DMA Enforcement Three Years On
Presented by The Capitol Forum and Geradin Partners
Brussels | September 22, 2026
Sofitel Brussels Europe (Place Jourdan 1, 1040 Brussels)
Three years after the European Commission designated the first gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the law has moved from implementation to enforcement.
The first non-compliance investigations have produced landmark decisions, litigation is beginning to clarify key legal questions, and regulators across Europe are increasingly confronting how the DMA interacts with a broader framework of digital regulation, including the Digital Services Act, GDPR, the AI Act, and national competition rules.
Join senior policymakers, regulators, legal practitioners, academics, and industry leaders for a full-day conference examining the lessons emerging from the DMA’s first years of enforcement and the challenges that lie ahead.
Through keynote remarks, panel discussions, and a closing fireside chat, participants will explore how enforcement is evolving, how digital platforms are adapting to new obligations, and whether the DMA remains fit for purpose as artificial intelligence transforms digital markets.
Agenda Highlights
Inside the First Wave of DMA Enforcement: Pearls and Pitfalls
• Lessons from the first gatekeeper designations and compliance plans
• Early non-compliance investigations involving search, self-preferencing, app stores, data use, and interoperability
• The growing role of specification decisions in shaping implementation
• Key developments emerging from General Court litigation
DMA in Context: Fitting Within Europe’s Digital Rulebook
• How the DMA interacts with the DSA, GDPR, AI Act, and national competition regimes
• Practical compliance and governance challenges for platforms and business users
• Opportunities for coordinated and integrated enforcement across regulatory authorities
AI and the DMA
• How gatekeepers are embedding AI tools and services within core platform services
• Whether existing DMA categories can accommodate emerging AI business models
• The intersection of AI, competition, and the creative industries
Fireside Chat: DMA Enforcement Five Years From Now
A forward-looking conversation between a Member of the European Parliament and the head of a national competition authority examining the future direction of DMA enforcement, market contestability, and digital regulation in Europe.
Networking coffee breaks, lunch, and a closing drinks reception are included.
Space is limited and advance registration is required.
Questions?
Please contact The Capitol Forum team at events@tcfpress.com.
Javier Espinoza is an award-winning journalist and a leading voice in Brussels regulatory coverage. Before joining The Capitol Forum, he spent more than eight years at the Financial Times, serving as Private Equity Correspondent in London and EU Correspondent covering competition and digital policy in Brussels. He was also part of the team that launched the FT’s Due Diligence newsletter. His work has appeared in the Daily Telegraph and The Wall Street Journal, and he holds degrees from King’s College London, IE Business School and City University London.
Damien Geradin is the founding partner of Geradin Partners and a leading authority on EU competition law. He has represented clients in high-stakes European Commission investigations, including complex abuse of dominance matters in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors, and has particular expertise in standard-essential patent licensing. He is also Professor of Competition Law and Economics at Tilburg University and a visiting professor at University College London, having previously held visiting positions at Columbia, Harvard, Michigan, Yale and the College of Europe. Chambers has recognized him as one of the leading antitrust thinkers and practitioners in Europe.
Address: Place Jourdan 1, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
DMA Enforcement Three Years On will be held at Sofitel Brussels Europe, located in the heart of Brussels’ European Quarter on the vibrant Place Jourdan. The venue is within walking distance of the European Parliament, European Commission, and other major EU institutions, making it an ideal setting for discussions on the future of digital regulation and competition policy in Europe.
Surrounded by Leopold Park and just a short walk from Cinquantenaire Park, the hotel offers convenient access to Brussels’ public transportation network and is only a few metro stops from the historic city centre and Grand Place.
The conference will take place in the hotel’s recently renovated meeting facilities, with networking breaks, lunch, and a closing drinks reception included as part of the program.
Questions?
Please contact The Capitol Forum team at events@tcfpress.com.
