Seminar: Role of Digital Experts

Webinar recording: Shaping agency digital transformation: the role of digital experts

In March, the AEWG co-chairs organized a webinar discussion on how agencies are acquiring and integrating digital expertise in order to achieve effective and efficient enforcement in the digital age. The webinar explored:

  • what digital skills and competencies are valuable in digital transformation and how agencies are acquiring them
  • how to bridge analogue and digital expertise
  • the role of non-traditional digital experts (e.g., digital transformation/enforcement officers, data scientists/engineers/analysts, IT forensic experts or other similar roles) in agencies’ digitalisation efforts
  • the digital experts’ perspective (e.g., what a typical work day for a digital expert looks like, innovative tools/approaches they employ in their work, as well as challenges/obstacles they encounter in their role)

Link to the webinar recording below.

Link to Seminar video

Seminar: Use of Screens in Antitrust

Use of Screens in Antitrust

In March, the Agency Effectiveness Working Group organized an economic seminar on “Use of Screens in Antitrust.” The panelists shared their experiences in recent investigations involving screens in detecting anti-competitive behavior, with examples from procurement and retail settings, addressing questions such as:

  • What are examples of recent cases where you have used screens?
  • What types of screens or markers did you use?
  • What are the economic challenges in using those screens?

Relive the seminar in the link below.

Link to Seminar video

Steering Group confirms Margarida Matos Rosa, AdC, as new ICN Vice Chair

ICN Steering Group confirms Margarida Matos Rosa, AdC, as new ICN Vice Chair for Growth and Recovery

On 30 March 2022 the ICN Steering Group confirmed Margarida Matos Rosa as new Vice Chair for Growth and Recovery.

Margarida Matos Rosa has been actively engaged with the ICN since becoming President of the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) in 2016. As ICN Vice Chair, she will focus her work on promoting the discussion of competition principles in the context of growth and recovery – a particularly relevant issue in these unprecedented times –,within the ICN and with external stakeholders.

Margarida Matos Rosa will work together with the ICN’s other Vice Chair, Tembinkosi Bonakele, Commissioner of the South African Competition Commission.

The ICN thanks Rod Sims, former Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), for his leadership as Vice Chair for Digital Co-ordination and Asia-Pacific Liaison, until his term as Chair of the ACCC came to an end in March 2022.


2022 ICN Merger Workshop, March 29-April 1

Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense CADE is pleased to invite you to the 2022 ICN Merger Workshop.

The Workshop will offer insight into current merger-related topics and post-pandemic scenarios, bringing together ICN members and non-governmental advisors (NGAs) to discuss a range of competition enforcement and antitrust matters, competitive concerns, merger reporting issues, and remedies, including recent challenges authorities have been facing and new digital solutions developed to address them.

The workshop will be held in Salvador, Brazil, between 29 March and 1 April as a hybrid event. 

The event will be live streamed for ICN members and registered NGAs.

More information, including registration, is available on the workshop website: ICN 2022 SALVADOR, (cade.gov.br)

Please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] should you have any additional questions regarding for the Merger Workshop 2022.


2022 ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy Contest

The International Competition Network and the World Bank Group are pleased to announce the launch of the 2022 Competition Advocacy Contest, which follows the successful experience of the previous seven joint editions.

 

The general topic of the Contest is “Preserving markets for sustained economic recovery: the role of competition advocacy after two years of Covid-19”. We are looking for success stories from competition agencies, other government bodies or non-governmental organizations that demonstrate the tangible results of competition advocacy regarding:

   Theme 1. Mitigating the risks of increased concentration and state participation in markets

   Theme 2. Spreading the benefits of the digital economy


   Theme 3. Engaging through results: successful experiences in planning, implementing, and monitoring advocacy strategies in times of crises.

 

The deadline for submissions is March 14th, 2022.

 

For more information and details on how to apply, please visit the contest webpage.

We welcome your participation!

For more information and details on how to apply, please click here

2022 ICN Working Group video updates


The 2022 working group updates on work product and activities for the 2021-22 ICN year and previews for next year will be made available here. Stay tuned!



