The Competition Authority would like to extend its sincere thanks to all those who took part in the workshops and conference on competition and the public sector from 17 to 19 February for their excellent participation and constructive discussions. Overall, the Authority estimates that nearly three hundred people took part in one of the events, either on-site or via the live stream. Representatives from almost all government ministries and public procurement bodies also participated.
See the press release regarding the events here.
Conference on competition and the public sector
On 19 February, an open conference was held which addressed competition in public procurement, the impact of regulatory burden, and ways to enhance efficiency and increase value creation for society. Well over one hundred people took part in the meeting, including via a live stream.
Here A recording of the open meeting (from the 14th minute) is available here. Slides from the open meeting are also available here.
OECD experts gave the keynote address, the Director General of the Ministry of Industry opened the meeting, and the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs took part in a panel discussion, alongside international and domestic experts and representatives from the public and business sectors.
The conference also addressed the importance of tackling regulatory barriers to competition through better cooperation and planning within the public administration. Furthermore, the importance of competition authorities and national and local government bodies having an active dialogue on ways to ensure competition in public procurement was discussed. In this context, it is extremely important that these parties can share important information with each other, such as on the participation and outcomes of public procurement.
In the run-up to the conference, workshops were held, which are detailed below. In connection with the meetings, interviews were also conducted with three distinguished individuals who are involved in these subjects from their respective fields:
The presentation from the meeting can be accessed here:
Slides on competition assessment 1 and 2
Slides on public procurement 3
Workshop on competitive assessment
A workshop on regulatory competition assessment was held on 17 February. The workshop was well attended by almost all ministries and key institutions, with around 50 people taking part. OECD experts presented the competition assessment methodology and demonstrated that the benefits of assessing regulations and government directives are considerable. The benefits consist primarily of reduced regulatory burden for businesses and simpler government processes and implementation.
Í OECD report from 2025, regarding the economic situation in Iceland, it is stated that by reducing the onerous regulatory and administrative burden in a broader sense, the gross domestic product of Iceland could be increased by approximately. 6,5% over a 10-year period. It was then assessed OECD in its 2020 report on competitiveness in the construction industry and tourism that if the proposed regulatory simplification measures were implemented, it could lead to an increase in GDP amounting to around 1% of gross domestic product.
The slide presentation from the workshop can be accessed here:
OECD slides on competitiveness assessment 1
Slides on competition assessment and Iceland 2
Workshop on public procurement
A workshop on public procurement, tender design and anti-collusion measures was held on 18 February. It was attended by around 60 people from all of the government's major procuring authorities and numerous local authorities, while part of the workshop was also streamed online.
At the meeting, an OECD expert presented new Icelandic version of the OECD Guidelines on Combating Illegal Collusion in Public Procurement and the Design of Tender Documents.
Those responsible for public procurement for national and local government are encouraged to inform the Competition Authority of any indication of illegal collusion in tenders.
Experience shows that the benefits of eliminating collusion, combined with improved tender design aimed at increasing the number of potential bidders, can deliver significant benefits to society. Research cited by the OECD shows that the increased cost of collusion in public procurement can be 20% or higher.
Slides from the workshop can be accessed here:
Slides on the domestic environment 1
Slides on red flags in the tendering process 2
Slides on tender design 3
Slides on the exclusion of bidders in tenders 4 and 5
Meetings on the OECD report on competition assessment in the construction industry and tourism
In connection with the aforementioned meetings, the Competition Authority also held meetings with ministries and institutions in the tourism and construction industries, together with OECD experts, where it was discussed whether and in what way the OECD's recommendations have been implemented.
It is clear from the meetings that various OECD proposals, which have yet to be implemented, are designed to reduce construction costs and strengthen the tourism industry.
Conclusion
The Competition Authority intends to follow up on this discussion further. In the authority's view, it is extremely important to utilise the opportunities discussed at the conference, and it intends to continue its open dialogue with the relevant government authorities in this area, in the hope of a positive response.
Many thanks.
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