To mark the 20th anniversary of the Competition Authority, the organisation hosted a public meeting at Harpa on 22 October 2025 under the title: The importance of competition – What can we learn from experience and where should we go from here? Around 130 participants attended in Harpa, and the event was also live-streamed on Heimildin and mbl.is.
Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Minister of Economic Affairs, delivered an address at the opening of the meeting. Afterwards, the following speakers took the floor:
- Natalie Harsdorf, Director General of the Austrian Competition Authority, who spoke about the experience and challenges of a small regulatory body in Central Europe,
- Páll Hreinsson, President of the EFTA Court, discussed the interplay between Icelandic law, the EEA Agreement and public enterprises (promotion here),
- Tommaso Valletti, A professor at Imperial College discussed the interaction between industrial policy and competition law and put forward proposals to the Icelandic Competition Authority. (introduction here).
Following their presentations, a panel discussion took place. First, the speakers discussed with Páll Gunnar Pálsson, Director-General of the Competition Authority, moderated by Hallur Gunnarsson, Chairman of VR. This was followed by a domestic panel, where the keynote speakers' topics were placed in an Icelandic context and the relevant policy was discussed. Ólafur Stephensen moderated this discussion, which also featured Halla Gunnarsdóttir, Sigríður Margrét Oddsdóttir, Director General of the SA, and Breki Karlsson, alongside Páll Gunnar.
Eva Ómarsdóttir, Project and Team Manager at the Competition Authority, was the chair.
The recording of the meeting can be found below.
The topics of the meeting included the following.
- experience of implementing competition law in Europe,
- the main challenges in the fight against collusion, the abuse of a dominant position and harmful mergers,
- interpretation of the competition rules of the EEA Agreement,
- ways to enhance domestic competition and at the same time strengthen international competitiveness,
- The relationship between competition and industrial policy.
Some comments from the meeting
- Hanna Katrín Friðriksson: „The Competition Authority is, amongst other things, tasked with pointing out to other government bodies ways to promote more effective competition and easier market access for new entrants. The Authority takes this role seriously and fulfils it diligently.“
- Natalie Harsdorf: „Smaller countries and economies have the most to benefit from a rule-based economic organisation of markets.“
- Páll Hreinsson: „Public authorities must also be mindful of the competition rules. They are not immune to its effects.“
- Tommaso Valletti: „But also, I would like to argue that competition policy goes beyond prices and efficiency, beyond these kind of narrow and technical economic concepts, because it safeguards fairness and ultimately democracy.“
More information about the participants
- Breki Karlsson is the chairman of the Consumers' Association. He is educated in business studies and has worked on consumer issues for over two decades, including as the association's chief executive and chairman of the board of European consumer organisations.
- Eva Ómarsdóttir She is a project and team manager at the Competition Authority and has extensive experience in project management and the administration of competition matters. She is a lawyer by training.
- Halla Gunnarsdóttir She is the chairperson of VR, the country's largest trade union. She is a trained international political scientist and teacher, and has extensive experience in politics, journalism and policy-making.
- Hanna Katrín Friðriksson She is the Minister for Fisheries and a Member of Parliament for Viðreisn. She is educated in philosophy, economics and business administration and has gained extensive experience in politics, media and management within academia, the healthcare sector and the private sector.
- Natalie Harsdorf is the Director of the Austrian Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde) and a lawyer with a doctorate and an LL.M. degree. She has worked at the authority since 2009, where she has held key roles, in addition to engaging in training and international cooperation in the field of competition law.
- Páll Hreinsson He has been the President of the EFTA Court since 2018. He is a former Supreme Court judge and professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Iceland, specialising in public administration law and with extensive experience in the judicial and administrative systems.
- Páll Gunnar Pálsson is the Director of the Competition Authority. He has extensive experience in the Icelandic civil service. He is a lawyer by training.
- Sigríður Margrét Oddsdóttir is the managing director of the Federation of Icelandic Businesses. She is a business graduate and has extensive experience in management and lobbying for the business community, including as a managing director and board member of numerous associations.
- Olafur Stephensen He is the managing director of the Employers' Association. He is educated in political science and has decades of experience in the media as a journalist and editor.
- Tommaso Valletti is a Professor of Economics at Imperial College London and served as Chief Economist at the European Commission (DG COMP) from 2016 to 2019. He has extensive experience in the fields of competition and industrial economics and has published numerous articles in prestigious international journals.
