand?
11:15 – 12:30 – Panel 2: The DMA and Mobile Ecosystems
12:30 – 13:45 – Networking Lunch
13:45 – 14:15 – Afternoon Keynote
14:15 – 15:30 – Panel 3: DMA and AI—How Do They Fit?
15:30 – 15:45 – Coffee Break
15:45 – 17:00 – Panel 4: DMA and Private Enforcement
17:00 – 18:30 – Closing Drinks Reception
This panel will assess the impact of the Commission’s first designation decisions under the DMA and the evolving state of compliance and enforcement. Panelists will explore:
Whether the DMA has achieved its goals of promoting fairness and contestability
How designated gatekeepers have changed their business models
Emerging tensions in enforcement, regulatory engagement, and global tech diplomacy
Early litigation trends and the broader implications for EU digital governance
Insights into the Commission’s 2025 review of the DMA, particularly amid rapid developments in AI and platform services
With the DMA introducing sweeping changes to mobile platforms, this panel will examine:
How obligations such as alternative app store access, sideloading, and anti-steering are shifting the competitive landscape
The evolving role of Apple and Google in enabling or resisting regulatory mandates
Key implementation challenges across operating systems and app developer ecosystems
Concerns over device security, data privacy, and user protection in a newly fragmented mobile environment
As generative AI technologies reshape platform services, this session will explore the complex interface between the DMA and the AI Act. Panelists will address:
Whether AI-powered services qualify as “core platform services” under the DMA
How existing DMA obligations apply to AI systems embedded in search engines, social media, and other platforms
Legal and policy concerns surrounding self-preferencing and AI-driven gatekeeping
What the rise of AI means for the future of DMA enforcement and digital market governance
This panel will examine how the DMA opens the door for private enforcement in national courts and what that means for businesses, consumers, and digital competition:
Legal pathways for business users and consumers to assert DMA rights
The relationship between public enforcement by the Commission and private actions in national courts
Collective redress mechanisms, damages claims, and interim relief
Jurisdictional coordination challenges and early case studies of DMA-related private litigation
DMA Implementation: Two Years Later, Where Do We Stand?
Presented by The Capitol Forum and Geradin Partners
Brussels | October 7, 2025
In September 2023, the European Commission designated the first “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), ushering in a new era of regulatory oversight for digital platforms across the EU. Two years on, the DMA’s contestability and fairness obligations are reshaping the competitive dynamics of digital markets—and raising urgent questions for enforcers, platforms, and the broader tech ecosystem.
Join leading voices from DG COMP, DG Connect, Spotify, OpenAI, BEUC, and other stakeholders for a full-day conference examining the practical impact and future trajectory of the DMA.
Through keynote remarks and expert-led panels, we’ll explore enforcement progress, emerging tensions between innovation and regulation, and the DMA’s evolving role in shaping digital and AI strategies in the EU and beyond
Agenda Highlights:
Two Years Since the First Designations: Where do we stand?
The DMA and Mobile Ecosystems: Implementation challenges and industry response
DMA and AI: How do new obligations intersect with fast-moving AI developments?
Private Enforcement: Emerging trends and legal theories under the DMA
This timely and highly curated event offers a platform for rigorous dialogue and actionable insights. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how the DMA is influencing business models, shaping platform behavior, and setting the tone for global digital regulation.
Networking coffee, lunch, and a closing drinks reception are included. Space is limited—advance registration is required.
Damien Geradin is the founding partner of Geradin Partners. Before founding Geradin Partners, Damien was a partner in the Brussels office of Covington & Burling LLP.
Damien has assisted clients in many high-stake European Commission investigations, including some of the most complex abuse of dominance cases with a focus on the tech, media and telecommunications sectors. He has also been involved in multiple cases before the EU courts, including the seminal judgment of the CJEU in Huawei v. ZTE regarding competition law and standard-essential patents. Additional important cases include Slovak Telekom v. Commission (refusal to supply and margin squeeze), Samsung SDI v. Commission (cartel), Sanoma v. Commission (State aid) and Apple v. Commission (DMA). Damien has also litigated a dozen cases on behalf of the Council of the EU in the trade sector.
