On the European Competition Day, celebrated in Lisbon today as part of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) issued a report aimed at contributing to an agile and resilient economic recovery.

The major challenges of competition policy in its contribution to a more prosperous and fairer society for all are being discussed today: from digital markets, to the role of competition in economic recovery, to its contribution to a more inclusive society.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had significant consequences on the performance of economies, with a slowdown in GDP growth in the OECD countries, including Portugal.

At a global level, governments have responded with more than 13 billion euros for economic recovery. At the European Union level, the temporary instrument designed to boost economic recovery represents 1.8 trillion euros.

In order to collaborate with the public decision-maker in this context, the AdC identified a set of principles that can guide the implementation of a resilient economic recovery.

In particular, it is important to remove unnecessary barriers to market entry and expansion in order to promote competition and accelerate economic recovery.

The AdC has been making several recommendations to remove barriers to entry and promote competition in a number of crucial sectors of economic activity in Portugal, such as energy, transport and ports, telecommunications, regulated professions, among others.

The current moment can be seen as an opportunity to implement these measures, which may contribute to cost savings, increased competitiveness and economic recovery.

Additionally, the removal of unnecessary restrictions on access to professions helps to create opportunities for retraining. In the current context, workers should not be deprived of opportunities for mobility and reintegration into the labor market.

The AdC also stresses the importance of ensuring that public procurement procedures are and efficiently designed Enhancing competition and combatting bid-rigging are crucial to ensure that public funds are used efficiently.

Finally, it is important to ensure the competitive neutrality of the state's financial support to companies, so as to minimize distortions to competition among companies in the market.

These principles aim to promote competition, efficiency and innovation and to contribute to the creation of conditions for a sustained and inclusive economic recovery.