2021 & 2022 Annual Conference Dates
Save the Dates!
The ICN’s 2021 Annual Conference will be a virtual event, to take place online from 13-15 October 2021. Our hosts, the Hungarian GvH, together with the ICN Working Group Co-chairs are organizing a compelling conference week of plenary panels and breakout discussions. Stay tuned for the agenda and further details about participation.
The ICN is pleased to announce that the 2022 Annual Conference will take place in Berlin, 4-6 May 2022, hosted by the German Bundeskartellamt.
Assessing Crisis Cartels at times of Covid 19 -- CWG webinar materials
Webinar Materials: Assessing Crisis Cartels at times of Covid 19
In May 2021, the Cartel Working Group organized a webinar on crisis cartels and the COVID-19 pandemic. The materials from the call are available.
Compliance in Cartels -- CWG webinar materials
Webinar Materials: Compliance in Cartel Cases
In April 2021, the Cartel Working Group organized a webinar on compliance and cartels. The materials from the call are available.
2021 ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy Contest
The 2021 ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy Contest is now open!
8 April 2021. The International Competition Network and the World Bank Group are pleased to announce the launch of the 2021 Competition Advocacy Contest. The Contest, now at its seventh joint edition, aims to highlight the key role competition agencies, sector regulators and other governmental bodies or non-governmental organizations play in promoting competition by showcasing their advocacy success stories
The topic of this year’s Contest is “Building Forward Better: how competition advocacy can support countries with Covid19 crisis response, relief, and resilient recovery”. We are looking for success stories that demonstrate the tangible results of competition advocacy regarding:
Theme 1. Promoting an inclusive, sustainable, and green recovery while preserving contestability.
Theme 2. Leveraging the competitive impact of the digital economy for a faster and inclusive recovery.
Theme 3. Responding to the increased role of the State in markets and the government relief measures.
Theme 4. Revisiting antitrust rules and implementing initiatives in response to the Covid19 crisis.
The deadline for submissions is May 7th, 2021.
Compliance in Cartel Cases - April 7
The Cartel Working Group
Presents a Webinar on:
Compliance in Cartel Cases
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
8 am New York/ 2pm Brussels
An earlier CWG webinar on ‘Compliance in Cartel Cases’ received great interest from the member agencies and NGAs. Therefore, the ICN Cartel Working Group aims to discuss this topic more in detail in this webinar.
Moderator:
Mr. Diogo Thomson, Deputy Superintendent, Brazilian Competition Authority (CADE), Brazil
Panelists:
Ms. Alessandra Tonazzi, Director of the EU & International Affairs, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), Italy
Mr. Joseph Walser, Deputy Director, Criminal Enforcement Division Irish Competition Authority, Ireland
Ms. Paula Yanguas, Senior case handler, Spanish Competition Authority, Spain
Mr. Hideyuki Shimozu, Senior Investigator for International Cartel, Japanese Competition Authority (JFTC), Japan
Mr. Eyitayo St. Matthew Daniel, Assistant Chief, New York Field Office, DOJ Antitrust Division, USA
Ms. Charlotte Ho, Head (Investigations I), Competition Commission Hong Kong (HKCC), Hong Kong
Mr. Subrata Bhattacharjee, Partner, BLG, Canada
Ms. Christina Hummer, Attorney at Law / Partner, SCWP Schindhelm, Austria
For more information about the call, please email the CWG organizers at: [email protected]
Contact CWG Working Group Co-Chairs:
- Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS)
- French Autorité de la Concurrence
- Italian Competition Authority AGCM
AWG Webinar on Effective Competition Advocacy Initiatives - March 29
ICN AWG Webinar on “Effective competition advocacy initiatives: re-thinking the ICN Advocacy Toolkit”
Monday, March 29th, 2021
7:00-8:00 a.m. (Colombia time)
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. (Washington time)
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (Norway time)
8:00 – 9:00 p.m. (Hong Kong time)
11:00 – 12:00 p.m. (Melbourne time)
Join here: https://bit.ly/3tREgsx
Documentation: ICN Advocacy Toolkit Part I
Click here for webinar promotional flyer
The ICN Advocacy Working Group is currently reviewing the components/steps for effective advocacy projects displayed in the ICN Advocacy Toolkit. The purpose of this multi-year project is to ensure these components are relevant and useful for competition agencies’ current operating environment, and also, to refresh the case studies in the Toolkit with recent and diverse experiences from ICN members.
