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Ten Years of the Vlaardingen Arcade 10 September 2026 13:00 - 15:00

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Toward more or less competition?

In late 2016, in the case of the Vlaardingen Slot Machine Hall, the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State established a general legal framework for the allocation of scarce licenses. The administrative body is required to provide all (potential) applicants with an opportunity to compete. The administrative authority must ensure an appropriate level of transparency regarding the availability of the scarce license, the allocation procedure, the application period, and the criteria to be applied, and must provide clarity on these matters in a timely manner prior to the start of the application procedure. This requirement is based on the obligation of transparency arising from the case law of the Court of Justice.

The doctrine has since developed at a rapid pace and has been extended to other areas, such as subsidies and the government’s allocation of land under private law (Didam).

During the seminar, ten years after the “Speelautomatenhal Vlaardingen” case, we will take stock of the situation. We will reflect on the development of the duty to compete over the past decade and look ahead from the perspective of national administrative law, European law, and public procurement law: toward more or less room for competition?

Are you interested in participating in the seminar? Please register with Marleen Botman using this form. The number of available spots is limited.

Programme

1:00 – 1:15 p.m. Welcome with coffee and tea

1:15 – 1:20 p.m. Opening remarks by the chairperson

1:20 – 1:50 Reflection on 10 Years of the Vlaardingen Slot Machine Hall

Prof. Rob Widdershoven, Advocate General for Administrative Law and Professor Emeritus of European Administrative Law at Utrecht University

1:50 PM – 2:00 PM Questions and discussion

2:00 – 2:15 Short break

2:15 – 2:55 More or Less Room for Competition?

Exceptions to the duty to compete in cases of scarce permits and subsidies: better to borrow a good idea than to come up with a bad one?

Mara Burgstede, Ph.D. candidate in scarce rights at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

The obligation to compete under EU law in the context of services of general economic interest

Prof. Johan van de Gronden, Professor of European Law at Radboud University Nijmegen

Exceptions to the competition obligation in times of geopolitical tensions: a critical analysis

Sophie Prent, LL.M., Ph.D., Senior Legal and Administrative Advisor at the Ministry of Defense and affiliated with the Public Contracts: Law & Governance research program at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2:55 – 3:00 Conclusions and closing remarks

About Ten Years of the Vlaardingen Arcade

Starting date

  • 10 September 2026

Time

  • 13:00 - 15:00

Location

  • VU Main building
  • Agora 2

Address

  • De Boelelaan 1105
  • 1081 HV Amsterdam

Organised by

  • The "Public Contracts: Law & Governance" research program at the Faculty of Law of VU Amsterdam.

Language

  • Dutch

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