Call for Papers: Ius Commune Workshop Series, 'New Frontiers in EU Competition & Internal Market Law' (Ius Commune Conference, Leuven, 24-25 November 2026)

The Ius Commune Workshop Series on New Frontiers in EU Competition & Internal Market Law offers a forum for the exchange of cutting-edge research on the two interrelated domains of EU competition law and EU internal market law. The workshop runs at the Ius Commune Conference in Leuven, 24-25 November 2026. Submissions may address developments at the intersection of law and regulation, economics, behavioural science and ethics.

The workshop is organised by Laura Frederika Lalikova, Gabriël van Rosmalen, Emma Dewulf and Ruben Verdoodt, under the guidance and coordination of KU Leuven and Universiteit Utrecht researchers Wouter Devroe, Anna Gerbrandy and Sybe de Vries. It is co-organised by KU Leuven's Consumer Competition Market (CCM) research institute. The Ius Commune Research School unites legal scholars of KU Leuven, Maastricht University, Utrecht University and the University of Amsterdam.

Submissions exploring how EU competition law is responding (or should respond) to contemporary challenges, including but not limited to:

• The digital transition (platforms, AI, the DMA, and the interaction with data protection)
• The energy transition (sustainability and the green economy)
• Geopolitical shifts, industrial policy, the pursuit of strategic autonomy, security of supply along supply chains
• Innovation competition and dynamic effects
• Subsidy control and investment screening (State aid, FSR and FDI)
• Growing concerns over inequality and (re)distributive justice, and Services of General Economic Interest (SGEIs)
• Multifaceted, multilevel and multi-actor enforcement of EU competition law, and the challenges and modalities of evolving enforcement
• Sector-specific insights from regulated industries such as healthcare, agri-food, energy, media, telecommunications and financial services
• Media pluralism and democracy

Submissions examining the evolution and resilience of EU internal market law, including but not limited to:

• The conceptual foundations and legal boundaries of the internal market, such as the relationship between case-law and legislation, and the interplay between negative and positive integration
• The development, implementation and enforcement of internal market rules and free movement legislation
• The internal market's role in supporting or resisting broader societal shifts and other policy domains: digitalisation and platformisation; rethinking the 'market' in the light of the green transition, the energy transition and sustainability goals; security, defence and geopolitical pressures; free movement of persons, citizenship, LGBTQI+ rights and fundamental rights; the rule of law, democracy, the coherence of EU internal market law and socio-economic inequality; disinformation, misinformation, the Digital Services Act, AI and fundamental rights; future-proofing European agriculture, food systems and supply chains; the common agricultural policy; and the interplay between agriculture, technology, intellectual property, healthy food and sustainable production

The call is open to colleagues from Ius Commune partner institutions (KU Leuven, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Universiteit Utrecht, Universiteit Maastricht) and prospective partner institutions (Universiteit Antwerpen, UHasselt, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen). The organisers also welcome a number of outside presenters from other institutions, particularly doctoral candidates and early-career researchers. CCM's announcement invites PhD candidates, early-career researchers and established scholars.

The organisers also invite expressions of interest for the role of discussant: indicate your area of expertise when contacting them.

• Abstract of a maximum of 300 words
• All contributions and presentations must be in English
• Accepted speakers will be asked to submit an extended abstract or draft paper, which will be circulated approximately two weeks before the workshop

The call states that outside presenters are subject to the applicable Ius Commune Conference fee of 250,- (as written in the call; the conference is held in Leuven, Belgium). The call does not state a fee for presenters from partner institutions.

Email your abstract (max. 300 words) to Laura Frederika Lalikova (l.f.lalikova@uu.nl) and Ruben Verdoodt (ruben.verdoodt@kuleuven.be) by 30 October 2026.

The official call for papers PDF on the Ius Commune website gives the abstract deadline as Friday 2 October 2026. KU Leuven's Consumer Competition Market (CCM), which co-organises the workshop, has since announced on its LinkedIn account that the call is extended: the new abstract deadline is 30 October, and selected authors will be notified after that date. The CCM post is linked under Important links.