Damien’s scholarly work has also been cited multiple times by Advocate Generals in their opinions. Damien is a professor of competition law and economics at Tilburg University. Over the years, he has held visiting Professorships at leading US law schools including Columbia, Harvard, Michigan and Yale. He was also a visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, for 15 years.
Javier Espinoza is an award-winning journalist. Mr. Espinoza is a leading voice in Brussels regulatory coverage. Prior to joining The Capitol Forum, he worked for more than 8 years at the Financial Times, where he held two core beats: first as Private Equity Correspondent for London, and later as the FT’s EU Correspondent covering competition and digital policy from Brussels. He was also part of the original team that launched the Financial Times’ Due Diligence newsletter in 2017, the FT’s popular daily briefing covering dealmaking and corporate finance.
Javier has contributed to some of the world’s most prominent media outlets, including the Daily Telegraph and the Wall Street Journal. His expertise spans across major industries, with a particular focus on the intersection of business, policy, and regulation in Europe.
Javier holds a master’s degree in political economy from King’s College London, an executive MBA from IE Business School, and an MA in international journalism from City University in London.
Andrea Appella is Visiting Professor at Kings College where he teaches an LLM course on competition and IP in the media industry. Previously he was a TMT Consultant at Herbert Smith Freehills. Andrea was a senior lawyer with significant experience in competition law and IP in the media industry, where he worked for most of his career. Until October 2022, he was Director, Global Competition at Netflix. Previously, he was Deputy General Counsel for Europe & Asia at 21st Century Fox. He is also a Visiting Professor at Kings College School of Law where he teaches the course “Competition and Intellectual Property in the Media Industry: Law and Practice”. His experience covers all the media sectors, i.e. movie production and distribution, broadcasting, licensing, publishing (newspapers, magazines and books), music and digital. After beginning his career as a solicitor at Herbert Smith (1994-1997), he worked for MTV Europe (1998-1999), Warner Bros (1999-2002) and Time Warner Europe (2003-2008), where he was Vice President and Associate General Counsel. Andrea was also Director of International at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in the UK (June 2008 – July 2009), where he was in charge of developing the OFT’s international strategy and led the team responsible for the OFT’s international activities (contributions to multilateral competition bodies such as OECD, ICN and ECN, bilateral relationships with foreign competition and consumer authorities, support of cross-border enforcement actions). Andrea is a former Co-Chair of the IBA Antitrust Committee. He was featured among the “Stars of the In-House Competition Bar” in Global Competition Review (March 2005) and in GCR’s list of top in-house antitrust lawyers in the world (Corporate Counsel 2019). He is a frequent speaker at competition law and media law conferences. Andrea earned his first law degree, magna cum laude, at the Libera Universita’ Internazionale degli Studi Sociali in Rome, and an L.L.M., with Merit, from the London School of Economics. He is a member of the bar in both Italy (as an avvocato) and England (as a solicitor).
Konstantina Bania is based in Brussels and London. She is and one of the leading experts in the area of EU platform regulation, including the DMA, the DSA, and the AI Act. She has a unique understanding of the DMA, having advised on the legislative process that led to the adoption of the DMA, the interpretation of the DMA after it entered into force, matters arising from designation decisions (or failure to designate), and non-compliance investigations. Konstantina has led and been involved in several cases against gatekeepers, which concern matters ranging from interoperability, self-preferencing in ranking, to anti-steering. She is the co-editor and co-author of one of the first treatises on the DMA “The Digital Markets Act: A Guide to the Regulation of Big Tech in the EU” (Hart Publishing, 2024).
