A conversation about competition

In recent years, the Competition Authority has organised a series of meetings with the business community and the government on competition issues under the umbrella title „Dialogue on Competition“. The meetings are a forum for discussion where progress made and the most pressing challenges ahead are addressed. In doing so, the Competition Authority is listening, gathering perspectives and information that can be useful for prioritising projects and shaping its focus. At the same time, the Authority is creating a platform for expressing viewpoints, which will hopefully also benefit other participants.

The meetings have varying formats, depending on their nature and subject matter. Some are for invited guests only, who are particularly connected to the subject, and are smaller in scale. Other meetings are open and will be advertised specifically on this website.

The Competition Authority's breakfast seminar on the impact of competition on economic growth and wages was held at the Grand Hotel in Reykjavík on Wednesday, 31 August 2022. The keynote speaker was the American Fiona Scott Morton, a professor of economics at Yale University. Around 40 people attended the event, and approximately 200 more followed the live stream.

Fiona holds a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where her research has focused on industrial organisation economics, and she also worked for a time as the chief economist for the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice as m.a. is responsible for the enforcement of domestic competition law. In addition to Fiona, Gylfi Magnússon, Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland, and Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Commerce, delivered speeches at the meeting. Páll Gunnar Pálsson, Director of the Competition Authority, gave the opening address, and Valur Þráinsson, Chief Economist at the Competition Authority, moderated the discussion and questions from the floor.

Agenda:

• 08:15 – Coffee and breakfast
• 08:30 – Páll Gunnar Pálsson, Director-General of the Competition Authority, welcomes guests
• 08:35 – Fiona Scott Morton, Professor of Economics at Yale University – lecture
• 09:05 – Gylfi Magnússon, Professor at the University of Iceland – talk
• 09:15 – Questions from the floor and discussion
• 09:25 – Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Commerce, delivers closing remarks

The Competition Authority's morning meeting on the interplay between competition, inflation and purchasing power took place in Björtuloftin at Harpa on Monday, 13 June 2022. The conference was held to mark the visit of the chief economists of European competition authorities to the country, as the Competition Authority hosted their annual meeting. Around 100 people attended the conference at Harpa, and 400 people followed the livestream or watched the recording.

Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Commerce, delivered the opening address at the meeting and Pierre Régibeau, Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission, gave a presentation. He spoke about the impact that competition and competition enforcement can have on inflation and purchasing power. Rising inflation is a concern worldwide these days, as it can erode the purchasing power of households.

A recording from the conference is available below.

Excellent guests took part in lively panel discussions:

• Ana Sofia Rodrigues, Chief Economist of the Portuguese Competition Authority
• Ásgeir Jónsson, Governor of the Central Bank
• Martin Gaynor, Professor of Economics at Carnegie Mellon University
• Pierre Régibeau, Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission
• Chair: Valur Þráinsson, Chief Economist, Competition Authority

Agenda:

• 08:00 – Coffee and breakfast
• 08:15 – Páll Gunnar Pálsson, Director-General of the Competition Authority, welcomes guests ( Unique here )
• 08:20 – Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Commerce, delivers the opening address
• 08:25 – Pierre Régibeau, Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission, delivers a speech. Unique here )
• 08:50 – Panel discussion
• 09:40 – Sveinn Agnarsson, Chairman of the Competition Authority, delivers closing remarks. Unique here )

The news about the meeting can be found here.

On Tuesday, 1 June 2021, the Competition Authority held an open webinar on the handling of merger cases, with over 40 people taking part.

At the meeting, Jani Ringborg, an expert from the Competition Directorate of the European Commission, spoke about merger investigations. In particular, he outlined the procedure for pre-notification talks, which take place in most cases before the Commission. In this context, Jani outlined what data underpins such discussions, how long they take, and what they might achieve.

The Jani case highlighted the importance of merger parties providing detailed information and data in pre-notification discussions for the efficient handling of merger cases. This procedure ensures that the case is well-informed upon receipt of the merger notification, and at the same time enables the authority to organise its work more effectively.

