Antitrust enforcers should look at the world of financial regulation as an example of how to pool resources and streamline enforcement, according to top EU competition official Olivier Guersent. That could be particularly useful in tackling any global antitrust concerns over AI, he said, although he noted that any curb on the sovereignty of countries to act themselves would be unpopular.
Antitrust enforcers should look at the world of financial regulation as an example of how to pool resources and streamline enforcement, according to top EU competition official Olivier Guersent.He described how “colleges” of financial regulators meet to assess the financial data and risk management of cross-border banks, with discussions chaired by the supervisor of the bank’s home country.
“I think we would be well inspired to think about something like this because that would indeed avoid having 30 cases around the world that are, in a sense, the same against the same company,” Guersent told a conference. He noted that the same idea had been proposed by the head of the French competition agency, Benoît Coeuré, who spent several years at the European Central Bank.
Guersent recognized that “subsuming" various global concerns into one single case "creates a number of issues of sovereignty” and that that is likely to make the idea unpopular.
He cited the AI sector as being particularly suited to a coordinated international approach. Antitrust enforcers across the globe, from Washington to Tokyo via London and Brussels, are or have conducted studies into AI.
The use of supervisory colleges in the banking and insurance sectors have given rise to debate over how to balance the different priorities and interests of participating regulators, as well as between the different countries.
Between 2014 and 2019 Guersent headed up the European Commission department responsible for financial regulation. He is currently the director-general responsible for competition policy and enforcement.
*The Future of Antitrust Enforcement & Policy, Concurrences, Washington, DC; April 1, 2025.
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