Filomena Chirico leads the Unit in DG Connect in charge of the implementation of the Digital Markets Act within the Platforms Directorate. After a Master’s Degree in law, a PhD in institutional economics and a post-doc in Law and economics, she joined the European Commission, first in DG competition, then the Secretariat General and DG Research. Until end of 2022, she was Expert member of Cabinet of Commissioner Breton, with responsibility for the preparation and negotiations of both the Digital Services and the Digital Markets Act.
Jörn is a Director heading Burford Capital’s investment activity and operations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, focused on working with companies, funds, investors and law firms engaged in complex commercial litigation and arbitration in Europe and abroad. His work is being recognised by the leading directories including Chambers (Band 1), Lexology (Thought Leader Global Elite & Client Choice Award 2025), and Leaders League (Litigation Funding Europe).
Burford Capital is the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the London and New York Stock Exchange, and it works with law firms and clients around the world.
Prior to joining Burford, Jörn was a senior disputes lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills in Hong Kong and Schellenberg Wittmer in Zurich. In this role, he handled complex multi-jurisdictional commercial matters for global businesses across numerous sectors including automotive, energy production, industrial manufacturing and construction. He had previously worked at The Boston Consulting Group, the German Parliament, and the Foreign Relations Office of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Jörn has held various academic positions, including as research assistant in German private law and international human rights law, taught Swiss private law at the University of Basel, and has published in the fields of arbitration, legal finance, as well as contract and public international law.
A Swiss and Canadian national, Daniel Friedlaender has been working in public affairs and policy for over 20 years. He holds an MA in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe, as well as an executive MBA from Imperial College, focusing on digital innovation and platform convergence.
Friedlaender started as a political staffer in Canada prior to moving to Europe, first working in strategic communications before representing the global recording industry.
In 2016 he was hired to open and lead the new office of the Sky Group (later part of Comcast) in Brussels. As Head of the EU Office and Sky’s European Affairs Director, Friedlaender worked across the creative, cultural, telecoms, and technology sectors. In this role, he also chaired the European VoD Coalition and sat on the board of the Association of Commercial Television, as well as many other organisations.
Ranked both in Chambers and Legal 500, Helen has extensive experience in all aspects of competition law, including merger control, cartels, dominance and vertical restraints. Clients value her in-house and private practice expertise, which allows her to understand business drivers and offer clear and practical advice, even in the most complex of matters.
She regularly advises international companies on their European and international M&A and competition law matters including AkzoNobel, Booking.com, Just Eat Takeaway, Celanese, DSM-Firmenich, TomTom and SHV.
Helen is one of the ACM’s five non-governmental advisors supporting the development of competition policy within the International Competition Network. She teaches students of the Grotius Academie and of the Brussels School of Competition Masters programme. She is dual-qualified as both a solicitor (England & Wales) and Dutch advocaat. Helen is also included in Global Competition Review’s prestigious Women in Antitrust list and is part of the leadership team of W@ NL, a platform to promote female talent in the area of competition law.
Edith Hancock covers European competition enforcement for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal from Brussels.
Before joining WSJ, Edith worked as a competition reporter for Politico Europe. She holds a master’s degree in Business and Economics journalism from Columbia University in New York and in Interactive Journalism from City University in London.
Thomas Höppner joined the Berlin office of Geradin Partners in September 2025, after ten years as a partner at Hausfeld. He is advising a broad range of businesses, including broadcasters, app developers and e-commerce firms on (non-) compliance with the DMA and general competition law. He is litigating cases before EU and national courts and advocates a stronger enforcement of the DMA. His book “Self-Preferencing in Online Search Under Article 6(5) DMA” (Nomos, 2024) formed the basis for the Initiative for Neutral Search, co-signed by more than 150 companies and associations. Since 2016, he is also a professor for business and IP law.
