Carles Esteva Mosso, former Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition, draws on more than 25 years of enforcement agency experience to advise clients on complex EU and international mergers, antitrust and State aid matters.

Carles advises clients on complex merger control proceedings, including Phase II investigations and merger appeals. He is a leader in the area of foreign subsidies control and has advised clients on the implementation of the EU Regulation on Foreign Subsidies (FSR), including handling the first filing ever submitted to the EC under the new regulation.

Prior to joining the firm, he served in multiple high-profile positions at the European Commission, including as Deputy Director-General in charge of Merger Control (from 2014-2019) and of State Aids (from 2019-2021). He also held a number of other leadership posts relating to merger enforcement and competition policy. He was a member of the Cabinet of former Commissioner Mario Monti; Head of Unit responsible for Merger Policy; Mergers in Telecoms and IT and Private Enforcement and Director for Competition Policy and Strategy.

In these capacities, he has been actively involved in some of Europe’s most significant and complex merger control and State aid matters, policy decisions, and legislative proposals over the past two decades. Amongst others, he spearheaded the proposal for an EU regulation on foreign subsidies. His experience includes working in cooperation with senior government representatives of EU Member States on matters of national importance and with prominent competition enforcement agencies across the world.

Carles combines his deep understanding of law and policy matters, commercial acumen, as well as his unique perspective on complex decision making and big picture issues to assist clients with their most sophisticated competition law matters.
 

Carles' representative matters include advising:

  • Global companies in a variety of sectors on the implementation of the EU Regulation on Foreign Subsidies, including handling the first filing ever submitted under the new regulation
  • Bunge Limited for its planned US$34 billion merger with rival Viterra, requiring merger notifications in 30 jurisdictions globally (EU conditional Phase I clearance)
  • Orange on:
    • Its €1.8 billion acquisition of VOO, a Belgian telecom operator (EU Phase II clearance)
    • Its joint venture with MásMóvil valued at €18.6 billion (conditional EU Phase II clearance)
  • Viasat in relation to its US$7.3 billion acquisition of Inmarsat
  • GRAIL in the EC’s review of its acquisition by Illumina, a landmark case concerning application of the referral powers under Art. 22 of the EU Merger Regulation and related litigation before the General Court and Court of Justice
  • A global technology company on various strategic regulatory issues in connection with the EC’s Digital Markets Act Proposal

Bar Qualification

  • Brussels Bar - E List
  • Spain (Abogado)

Education

  • BA in Political Science & International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 1994
  • BA in Economics, Universidad de Barcelona, 1992
  • MS in EU Competition Law, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1992
  • Law, Universidad de Barcelona, 1990

Languages Spoken

  • Spanish
  • English
  • French