Olivier Guersent: Inside the EU’s Antitrust Machine and the Future of European Power

In a wide-ranging conversation, Olivier Guersent—former Director-General for Competition at the European Commission—joins Javier Espinoza, Europe Executive Editor at The Capitol Forum and host of The Brussels Beat, to reflect on decades of leadership in EU public policy.

Together, they explore:

• Guersent’s return to public life following a near-fatal accident in 2010
• His role in forging the EU’s banking union and navigating multiple financial crises
• The challenges and unfinished business of enforcing the Digital Markets Act
• Why Europe must rethink its approach to constant new legislation
• And what it would take for the EU to become a true strategic power—not just a regulatory one

Guersent also shares what policymakers often misunderstand about Big Tech, mergers, and industrial policy—and explains why crisis remains the EU’s default driver of reform.