Jani also noted that preliminary discussions were a forum for frank dialogue about data collection, research organisation and, in some cases, potential barriers to competition and solutions for them. Jani stressed, however, that it should not be expected that the competition authorities would be in a position to take a clear position on the issues in pre-investigation discussions, as an investigation had not yet been launched.

It then emerged that preliminary discussions had led to more merger cases being cleared at Phase I.

Slides from the meeting, along with a recording of Jani Ringborg's presentation, are available. here.

Background information:

The meeting was the third in a series of discussions on the handling of merger cases:

• The first meeting was held on 16 October 2019, but the discussions at that meeting were based on Memorandum The Authority's merger handling, experience and opportunities for improvement.
• The second meeting was held on 11 December 2020, but at that meeting a discussion was called for on the draft of new merger rules. The draft had previously been published for review and gathered viewpoints.

The present meeting was held in light of the experience gained from the new merger rules. In this regard, it is also useful to draw on the experience of the European Commission, which has extensive experience in handling merger cases. The merger rules of competition law in this country are modelled on the EU merger regulation.

It is then appropriate to point out that the Competition Authority recently published a post on its website (No. 4/2021), where the handling of merger cases in this country is compared with merger cases in neighbouring countries. It states, among other things, that the speed of proceedings here is comparable to that of the European Commission, once allowance has been made for the fact that a large part of the Commission's processing takes place in the form of pre-merger consultations with the merging parties, etc.i.e. before the deadlines in the case begin to run.

On 9 June 2020, the Competition Authority hosted an international online conference on competition policy, under the title „COVID-19: Risk of increased protectionism and weaker competition enforcement?“. Nearly 250 participants registered, from over 40 countries. The conference was part of the Competition Council's conference series, „A Conversation on Competition“. The invitation can be accessed here.

The conference served a twofold purpose. On the one hand, it was part of the Competition Authority's efforts to gather information and viewpoints that could be useful for policymaking in Iceland on economic and competition matters in the current economic climate. Furthermore, the conference was the Competition Authority's contribution to international cooperation among competition authorities, of which the Authority is a participant in close collaboration, including at the level of European and Nordic competition authorities.

The conference panel included five distinguished scholars in the field of competition policy. From the United States came JJonathan Baker, research professor at American University Washington College of Law and Fiona Scott Morton, professor of economics at the Yale University School of Management. From mainland Europe came Pierre Régibeau, Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission and Lars Sørgard, Director-General of the Norwegian Competition Authority. From Iceland, took part Gylfi Magnússon, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland.

The conference, among other things, outlined how the application of competition law has developed differently over the past decades. It was suggested that the lenient application of competition rules and the interpretation of competition law in the United States has led to increased concentration in various important markets, which has in turn fuelled growing wealth inequality. On the other hand, European competition authorities are considering reforms to competition rules and even greater consistency in their enforcement, in order to ensure the competitiveness of European countries.

A discussion was held on whether it would be sensible to grant companies protection from competition/competition oversight in their domestic market in order to better enable them to compete internationally (so-called 'national champions'). There was a general consensus among the attendees that this was not a sensible policy. On the contrary, a firm commitment to enforcing competition rules in the domestic market would foster stronger companies, which would be better equipped to compete internationally, while also better safeguarding the interests of consumers in the respective country.

There was also consensus that nation-states should avoid responding to the current economic downturn with increased protectionism and weaker regulation. It would be far more effective to harness the forces of competition for the recovery, thereby accelerating the rebuilding of the economy.

Selected parts of the discussions that took place at the conference can be accessed below:

1. Which economic evidence shows that domestic competition fosters international competitiveness?
2. Two problems of creating national champions that go beyond direct effects on productivity?
3. How has antitrust enforcement developed in the US over the last few years?
4. How important is merger control for the Nordic countries?
5. Does lobbying explain the divergence between US and EU antitrust enforcement?
6. Is DG COMP making it impossible for EU firms to grow into effective competitors?
7. Should merger control be relaxed to allow for the creation of national champions?
8. How would an increased emphasis on national champions affect smaller economies?
9. How should competition agencies react when protectionism is promoted?
10. Will decisions of the EU Commission related to COVID-19 increase protectionism?
11. Why are legislators considering new tools for competition enforcers?
12. Is there a need to improve the antitrust law and its enforcement in the US?