Agenda & Panel Descriptions
DMA Enforcement Three Years On
Presented by Geradin Partners and The Capitol Forum
Brussels | September 22, 2026
🕘 Agenda Overview
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: Inside the First Wave of DMA Enforcement: Pearls and Pitfalls
11:15 – 12:30 – Panel 2: DMA in Context: Fitting Within Europe’s Digital Rulebook
12:30 – 13:45 – Networking Lunch
13:45 – 14:15 – Afternoon Keynote
14:15 – 15:30 – Panel 3: AI and the DMA
15:30 – 15:45 – Coffee Break
15:45 – 17:00 – Fireside Chat: DMA Enforcement Five Years From Now
17:00 – 18:30 – Closing Drinks Reception
🔍 Panel Descriptions
Panel 1: Inside the First Wave of DMA Enforcement: Pearls and Pitfalls
Three years after the first gatekeeper designations, DMA enforcement is entering a new phase. This panel will examine the lessons emerging from the Commission’s initial investigations, compliance reviews, and specification decisions. Discussion topics include:
• What regulators, platforms, and market participants have learned from the first designation decisions and compliance plans
• The anatomy of early non-compliance investigations involving search, self-preferencing, app store rules, data combinations, and interoperability
• How specification decisions are translating the DMA’s legal obligations into practical design requirements and implementation timelines
• Early signals emerging from General Court litigation and what they may reveal about the future direction of DMA enforcement
• Key issues likely to shape the Commission’s ongoing review of the DMA
Panel 2: DMA in Context: Fitting Within Europe’s Digital Rulebook
The DMA is increasingly operating alongside a growing body of digital regulation at both the European and national levels. This panel will explore how regulators and businesses are navigating overlapping legal frameworks and enforcement priorities. Discussion topics include:
• How the DMA interacts with the Digital Services Act, GDPR, AI Act, and national competition regimes
• Areas where regulatory mandates align, overlap, or create practical compliance challenges
• How companies are organizing governance structures to manage competition, privacy, safety, and AI obligations simultaneously
• Opportunities for coordinated enforcement, information-sharing, and cross-regulatory cooperation
• The role of the DMA in promoting competition while maintaining consistency across Europe’s broader digital rulebook
Panel 3: AI and the DMA
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded within core platform services, raising new questions about the scope and application of the DMA. This panel will examine whether existing rules remain fit for purpose as AI transforms digital markets. Discussion topics include:
• How designated gatekeepers are integrating AI assistants, recommendation systems, and generative AI tools into existing platform services
• The implications of AI-enabled products for the practical application of Articles 5, 6, and 7 of the DMA
• Whether standalone AI services, foundation models, and AI agents can be addressed within existing core platform service categories
• The relationship between AI, competition, and market power in digital ecosystems
• The impact of AI-driven platform services on publishers, creators, and the broader creative industries
Fireside Chat: DMA Enforcement Five Years From Now
As the DMA approaches its fifth year, policymakers and regulators are increasingly focused on its long-term effectiveness and evolution. In this closing conversation, a Member of the European Parliament and the head of a national competition authority will discuss:
• Whether the DMA is achieving its objectives of fairness and contestability
• The future role of national authorities in DMA enforcement
• How artificial intelligence may reshape competition policy and digital regulation
• Potential areas for reform, refinement, or expansion of the DMA framework
• What DMA enforcement could look like five years from now
DMA Enforcement Three Years On
Presented by The Capitol Forum and Geradin Partners
Brussels | September 22, 2026
Sofitel Brussels Europe (Place Jourdan 1, 1040 Brussels)
Three years after the European Commission designated the first gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the law has moved from implementation to enforcement.
The first non-compliance investigations have produced landmark decisions, litigation is beginning to clarify key legal questions, and regulators across Europe are increasingly confronting how the DMA interacts with a broader framework of digital regulation, including the Digital Services Act, GDPR, the AI Act, and national competition rules.
Join senior policymakers, regulators, legal practitioners, academics, and industry leaders for a full-day conference examining the lessons emerging from the DMA’s first years of enforcement and the challenges that lie ahead.
Through keynote remarks, panel discussions, and a closing fireside chat, participants will explore how enforcement is evolving, how digital platforms are adapting to new obligations, and whether the DMA remains fit for purpose as artificial intelligence transforms digital markets.
Agenda Highlights
Inside the First Wave of DMA Enforcement: Pearls and Pitfalls
• Lessons from the first gatekeeper designations and compliance plans
• Early non-compliance investigations involving search, self-preferencing, app stores, data use, and interoperability
• The growing role of specification decisions in shaping implementation
• Key developments emerging from General Court litigation
DMA in Context: Fitting Within Europe’s Digital Rulebook
• How the DMA interacts with the DSA, GDPR, AI Act, and national competition regimes
• Practical compliance and governance challenges for platforms and business users
• Opportunities for coordinated and integrated enforcement across regulatory authorities
AI and the DMA
• How gatekeepers are embedding AI tools and services within core platform services
• Whether existing DMA categories can accommodate emerging AI business models
• The intersection of AI, competition, and the creative industries
Fireside Chat: DMA Enforcement Five Years From Now
A forward-looking conversation between a Member of the European Parliament and the head of a national competition authority examining the future direction of DMA enforcement, market contestability, and digital regulation in Europe.
Networking coffee breaks, lunch, and a closing drinks reception are included.
Space is limited and advance registration is required.
Questions?
Please contact The Capitol Forum team at events@tcfpress.com.
Javier Espinoza is an award-winning journalist and a leading voice in Brussels regulatory coverage. Before joining The Capitol Forum, he spent more than eight years at the Financial Times, serving as Private Equity Correspondent in London and EU Correspondent covering competition and digital policy in Brussels. He was also part of the team that launched the FT’s Due Diligence newsletter. His work has appeared in the Daily Telegraph and The Wall Street Journal, and he holds degrees from King’s College London, IE Business School and City University London.