Stijn Huijts is a Partner at Geradin Partners in Brussels. Before joining the firm, he was a Legal Director at the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), where he led the legal teams in several major investigations and court proceedings. At Geradin Partners, Stijn focusses on competition law and digital regulation. Recent work includes representing Corning Incorporated in European Commission investigation AT.40728 and acting for 34 news media groups in their claim for damages against Google in relation to Google’s abusive conduct in the ad tech sector. In relation to the DMA, Stijn acts for a rival app store developer with respect to access to iOS and Android, as well as advising several news publishers on self-preferencing and access issues concerning Google Search, including Google’s AI Overviews.
Kayvan Hazemi-Jebelli (Kay) is Senior Director for Europe at the Chamber of Progress, based in Brussels. Kay previously worked as Competition & Regulatory Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association, and has over a decade’s experience working as a competition lawyer in private practice, in the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition, as a visiting researcher at King’s College London, and as Senior Legal Counsel at a leading UK media and communications company. Before that, he worked as a computer engineer.
Kay received his B.Sc. in Computer Science & Engineering from UCLA, his J.D. from the University of the Pacific, and his LL.M. in Competition Law from King’s College London. Kay enjoys teaching and knowledge sharing, and has lectured on competition law and policy in several universities, in Europe and the US. He also started a podcast on European tech policy.
Kay has been passionate about technology ever since his dad brought home an x286 based PC in the 80s. He grew up in Silicon Valley and learned to build computers in high-school (which he then sold on the internet, in the 90s). When he’s not working to help all people benefit from technological leaps, he enjoys visiting museums, live music, and walking in nature.
Thomas is head of the unit dealing with e-commerce and the data economy in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition. Before that, he was Head of the Digital Single Market Task Force responsible for the e-commerce sector inquiry. Mr. Kramler holds a law degree and a PhD from the University of Vienna, Austria. He has graduated with a Master’s degree in European Community Law from the College of Europe (Bruges). Previously Mr. Kramler was deputy head of the unit responsible for antitrust cases in the information industries, internet and consumer electronics sectors.
Before joining the European Commission Mr. Kramler worked as agent representing the Austrian government before the European Courts in Luxemburg.
Agustín Reyna is the Director General of BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, which serves as the umbrella group for 44 independent consumer organisations across 31 European countries.
BEUC’s primary mission is to act as a strong consumer voice in Brussels and to ensure that consumer interests are given their proper weight in all EU policies.
Agustín joined BEUC in 2010 and has since held various positions, including Director of the Legal and Economic Department. Since 2018, he has served as a non-governmental advisor for the European Commission to the International Competition Network and represents BEUC in numerous European and international forums. Additionally, he is a member of ESMA’s Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group. Agustín holds a law degree from the National University of Córdoba in Argentina, an advanced master’s degree in ICT Law from the University of Namur in Belgium, and a PhD in Law from the University of Bremen in Germany.
Elodie Vandenhende has been Deputy Head of the Digital Economy Unit of the French Competition Authority, based in Paris, since 2021. After studying law in France and the United States, Elodie Vandenhende began her career as a lawyer specialising in competition law. A member of the bars of Paris and New York, she practised for several years within a reputable American law firm. She was then appointed to the Office of the Minister of Economy and Finance in 2009 as technical advisor for European affairs. From 2012, she joined the DGCCRF, where she specialised in litigation relating to restrictive competitive practices. In this capacity, she was responsible for the actions taken by the State against certain practices by digital platforms (practices implemented concerning online hotel bookings or practices with regard to vendors using online marketplaces). At the Autorité, she notably co-authored the Autorité’s opinions on the competitive functioning of the cloud (2023) and generative AI (2024).
Francesco Versace is an expert specializing in digital, platform, AI, and telecom regulation and competition policy, with over 13 years of experience in the field. With his deep expertise, he has a strong ability to assess risks and opportunities in the external political environment, influencing companies’ business decisions. He also possesses extensive knowledge of the EU decision-making process and maintains a robust network in Brussels, Italy, Europe, and the United States. Currently, Francesco serves as Associate Director of Government Affairs at Spotify, where he is responsible for political and regulatory engagement on EU digital policies. His current focus areas include AI, competition policy and regulation, telecoms, net neutrality, and copyright. Previously, Francesco worked at Vodafone Group and the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), among others. His career reflects his in-depth expertise and influence in the strategic areas of telecommunications and digital policy both in Europe and globally.
