A well attended conference on competition issues  („The Future Ain‘t What it Used to Be“)

10/1/2013

A well attended conference on competition issues – „The Future Ain‘t What it Used to Be“

On 27 September 2013, the Icelandic Competition Authority, together with the Minister of Industry and Commerce and the Competition Appeals Committee, held an international conference on competition issues in Reykjavík. The title of the conference was  „The Future Ain‘t What it Used to Be – 20 Years of Competition Law and the Challenges Ahead“. Close to 400 participants attended the conference. Pictures from the conference can be seen here.  

A broad spectrum of 30 policymakers, business-leaders, officials and academics discussed various issues in competition policy for 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).  These topics included competition in the public sector, deterrence effects of competition enforcement, enforcement in network markets and competition as a tool to deal with financial crisis.

The keynote speeker of the conference was Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary General of the OECD.

A new report from the Competition Authority, on the competition environment in Iceland, was introduced at the conference.

More material from the conference can be accessed here:

1. Speech given by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ms. Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir.
2. Speech given by the Secretary General of the OECD, Mr. Angel Gurría.
3. Slides from the presentation given by Mr. John M. Connor, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Purdue University, US.
4. Slides from the presentation given by Ms. Christine Meyer, Director General of the Norwegian Competition Authority.
5. Speech given by the Director General of the Icelandic Competition Authority, Mr. Páll Gunnar Pálsson. See also slides.
6. Report by the Competition Authority: "Are we Entering a Lost Decade? – More Effective Competition is the Cure Against Stagnation."

Pictures from the Conference can be accessed here Facebook page ICA.

The Programme of the Conference:

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	Event
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
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 Board member 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 environment after the banking collapse in 2008 and the development of the banking market.
	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
16:00 – 17:00	Cocktail