On 11 December 2020, the Competition Authority held a public consultation on its draft revised rules on notification and procedure in merger cases. The draft had previously been published for review on the supervisory authority's website, where interested parties have been given the opportunity to submit their views. The notice of the meeting can be accessed here.

The meeting was held via remote conferencing and was attended by around 28 people. This led to lively discussions about the major changes proposed in the new regulations. The meeting was useful, and the views expressed will be used in finalising the guidelines.

The new rules are based largely on applicable rules from 2008, as amended. The amendments now being made are principally of two kinds:

1. Formalities are procedural changes in the handling of merger cases aimed at increased efficiency, but the supervisory authority has previously sought consultation on this and held meeting in the 'Conversation on Competition' series of meetings, where useful discussions were held about the experience.
2. The rules are updated in light of changes to competition law which came into force on 23 July this year.

On 30 November 2020, the Competition Authority held a public consultation on the Authority's draft guidelines on the application of Article 15 of the Competition Act, which had been published for review on the Competition Authority's website, where interested parties are given the opportunity to submit their views. The notice of the meeting can be accessed here.

The meeting was held via remote conferencing and was attended by around 25 people. This led to a good discussion about the content of the guidelines and the main changes that the new provision of Article 15 of the Competition Act will entail. The meeting was useful, and the views expressed will be taken into account when finalising the guidelines.

The Competition Authority is currently reviewing whether and, if so, how the procedure for investigating merger cases can be made even more efficient. Among other things, it is considering whether there is a case for changes to rules on notification and procedure in merger matters, which the authority issues pursuant to competition law.

On this occasion, the Competition Authority held a meeting on 16 October 2019 with lawyers who have appeared on behalf of merging companies before the Authority since the beginning of 2018. The meeting was well attended, with between 40 and 50 people taking part. The meeting was part of a series of meetings that the Competition Authority has held in recent years under the title 'Dialogue on Competition'.

A memorandum was circulated prior to the meeting, providing an overview of a number of merger cases and other statistical information on their progress. The memorandum also calls for feedback on possible changes to the framework and procedure for merger investigations. The memorandum is available here.

From 22-24 February 2017, Ania Thiemann, one of the directors of the OECD's Competition Division, held twelve meetings in the country with public institutions and business interest groups. The meetings discussed the impact of laws, regulations and other government measures on competition and the economy. In particular, the meeting examined how so-called competition assessment could be used to reduce the barriers to competition that may arise from the framework created by the government for the business sector.

Read more about the meeting here.

On 25 May 2016, the Competition Authority held a discussion forum on the ownership of commercial companies, the role of pension funds and their impact on competition. The meeting was the fourth in a series of meetings run by the Authority under the title „A Dialogue on Competition“. Nearly 80 people attended the meeting and useful discussions were held on the subject. In preparation for the discussions, the Competition Authority compiled Short memorandum.

Read more about the meeting here.

Dr Gjermund Mathiesen, Head of Competition at the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), gave a speech at an open meeting of the Competition Authority in February 2016 on the application of competition rules in Iceland and the European Economic Area.

Read more about the meeting here.

The first meeting in the series took place on 3 December 2015, with Ania Thiemann, an economist at the OECD's Competition Division, as the keynote speaker. The meeting discussed the impact of government on competition.

Read more about the meeting here.

The second meeting of the series was held on Friday, 12 February 2016, under the title „Let's talk about competition in agriculture“. The Minister of Agriculture, representatives of agricultural and trade interests, and consumer representatives were invited to the meeting.

On the panel sat Dr Daði Már Kristófersson, the session's chair and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Agriculture, Sindri Sigurgeirsson, chairman of the Farmers' Association, Elín Björg Jónsdóttir, chairwoman of the BSRB trade union confederation, Jón Björnsson, CEO of Festi, and Ólafur Stephensen, Director of the Federation of Icelandic Employers.

The discussions were lively and covered a wide range of topics. A memorandum on the matter was presented at the meeting, which can be accessed here.