The importance of competition – What can we learn from experience and where should we go from here?

The Competition Authority is holding an open meeting at Harpa on Wednesday, 22 October.

Wednesday 22 October from 13:00 to 16:30 | In Harpa and live-streamed |

Register here

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Competition Authority, the organisation is holding a public meeting at Harpa on Wednesday, 22 October at 13:00. Registration opens at 12:30 and the programme will conclude at 16:30. Light refreshments will be served for attendees afterwards. The event will also be streamed.

The meeting will, among other things, cover:

• 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.

Agenda

• 12:30–13:00 Registration
• 13:00–13:10 Opening address – Minister for Industry
• 13:10–13:15 The Competition Authority at 20 – Video
• 13:15–13:40 Presentation I: Natalie Harsdorf, Director General of the Austrian Competition Authority
• 13:40–14:05 Second Presentation: Páll Hreinsson, President of the EFTA Court
• 14:05–14:25 Coffee break
• 14:25–14:50 Presentation III: Tommaso Valletti, Professor at Imperial College London and former Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission
• 14:50–15:30 Panel I: Natalie Harsdorf, Páll Hreinsson, Tommaso Valletti and Páll Gunnar Pálsson
• 15:30-16:20 Panel II (in Icelandic): Halla Gunnarsdóttir, Ólafur Stephensen, Breki Karlsson, Sigríður Margrét Oddsdóttir, Páll Gunnar Pálsson
• 16:20-16:30 Concluding remarks
• 16:30–18:30 Reception

Halla Gunnarsdóttir and Ólafur Stephensen lead panel discussions

Access to the meeting is free of charge. You can participate online or attend in person at Harpa to join the discussion on competition issues. In either case, you need to Sign up here.

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.

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.

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.