Damien Geradin is the founding partner of Geradin Partners and a leading authority on EU competition law. He has represented clients in high-stakes European Commission investigations, including complex abuse of dominance matters in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors, and has particular expertise in standard-essential patent licensing. He is also Professor of Competition Law and Economics at Tilburg University and a visiting professor at University College London, having previously held visiting positions at Columbia, Harvard, Michigan, Yale and the College of Europe. Chambers has recognized him as one of the leading antitrust thinkers and practitioners in Europe.
Address: Place Jourdan 1, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
DMA Enforcement Three Years On will be held at Sofitel Brussels Europe, located in the heart of Brussels’ European Quarter on the vibrant Place Jourdan. The venue is within walking distance of the European Parliament, European Commission, and other major EU institutions, making it an ideal setting for discussions on the future of digital regulation and competition policy in Europe.
Surrounded by Leopold Park and just a short walk from Cinquantenaire Park, the hotel offers convenient access to Brussels’ public transportation network and is only a few metro stops from the historic city centre and Grand Place.
The conference will take place in the hotel’s recently renovated meeting facilities, with networking breaks, lunch, and a closing drinks reception included as part of the program.
Questions?
Please contact The Capitol Forum team at events@tcfpress.com.
Agenda & Panel Descriptions
DMA Enforcement Three Years On
Presented by Geradin Partners and The Capitol Forum
Brussels | September 22, 2026
🕘 Agenda Overview
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: Inside the First Wave of DMA Enforcement: Pearls and Pitfalls
11:15 – 12:30 – Panel 2: DMA in Context: Fitting Within Europe’s Digital Rulebook
12:30 – 13:45 – Networking Lunch
13:45 – 14:15 – Afternoon Keynote
14:15 – 15:30 – Panel 3: AI and the DMA
15:30 – 15:45 – Coffee Break
15:45 – 17:00 – Fireside Chat: DMA Enforcement Five Years From Now
17:00 – 18:30 – Closing Drinks Reception
🔍 Panel Descriptions
Panel 1: Inside the First Wave of DMA Enforcement: Pearls and Pitfalls
Three years after the first gatekeeper designations, DMA enforcement is entering a new phase. This panel will examine the lessons emerging from the Commission’s initial investigations, compliance reviews, and specification decisions. Discussion topics include:
• What regulators, platforms, and market participants have learned from the first designation decisions and compliance plans
• The anatomy of early non-compliance investigations involving search, self-preferencing, app store rules, data combinations, and interoperability
• How specification decisions are translating the DMA’s legal obligations into practical design requirements and implementation timelines
• Early signals emerging from General Court litigation and what they may reveal about the future direction of DMA enforcement
• Key issues likely to shape the Commission’s ongoing review of the DMA
Panel 2: DMA in Context: Fitting Within Europe’s Digital Rulebook
The DMA is increasingly operating alongside a growing body of digital regulation at both the European and national levels. This panel will explore how regulators and businesses are navigating overlapping legal frameworks and enforcement priorities. Discussion topics include:
• How the DMA interacts with the Digital Services Act, GDPR, AI Act, and national competition regimes
• Areas where regulatory mandates align, overlap, or create practical compliance challenges
• How companies are organizing governance structures to manage competition, privacy, safety, and AI obligations simultaneously
• Opportunities for coordinated enforcement, information-sharing, and cross-regulatory cooperation
• The role of the DMA in promoting competition while maintaining consistency across Europe’s broader digital rulebook
Panel 3: AI and the DMA
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded within core platform services, raising new questions about the scope and application of the DMA. This panel will examine whether existing rules remain fit for purpose as AI transforms digital markets. Discussion topics include:
• How designated gatekeepers are integrating AI assistants, recommendation systems, and generative AI tools into existing platform services
• The implications of AI-enabled products for the practical application of Articles 5, 6, and 7 of the DMA
• Whether standalone AI services, foundation models, and AI agents can be addressed within existing core platform service categories
• The relationship between AI, competition, and market power in digital ecosystems
• The impact of AI-driven platform services on publishers, creators, and the broader creative industries
Fireside Chat: DMA Enforcement Five Years From Now
As the DMA approaches its fifth year, policymakers and regulators are increasingly focused on its long-term effectiveness and evolution. In this closing conversation, a Member of the European Parliament and the head of a national competition authority will discuss:
• Whether the DMA is achieving its objectives of fairness and contestability
• The future role of national authorities in DMA enforcement
• How artificial intelligence may reshape competition policy and digital regulation
• Potential areas for reform, refinement, or expansion of the DMA framework
• What DMA enforcement could look like five years from now
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