Angela Mills Wade has been the Executive Director of the European Publishers’ Council (EPC) since 1991. Previously, Angela worked as Head of European Affairs and Special Issues at the UK Advertising Association; European Executive for the ITV Companies’ Association and Assistant European Executive at the Retail Consortium.
The European Publishers Council is a high level group of Chairmen and CEOs of leading European media corporations actively involved in multimedia markets spanning newspaper, magazine, book, journal, internet and online database publishers, and radio and TV broadcasting.
The EPC is not a trade association but a high level group of the most senior representatives of newspaper and magazine publishers in Europe. Members have been working since 1991 to review the impact of proposed European legislation on the press, and then express an agreed opinion to the initiators of the legislation, politicians and opinion-formers with a view to influencing the content of final directives and regulations. The overall objective has always been to encourage good law-making for the media industry.
The Hotel Brussels
Address: Bd de Waterloo 38, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
On the Web: https://www.thehotel-brussels.be
A 2-minute walk from a metro station, this hotel is 10 minutes on foot from the Magritte Museum, and 15 minutes’ walk from the iconic Manneken Pis statue.
Questions? Contact The Capitol Forum team at info@thecapitolforum-news.com
DMA Implementation: Two Years Later, Where Do We Stand?
Presented by Geradin Partners and The Capitol Forum
Brussels | October 2025
08:45 – 09:15 – Registration and Networking Coffee
09:15 – 09:30 – Introductory Remarks
09:30 – 10:00 – Opening Keynote
10:00 – 11:15 – Panel 1: Two Years Since the First Designation Decisions: Where Do We Stand?
11:15 – 12:30 – Panel 2: The DMA and Mobile Ecosystems
12:30 – 13:45 – Networking Lunch
13:45 – 14:15 – Afternoon Keynote
14:15 – 15:30 – Panel 3: DMA and AI—How Do They Fit?
15:30 – 15:45 – Coffee Break
15:45 – 17:00 – Panel 4: DMA and Private Enforcement
17:00 – 18:30 – Closing Drinks Reception
This panel will assess the impact of the Commission’s first designation decisions under the DMA and the evolving state of compliance and enforcement. Panelists will explore:
Whether the DMA has achieved its goals of promoting fairness and contestability
How designated gatekeepers have changed their business models
Emerging tensions in enforcement, regulatory engagement, and global tech diplomacy
Early litigation trends and the broader implications for EU digital governance
Insights into the Commission’s 2025 review of the DMA, particularly amid rapid developments in AI and platform services
With the DMA introducing sweeping changes to mobile platforms, this panel will examine:
How obligations such as alternative app store access, sideloading, and anti-steering are shifting the competitive landscape
The evolving role of Apple and Google in enabling or resisting regulatory mandates
Key implementation challenges across operating systems and app developer ecosystems
Concerns over device security, data privacy, and user protection in a newly fragmented mobile environment
As generative AI technologies reshape platform services, this session will explore the complex interface between the DMA and the AI Act. Panelists will address:
Whether AI-powered services qualify as “core platform services” under the DMA
How existing DMA obligations apply to AI systems embedded in search engines, social media, and other platforms
Legal and policy concerns surrounding self-preferencing and AI-driven gatekeeping
What the rise of AI means for the future of DMA enforcement and digital market governance
This panel will examine how the DMA opens the door for private enforcement in national courts and what that means for businesses, consumers, and digital competition:
Legal pathways for business users and consumers to assert DMA rights
The relationship between public enforcement by the Commission and private actions in national courts
Collective redress mechanisms, damages claims, and interim relief
Jurisdictional coordination challenges and early case studies of DMA-related private litigation
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