Not so long ago it seemed like we had arrived to the end of history in competition law. The level of substantive convergence at the international level was remarkable and unique by reference to most other areas of the law. The level of substantive convergence within the EU (and the EEA more generally) was even more impressive. All national competition authorities and judges understood and respected the European Commission’s role as primus inter pares, the Commission exercised this role flexibly but responsibly, and politicians had not yet shown an interest in transforming the discipline.

But things have changed, and EU competition law enforcement is now facing a fragmentation threat. This post seeks to (A) demonstrate the existence of this threat; (B) identify the reasons why the existing safeguards may not be working; and (C) throw out there a proposal intended to spur some debate