Undanfarin ár hefur Samkeppniseftirlitið staðið fyrir fundaröð með atvinnulífi og stjórnvöldum um samkeppnismál undir samheitinu „A conversation about competition“. Fundirnir eru umræðuvettvangur þar sem fjallað er um hverju hefur verið áorkað og hver séu brýnustu viðfangsefnin framundan. Með þessu er Samkeppniseftirlitið að leggja við hlustir, þ.e. draga saman sjónarmið og upplýsingar sem að gagni geta komið við forgangsröðun verkefna og mótun áherslna. Um leið er eftirlitið að búa til vettvang til að koma sjónarmiðum á framfæri, sem vonandi gagnast öðrum þátttakendum einnig.
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.
Að neðan má horfa á upptöku af fundinum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP60nmvam2U&t=1585s
Agenda:
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ffHFM1KPNg
Excellent guests took part in lively panel discussions:
Agenda:
The news about the meeting can be found here.
Þriðjudaginn 1. júní 2021 hélt Samkeppniseftirlitið opinn veffund
um meðferð samrunamála, en rúmlega 40 manns tóku þátt í fundinum.
Á fundinum fjallaði Jani Ringborg, sérfræðingur hjá
samkeppnisdeild framkvæmdastjórnar ESB, um rannsókn samrunamála. Einkum rakti
hann fyrirkomulag forviðræðna (e. pre-notification talks), en slíkar viðræður
eiga sér stað í flestum málum á vettvangi framkvæmdastjórnarinnar. Í þessu
sambandi reifaði Jani hvaða gögn lægju til grundvallar slíkum viðræðum, hvaða
tíma viðræðurnar tækju og hverju þær gætu skilað.
Í máli Jani kom fram mikilvægi þess fyrir skilvirka meðferð
samrunamála að samrunaaðilar veiti greinargóðar upplýsingar og gögn í
forviðræðum. Það verklag stuðlar að því að málið sé vel upplýst strax við
mótttöku samrunatilkynningar og um leið gerir það eftirlitinu kleift að
skipuleggja vinnu sína betur.
Einnig reifaði Jani að forviðræður væru vettvangur fyrir
hreinskiptið samtal um gagnaöflun, skipulag rannsóknar og í sumum tilvikum
mögulegar samkeppnishindranir og lausnir á þeim. Jani lagði þó áherslu á að
þess væri ekki að vænta að samkeppnisyfirvöld væru í stakk búin að taka skýra
afstöðu til álitaefna í forviðræðum, enda rannsókn ekki hafin.
Þá kom fram að forviðræður hefðu leitt til þess að fleiri
samrunamál væru afgreidd á I. fasa.
Glærur af fundinum, ásamt upptöku af innleggi Jani Ringborg er
aðgengileg here .
Background information:
Fundurinn var sá þriðji í röð umræðufunda um meðferð
samrunamála:
Fundurinn nú var haldinn í ljósi fenginnar reynslu af hinum nýju
samrunareglum. Í því sambandi er einnig gagnlegt að leita í reynslubanka
framkvæmdastjórnar ESB, en hún hefur mikla reynslu af meðferð samrunamála.
Samrunareglur samkeppnislaga hér á landi sækja fyrirmynd sína til
samrunareglugerðar ESB.
Þá er rétt að benda á að nýlega birti Samkeppniseftirlitið
pistil á heimasíðu sinni (No. 4/2021), þar sem
meðferð samrunamála hér á landi er borin saman við samrunamál í nágrannalöndum.
Þar kemur m.a. fram að málshraði hér á landi er sambærilegur við málshraða hjá
framkvæmdastjórn ESB, þegar búið er að taka tillit til þess að stór hluti
meðferðar hjá framkvæmdastjórninni á sér stað á vettvangi forviðræðna við
samrunaaðila, þ.e. áður en tímafrestir í málinu byrja að líða.
Þann 9. júní 2020 stóð Samkeppniseftirlitið fyrir alþjóðlegri vefráðstefnu um stefnumörkun á vettvangi samkeppnismála, undir fyrirsögninni „COVID:19: Hætta á aukinni verndarstefnu og veikara eftirliti með samkeppni?“. Tæplega 250 þátttakendur skráðu sig til leiks, frá rúmlega 40 þjóðlöndum. Ráðstefnan var liður í fundarröð Samkeppniseftirlitsins, „A conversation about competition“. Fundarboðið má nálgast 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.
Í pallborði ráðstefnunnar sátu fimm virtir fræðimenn á vettvangi samkeppnismála. Frá Bandaríkjunum komu Jonathan 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:
Upptöku af ráðstefnunni má nálgast hérhere
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:
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.
Af þessu tilefni efndi Samkeppniseftirlitið til fundar þann 16. október 2019 með lögmönnum sem komið hafa fram fyrir hönd samrunafyrirtækja gagnvart eftirlitinu frá upphafi árs 2018. Var fundurinn vel sóttur en um milli 40 og 50 manns tóku þátt. Var fundurinn liður í fundarröð sem Samkeppniseftirlitið hefur haldið undanfarin ár undir heitinu A conversation about 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.
Samkeppniseftirlitið stóð þann 25. maí árið 2016 fyrir umræðufundi um eignarhald á atvinnufyrirtækjum, hlutverk lífeyrissjóða og áhrif á samkeppni. Fundurinn var sá fjórði í fundaröð sem eftirlitið rekur undir yfirskriftinni „Samtal um samkeppni“. Tæplega 80 manns sóttu fundinn og spunnust gagnlegar umræður um málefnið. Til undirbúnings umræðunum setti Samkeppniseftirlitið saman Short memorandum.
Read more about the meeting here.
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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.
Annar fundur fundarraðarinnar var haldinn föstudaginn 12. febrúar árið 2016 undir yfirskriftinni „Tölum um samkeppni í landbúnaði“. Landbúnaðarráðherra, fulltrúum hagsmunaaðila í landbúnaði og verslun og fulltrúum neytenda var boðið til fundarins.
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.
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