EU Antitrust Chief Vestager to Hold High-Level Tech Talks With CEOs in US

Margrethe Vestager

In a significant transatlantic dialogue, Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's competition commissioner, is set to meet with the CEOs of some of the world's biggest tech companies during a visit to the United States next week.

The meetings, confirmed by her office on Friday, will see Vestager face-to-face with Tim Cook of Apple, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet (Google's parent company), Hock Tan of Broadcom, and Jensen Huang of Nvidia.

Vestager will meet these big tech CEOs in San Francisco and Palo Alto on Thursday and Friday, her adviser Christina Holm Eiberg said. She will also meet OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati and its Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon.

While the agenda for the individual meetings will focus on European digital regulation and competition policy, it's also expected discuss topics ranging across a spectrum of tech-related issues, including antitrust investigations, data privacy concerns, and the increasing dominance of US tech giants in the global market.

Vestager, a known champion of fair competition, has previously taken several high-profile actions against companies like Google and Apple, drawing both praise and criticism from across the Atlantic.

This visit presents a valuable opportunity for both sides to engage in open dialogue and seek common ground on these crucial issues.

For the EU, it's a chance to reiterate its concerns about potential anti-competitive practices and push for a more level playing field for European tech companies.

For the US tech giants, it's a chance to understand the EU's perspective and potentially head off future regulatory challenges.

The outcome of these meetings could have far-reaching implications for the future of the global tech landscape. Whether they lead to concrete progress or simply serve as a platform for future negotiations, their significance cannot be understated.

With Vestager, a renowned enforcer of fair play, at the helm, the discussions promise to be both high-stakes and potentially game-changing.