09-05-2017
AdC hosts the ICN Annual Conference for the first time
Press Release 7/2016
10 May 2017
AdC hosts the ICN Annual Conference for the first time
The Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) hosts the International Competition Network (ICN) Annual Conference in the Conference Centre of Alfândega do Porto starting from today until 12 May.
The event is organized every year by one of the ICN member countries. Held for the first time in Portugal, it will be attended by about 600 participants coming from over one hundred jurisdictions and international organizations (OECD, European Commission, World Bank, UNCTAD, among others).
High-level representatives of competition authorities from all over the world are taking part in this conference, including the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager.
International cooperation among competition authorities is essential for global markets.
The subjects for discussion follow the goals set forth in the AdC’s Competition Policy Priorities for 2017: fighting cartels; importance and opportunity of the Leniency Programme; fighting bid-rigging in public procurement.
The event will consolidate Portugal’s role as a jurisdiction with a solid competition policy, a determining factor for competitiveness in the economy of the country, economic growth and consumer welfare.
The President of the AdC, Margarida Matos Rosa, Andreas Mundt, Chair of the ICN, and Manuel Caldeira Cabral, Minister of Economy, chaired the opening session of the event.
The AdC’s board members will be speaking about the fight against cartels and competition advocacy. Maria João Melícias is one of the speakers of the pannel “Leniency and Challenges for the Future”. Nuno Rocha de Carvalho will speak at the panel “Advocacy Strategy in Traditional and New Markets: Which Differences?” on 11 May at 14:40 pm.
On the second day of the conference there will also be an award ceremony following the competition advocacy contest organised by the ICN and the World Bank where the AdC was awarded an honourable mention for activities undertaken in the scope of the Campaign “Fighting Bid-Rigging in Public Procurement”.
There will also be a roundtable on the foundations of an effective competition policy held in Portuguese. The panel will include the presidents of the competition authorities from Portugal and Brazil, as well as from other Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Moçambique, Cabo Verde and Angola, which are countries where competition policy is still being developed. The conference is an opportunity for sharing experiences, cooperation, capacity building and learning where international best practices will be promoted, and the AdC and the Portuguese-speaking countries are already cooperating in such matters.
Representatives from international organisations like Johannes Laitenberger, Director-General of DG Competition, António Ferreira Gomes, Head of the OECD Competition Division, and Teresa Moreira, head of the UNCTAD Competition Policy and Consumer Protection Branch will also be participating in the roundtable.
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