This week, a breakfast meeting was held on competition and
Consumer affairs by the price monitoring of the ASÍ and the Consumers' Association. Páll Gunnar
Pálsson, Director General of the Competition Authority, gave a speech at the meeting, in addition to
take part in panel discussions. In his speech, Páll compared the policies of the main
of Iceland's trading partners in competition matters.
„If we first look to the west, we can see
It can be seen that major measures are being taken in the field of competition policy.
The United States government is to tackle stagnation in the economy and
to improve the welfare of consumers by promoting competition in as many areas as possible. That is
talk of tackling the immense power of big business in a similar way to Roosevelt
established early in the last century. It is particularly focused on enhancing the welfare of wage-earners.
by laying stronger foundations for American economic life“
Páll said and added.
„This summer, a detailed report was published
a presidential decree announcing major changes on the ground
competition policy. A number of institutions are called upon to act in order to improve
competitive conditions in various areas of business, such as in financial services,
healthcare and agriculture.
Last but not least, it is announced
A significant strengthening of competition oversight and a policy shift towards stricter enforcement.
of merger control, to prevent concentration and, where appropriate, to break up
corporate conglomerates that have been allowed to grow over recent decades in a sheltered environment
cautious application of competition law. Then, tougher measures are planned against
“anti-competitive practices," said Páll, turning his sights next to Europe.
„To our south, the British are
find their feet in a new environment after withdrawal from the European Union. That might variously
believe that the British government would take the opportunity and revive the country's economy
defences against European competition.
However, that is not the case at all. Now
This summer, the British government published detailed policy for consultation.
competition and consumer affairs. The emphasis is on improving consumer welfare by
strengthening competition law and competition enforcement. Although the British competition authorities
are considered to have yielded significant benefits, a strengthening of competition supervision is announced
in most areas, including merger control, supervision of
antitrust violations and in market research. If the British want to create a business environment
On a global scale, competition and consumer policy must also be on board.
world-class.
In addition to this, British
The government introduced new regulations that are intended to address the power of large digital platforms.
The companies have and ensure that they are subject to effective competitive restraint.
On the European mainland, for a long time
measures have been in place to ensure effective competition for consumers and
for the benefit of national economies. In 2014, the European Union issued a special directive
which aimed to make it easier for businesses and consumers to claim compensation from
of companies that breach competition rules. Among other things, the directive facilitates
Gathering evidence and proving offences.
In 2019, a directive came into force which
has as its main objective to strengthen the competition supervision of the European Union's member states,
often referred to as ECN+. It sets out the minimum requirements for which monitoring devices
competition authority has at its disposal and has contributed to the harmonisation of sanctions in
in individual states, both with regard to framework and the amount of fines. Also, provisions are made
regarding the harmonisation of rules on the reduction or remission of fines when companies step
to come forward and report a breach and/or assist with an investigation.
Last but not least, the directive provides for
provides for the independence of competition authorities, both in their supervision and their decisions, but
also contributed to ensuring they have sufficient capacity to fulfil the role
his/hers.
And last year, began
the Commission is therefore working to strengthen its resources to tackle new challenges
challenges, not least in the field of functional markets. From this, it can be seen that trading nations
we have set out a clear policy to strengthen competition and thus create a stronger
support consumer protection and the welfare of the respective countries.
If we are not going to be
“Following the example of our trading partners, we need to do the same," was on
Among the things that came up in Pál's talk at the meeting. The full speech can be accessed here.
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