This webinar will help us explore (i) how operating environments have evolved since the toolkit was launched; (ii) what are the most relevant competition policy challenges of our time; (iii) what are the most exemplar advocacy approaches to these challenges; and, finally, (iv) what is next to come for competition authorities.
Moderator:
Mr. Juan Pablo Herrera Saavedra
Deputy Superintendent for Competition Protection, Superintendencia de Industria y
Comercio
Speakers:
Ms. Martha Martínez Licetti
Competition Policy Team Leader for the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice at World Bank Group
Dr. Diana L. Moss
President of the American Antitrust Institute
Ms. Cristiana Vitale
Senior Economist and Competition Policy Expert, Economics Department at OECD
Dr. Wendy Ng
Director of the Competition Law and Economics Network and Associate Director (China) of the Asian Law Centre
Ms. Teresa Moreira
Head of the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch at UNCTAD
AEWG Webinar recording: Economist Perspectives on Market Studies
Webinar Materials: Market Studies, Economist Perspectives
In March 2021, the Agency Effectiveness Working Group organized a webinar on economist perspectives about market studies. The recording (with materials) of the call is available.
Hub and Spoke Cartels -- CWG webinar materials
Webinar Materials: Hub-and-Spoke Cartel Cases
In March 2021, the Cartel Working Group organized a webinar on hub and spoke cartels. The materials from the call are available.
Barriers to Entry in Digital Markets - March 23
Unilateral Conduct WG is organising a webinar on Barriers to Entry in Digital Markets
Tuesday 23 March 2021, at 9:00 EDT/14:00 CET.
Speakers will share their experience on the topic and discuss amongst all the following issues: economies of scale and scope and network effects, ecosystems and vertical integration, data driven advantages, switching costs and behavioural bias.
Moderator: Bradley Callaghan, Associate Deputy Commissioner, Competition Bureau of Canada
Speakers:
Thembalethu Buthelezi, Principal Economist, South Africa Competition Commission
Paulo Casagrande, Partner at Trench, Rossi, Watanabe, Brazil
Valeria Falce, Jean Monnet Professor in EU Innovation Policy, Università Europea di Roma, Italy
Interested agencies and NGAs can contact the UCWG chairs at [email protected] and ask for the dial-in details.
Market Studies: Economist’s Perspective - March 16
The Agency Effectiveness Working Group
Presents a Webinar on:
Market Studies: Economist’s Perspective
Tuesday, March 16th, 2021
08:00-9:00 (Washington, DC – Eastern Daylight Time)
13:00-14:00 (Brussels – Central European Time)
21:00-22:00 (Tokyo – Japan Standard Time)
The ICN Agency Effectiveness Working Group is organizing an economics teleseminar on March 16th, 2021. Join our panel of Agency and NGA economists where the panellists will each be discussing their recent experiences in conducting market studies by bringing the economic perspective to the forefront. Please see below a short description of the market study each panellist will cover.
The Portuguese Competition Authority: Fintech
In October 2018, the Portuguese Competition Authority published an issues paper on
technological innovation and competition in the financial sector in Portugal. The study assessed market entry conditions for Fintech companies and provided several recommendations to mitigate existing barriers to entry and expansion. More recently, the Authority launched an extensive sector inquiry to Fintech operators to collect their views on recent market developments and the persistence of barriers to entry and expansion. Together with this sector inquiry, in which 88 operators participated, the Authority assessed the degree of implementation of its previous recommendations and revaluated existing market conditions for new entrants. The Authority found that obstacles to the development of competition and innovation persist in the Portuguese financial sector, and that the full implementation of most of the measures recommended is still pending.
The Competition & Consumer Commission of Singapore: Online Travel Booking
The CCCS market study on online travel booking in Singapore examined the commercial arrangements and practices (including price and non-price parity clauses, search rankings and ownership, drip pricing, and pre-ticked boxes) adopted by online travel booking platforms through surveys and interviews conducted with industry stakeholders and consumers. The recommendations sought to encourage all consumer-facing businesses to adopt transparent pricing practices to enable consumers to accurately compare prices and make informed purchasing decisions. Following the study, the CCCS has also undertaken an ex-ante quantitative evaluation of the consumer benefits from the study’s recommendations.
Panellists:
ANA SOFIA RODRIGUES
Chief Economist, Portuguese Competition Authority
TAN HI-LIN
Director, Policy & Markets, Competition & Consumer Commission of Singapore
Moderator:
PROF. AMELIA FLETCHER
University of East Anglia
Contact AEWG Working Group Co-Chairs:
- Competition Authority of Botswana
- Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore
- Swedish Competition Authority