The Federal Government has appointed Prof. Dr Rupprecht Podszun as a member of the Monopolies Commission for the term of office from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2028.

The new Commission member, Rupprecht Podszun, has held the Chair of Civil Law, German and European Competition Law at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf since 2016 and is Director of the Institute for Competition Law. From 2013 to 2016, he held the Chair of Civil Law, Intellectual Property Law and Business Law at the University of Bayreuth. He has been President of the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) since 2023. His research focuses on antitrust and competition law, with a particular emphasis on the media and internet sectors, state economic activity, and the intersections with intellectual property law, law and sustainability. For many years, he has been providing insights into the background and developments in competition policy on his successful podcast ‘Bei Anruf Wettbewerb’, alongside the former Chair of the Monopolies Commission, Prof. Dr Justus Haucap.

Prof. Dr Rupprecht Podszun succeeds Prof. Dr Jürgen Kühling, who is due to step down from the Commission on 30 June 2024 following two terms of office. Prof. Kühling was a member of the Monopolies Commission from July 2016 to June 2024 and served as its Chair from September 2020 to June 2024. During his tenure, the Commission addressed key issues including the digital and socio-ecological transformation. This included, for example, the handling of digital ecosystems, data access and the Digital Markets Act, as well as competition issues in healthcare markets and distortions of competition in international trade caused by subsidies to state-owned and private companies in China. Also worth mentioning are the Monopolies Commission’s reports on the regulated sectors of rail, energy, telecommunications and postal services, as well as its statement on the online activities of public service broadcasters. The Commission extends its special thanks to Prof. Kühling for his commitment to competition.