Double Replay! 2021 Merger Working Group seminars on remedies

Now available! The Merger Working Group 2021 seminars on remedies are now posted.

  • Substantive Discussion of Structural and Behavioural Remedies (4 November 2021)
  • Coordination of Multijurisdictional Merger Remedies (11 November 2021)

Enjoy viewing and re-viewing these videos via the link below.


Implementing Effective Leniency Programs -- CWG webinar 26 January


Please join us to the first webinar of the Cartel Working Group on “Implementing Effective Leniency Programs: Lessons Learnt and Challenges Ahead” which will take place on 26 January 2022 (Wednesday) at –  2:00 pm CET – Europe Time.

Moderator:

–          Mr Pedro Callol – Partner, Callol, Coca & Asociados , Spain

Speakers:

–          Mr Juan David Gutiérrez- Professor, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

–          Mr David Fernández – Advisor of the Direction of Investigation and Promotion of Defense of Competition, INDECOPI, Peru

–          Ms Armine Hakobyan – Deputy Director of the Department of Competition and Public Procurement Policy, Eurasian Economic Commission

–          Mr Nick Wilkins- Principal Adviser Criminalization, Cartel Investigations Team, New Zealand Commerce Commission, New Zealand

–          Mr David Anderson – Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, Belgium

With the increased enforcement efforts against cartels, many ICN member agencies have adopted leniency programs over the years. “Leniency programs” are an important instrument in the fight against cartels since competition agencies can more easily uncover and sanction cartel participants by protecting the first applicant immune from punishment or by giving other applicants reduced sanctions. Information or evidence can be obtained “first-hand” and faster by competition agencies. They also form a deterrence mechanism for those who plan to be a part of cartel arrangements.
On the other hand, there are also some challenges that might prevent effective and efficient leniency programs such as private enforcement and regulatory interventions. Furthermore, the globalization of business and the consequent rise in the number of cartels with international scope together poses new difficulties and challenges in the investigation, in light of the proliferation of leniency systems among competition authorities, highlighting the importance of increased co-operation on both procedural and substantive issues.

The ICN CWG has addressed these issues in many of its work products, including Guidance on Enhancing Cross-Border Leniency Cooperation (2020) http://internationalcompetitionnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CWG-Leniency-Coordination-Guidance.pdf and Report on Good Practices for Incentivising Leniency Applications (2019) http://internationalcompetitionnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CWG-Good-practices-for-incentivising-leniency.pdf

For more information about this seminar, please contact the organiser at: [email protected]


2022 ICN Advocacy Workshop, 9-10 February

The Spanish National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) is pleased to invite you to the 2022 ICN Advocacy Workshop. During the two-day event, ICN members as well as non-governmental advisors (NGAs) will have the opportunity to share their experiences on current topics such as the role competition advocacy in the economic recovery, the value of competition beyond market efficiency, the challenges posed by digitalisation or the impact of competition policies on labour markets, among other topics.

REGISTRATION

The Workshop will be held online, from 9 to 10 February 2022. Prior registration is needed. Agenda and registration are available at the event webpage: https://icn.cnmc.es/

 

The CNMC looks forward to meeting ICN member agencies and NGAs in February 2022! If you have any questions, you can write us at: [email protected]


ICN Virtual Spotlight with ACCC Chair Rod Sims

ICN Virtual Spotlight

Competition Enforcement in the Digital Economy

Rod Sims, Chair Australia Competition and Consumer Commission and ICN Vice Chair

Andreas Mundt, President Bundeskartellamt and ICN Chair

 

Andreas Mundt and Rod Sims on the future direction of competition enforcement in the digital economy

On 13 December ICN Chair Andreas Mundt sat down for a candid discussion with Rod Sims, Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Rod is the ICN Vice Chair for Digital Coordination and Asia Pacific Liaison. In this 1:1 spotlight Andreas and Rod pondered the future direction of competition enforcement in the digital economy.

Please click the link below for video of the the webinar.

Link to video