ENTraNCE – Training for national judges

Following the successful organisation of the fourteen previous editions, the Centre for a Digital Society (CDS) at the European University Institute (EUI) welcomes applications from judges of EU Member States to participate in ENTraNCE for Judges 2026, a project co-financed by the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission.

ENTraNCE for Judges is a training course addressed to 30 national judges from EU Member States interested in deepening their knowledge and sharing experience on recent developments on the interplay between EU competition law and regulation in digital markets.

Key features of the 2026 programme:

1. Residential training at the EUI campus in Florence: all selected judges attend three days of advanced training on the recent developments on both cross-cutting legal and economic concepts and the recent case law and enforcement practice regarding digital markets;
2. Interactive classes featuring frontal lectures and group exercises under the lead of
prominent competition scholars with an interdisciplinary approach in law and economics;
3. Online activities: participants access background materials, including readings and
lectures recordings on a dedicated e-learning platform;
4. Coaching: the ENTraNCE scientific team supports individual participants who have
theoretical and practical questions concerning real competition law issues;
5. Final Workshop: all selected judges will be invited to attend the Final Workshop in person,  at the premises of the European University Institute at Badia Fiesolana in Florence. During the workshop, the selected participants will present a case note summarising a national ruling in the field of EU competition law.

Main topics of discussion

1. The interplay of competition law, the DMA and national regulation in digital
markets and the role played by national courts
2. Market definition and market power assessment in digital markets
3. Recent case law and enforcement practice in digital markets

This executive training programme is organised by the Centre for a Digital Society and financially supported by DG Competition of the European Commission, which funds the participation to the training programme for a selected group of national judges. The funding for this training program has been awarded by DG Competition based on a competitive selection procedure.

ENTraNCE for Judges draws exclusively on the academic expertise of the Centre, which operates autonomously and in adherence to the EUI Guidelines on Ethics and Integrity in Academic Research and the EUI General Principles concerning the Receipt of External Funds.  The CDS underscores the deliberate exclusion of its market donors from the process of designing or administering courses aimed at public officials. In particular, the EUI Funding Committee regularly scrutinises any external funding from private donors received by the CDS. The CDS academic team members, members of the CDS Scientific Committee, other renowned academics, as well as judges from the EU Court of Justice and national courts are usually appointed as instructors at the residential training of ENTraNCE for Judges. Occasionally, professionals with teaching experience may also be invited as instructors in their personal capacity, whenever their specific experience can provide an added value to the course.

Any questions? Contact the team at CDS.Trainings@eui.eu