The European competition and consumer days have been organised by each Presidency since 2000 as a forum for sharing best practices related to anti-trust law and consumer protection
It is an international high-level conference, where heads of anti-trust and consumer protection agencies meet to discuss various issues. Malta will be represented by the newly set-up agency, the Malta Competitions and Consumers Affairs Authority (MCCAA).
In most cases, the participants represent bodies which are not formally subordinate to any other ministries or departments. Thus, people of the highest rank in the field of anti-trust law and consumer protection are the main participants of this event. As a general rule, each national delegation must consist of up to two delegates. A wide range of representatives from the member states, candidate countries, EU institutions and NGOs that are actively involved in the field attend the conference, most of whom are experts in competition and consumer protection, academic and legal consultants, representatives from consumer organisations and entrepreneurs’ associations, members of prominent think-tanks and, above all, partners from international organisations and informal networks like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), International Competition Network (ICN), International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN). The Polish Presidency will this year also be inviting partners from Russia and Ukraine to attend this event.
There is a long-lasting tradition that each EU Presidency organises the European Competition Day. The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has decided to go one step further. As the Office deals not only with competition but also is responsible for the protection of consumers rights, it will be merging both aspects for the occasion of the European Competition and Consumer Day.
The theme of the conference is competition and its benefits to consumers. Thus, the meeting will provide a wider perspective to look at business-to-consumer relations and constitute a unique opportunity to contribute to better design of both policies as a remedy for internal market failures. Having experts dealing with anti-monopoly law and weaker market participants’ protection under one roof, the conference will enable the participants to ignite an interesting debate and hopefully draft new interesting conclusions. It is expected that the event will contribute to raising awareness about issues of distortions of competition, which have been causing serious harm to consumers and the economy. The aim of the Polish Presidency is to invoke interest and greater attention to domestic as well as European competition and consumer issues.
Europe’s 493 million consumers are the lifeblood of the European economy. Confident, informed and empowered consumers are the motor of economic evolution. Despite this, Europe has not yet fully harnessed the power of its consumers. The internal market has played a central part in meeting Europe’s economic challenges and delivering tangible benefits for EU citizens. The consumer dimension of the internal market and retail markets in particular has, until now, been undervalued.
The current economic, social, environmental and political challenges call for a shift in focus towards the consumer perspective. While the technological means are increasingly in place, both SMEs and consumers still lack confidence to buy and sell across borders. The EU Consumer Policy can do much more to shift the policy targets towards citizen-focused outcomes. As well as tackling the fragmentation of the internal market, a stronger consumer dimension is needed to improve the functioning of retail markets and enable consumers to make better choices. It can also play a part in guaranteeing core European values of fairness, openness, solidarity and transparency.
An effective, integrated EU economy should stimulate consumer confidence in cross-border transactions. But before people make purchases abroad, they must be confident they have the right information and know they have clear legal rights in case transactions go wrong. EU-wide rules guarantee consumers the necessary protection.
Effective competition is essential to the EU. The European Commission is powerful enough to make sure businesses and governments stick to EU rules on fair competition. But in applying these rules, it can take account of the interests of innovation, unified standards, or small business development. Competition is an indispensable element of a functioning Single Market guaranteeing a level playing field. It contributes to an efficient use of society’s scarce resources, technological development and innovation, a better choice of products and services, lower prices, higher quality and greater productivity in the economy as a whole. Therefore, competition contributes to the wider objectives of boosting strong and sustainable growth, competitiveness, employment creation and tackling climate change. The Competition Policy, therefore, contributes directly to the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
The European Competition and Consumer Day is not only a forum for sharing best practices related to the development of effective competition and consumer protection strategies, but also an occasion to remind European consumers that they are among the principal beneficiaries of the EU’s Competition Policy.
Mauro Miceli is Executive
(EU Policy & Legislation), Meusac