The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be – 20 Years of Competition Laws in Iceland and the Challenges Ahead

Date:           Friday September 27 2013
Time:          8:00 to 16:00
Location:   Radisson Hotel Saga (view on Google Map)

A broad spectrum of 30 policymakers, business-leaders, officials and academics discuss competition policy in a small and modern economy and the prospects and challenges of competition law, both in general (morning session) and as regards more specific challenges (afternoon session).

Morning session

• How can we pave the way to more efficient markets?
• Resurrection following the crisis. Where do we go from here?
• What can the government do to increase competition in the public sector?

A new report on the Resurrection of Icelandic companies and the state of play in terms of competition will be introduced during the morning session.

Afternoon session – Workshops in parallel sessions

Time: 12:30 – 14:00
Workshop 1: Advocacy challenges – Competition policy as a tool to promote efficiency in the public sector.
	Panelists: – Vilhjálmur Egilsson, Rector at Bifröst University (moderator) – Illugi Gunnarsson, Minister of Education, Science and Culture – Kristina Geiger, Deputy Director of the Swedish Competition Authority – Cristiana Vitale, Senior Competition Policy Expert, OECD – Victor D. Norman, Professor of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), and former minister of competition affairs – Björn Zoega, CEO of Landsspitali University Hospital – Oddur Steinarsson, CEO and Chief Physician, Nötkäran Kortedala, Primary Health Care Center, Gothenburg, Sweden
Workshop 2: Optimal deterrence effect of competition law enforcement.
	Panelists: – Helga Melkorka Óttarsdóttir, Supreme Court Attorney (moderator) – John M. Connor, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Purdue University, US – Páll Hreinsson, Judge at the EFTA Court – Tim Ward, Barrister, Monckton Chambers, London. – Jóna Björk Helgadóttir, District Court Attorney at Landslög Law Offices – Ásgeir Einarsson, Deputy Director General of the Icelandic Competition Authority
Time: 14:30 – 16:00
Workshop 3: Enforcement challenges in network markets– The case of the telecommunications market.
	Panelists: – Kristín Haraldsdóttir, Chairman of the Board of the Competition Authority (moderator) – Tim Ward, QC Barrister. – Heiðrún Jónsdóttir, District Court Attorney at Aktis and member of the board  of Skipti hf. (telecom company) – Jóakim Reynisson, CTO of Nova hf. (telecom company) – Dóra Sif Tynes, Senior Legal Officer, EFTA Secretariat – Páll Gunnar Pálsson, Director General of the Competition Authority
Workshop 4: Competition as a tool to deal with the aftermath of the financial crisis- The resurrection of the Icelandic economy, the competition environmentafter the banking collapse in 2008 and the development of the bankingmarket.
	Panelists: – Hreggviður Jónsson, Chairman of the Board of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce (moderator) – Miguel de la Mano, Head of Unit, Financial Markets, European Commission – Birna Einarsdóttir, CEO of Íslandsbanki – Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson, Chairman of the Competition Appeals Committee – Victor D. Norman, Professor of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), and former minister of competition affairs – Benedikt Árnason, Chief Economist of the Icelandic Competition Authority
Time: 16:00 – 17:00
Cocktail

The conference will be held in English.Admission is free of charge.