COMPETITION POLICY PRIORITIES FOR December

Transcription

1 COMPETITION POLICY PRIORITIES FOR December

2 Competition Policy Priorities for 2018 The year 2018 marks 15 years since the founding of the Portuguese Competition Authority - Autoridade da Concorrência - AdC as an institution that carries out competition enforcement and advocacy in Portugal with a view to the efficient functioning of the markets, the optimal allocation of resources and the protection of consumer interests will also be the second year in office of the current board of directors of the AdC. The activity of the AdC etends across all sectors of the economy, with priority given to the sectors and cases with a greater impact on consumers. Therefore, the AdC will build on the recent intense and diversified activity, for the benefit of consumers. The AdC will continue to strengthen its activity in the detection and sanctioning of practices which restrict competition, namely cartels, in order to foster compliance with competition law will start with a large number of anticompetitive practices proceedings carried over from 2017, which the AdC will seek to conclude in the coming year. In addition to sectors which are under constant supervision, the AdC will also be attentive to new practices which may lead to the eclusion of competitors from a given market, be it by way of collusion or by the abuse of a dominant position. In particular, businesses that undertake such practices should not be eempted from liability for the use of algorithms or artificial intelligence likely to result in anticompetitive practices. 1

3 Activity of the AdC in 2017 Banking, Financial Markets and Insurance Competition Enforcement Investigation of anticompetitive practices Merger control Opinions, studies and recommendations Competition Advocacy Assessment of public policies Advocacy and outreach initiatives Telecommunications & Media Public Procurement Energy & Fuels Health & Pharmaceuticals Education Distribution & Food Environment and waste management Liberal Professions Transport & Infrastructures Postal Construction Mining and manufacturing In 2018 the AdC will also seek to intensify transparency towards the public, so that the consumer may better understand the benefits of the role of the AdC. The AdC will particularly seek to eplain how increased competition benefits the consumer, so that it is seen not just as a public good but as a right as well the right to competition. The activity of the AdC will envisage the principles of greater choice and quality of goods and services at the best prices that can be obtained when the businesses compete on the merits. It will seek to strengthen the positive relationship between competition, innovation, productivity and competitiveness both at the domestic and international levels. Regarding merger control, the AdC intends to become swifter and more efficient in handling merger cases, in order to avoid imposing an unnecessary burden on businesses and, also, to avoid compromising the efficient functioning of competition in the Portuguese economy. 2

4 According to the strategic and operational objectives set out in the Activities Plan for 2018, and in compliance with the provisions of article 7(3) of the Portuguese Competition Act (Law 9/2012 of 8 May), as well as of article 22(1)(a) and article 46(1)(c) of the Statutes of the AdC (approved by Decree-Law 125/2014 of 18 August), the AdC establishes and publishes its competition policy priorities for 2018 without any sectoral reference regarding the eercise of its sanctioning powers. 3

5 The AdC as a competition law enforcer Proactively detecting anticompetitive practices The AdC will continue to strengthen its ability to detect anticompetitive practices e officio with the greatest direct impact on the final consumer, especially cartels, and thus to deter illegal conduct. In order to do so, the authority will enhance the monitoring of the businesses' behavior in the market, and foster eternal cooperation with public entities and other stakeholders. Economic analysis to detect signs of bid-rigging in public procurement On 1 January 2018, following the entry into force of the new Portuguese Code of Public Contracts, the AdC shall have direct and full access to all the information available on the Public Procurement Portal (BASE portal) and the Public Works Observatory (Observatório das Obras Públicas). The access granted to the AdC will facilitate the detection of bid-rigging in public procurement on an e officio basis, even where no complaint or leniency application has been made, and accelerate the investigation of such practices. Raising Awareness of the Leniency Program In 2018 the AdC will carry out initiatives to raise awareness of its Leniency Program, an essential tool to detect cartels whereby immunity or reduction of fines is granted to businesses or board members who inform the AdC of their participation in any agreement and cooperate with the investigation. Continuous improvement in the interaction between complainants and the AdC Following the launch of the Complaints Portal in 2017, which has been providing for an improved interaction between complainants and the AdC, a new feature will be developed in 2018 so as to guarantee protected communications with anonymous informants. Detection of non-notified mergers As regards merger control, in 2018 the AdC will not only seek to implement swifter and more efficient procedures for the analysis of mergers, but also work towards detecting nonnotified mergers consummated within the last five years or mergers consummated without prior approval by the AdC ("gun jumping"). 4

6 A rigorous and transparent authority Working towards state-of-theart investigative techniques The AdC will seek to improve internal investigative procedures by using the best tools available to collect and process evidence, particularly digital evidence. Competition enforcement in the digital era In 2018, the AdC will strengthen its investigative capabilities in the digital environment by eploring new trends in the use of technologies that enable or facilitate anticompetitive behavior, namely cartels. Transparent process decision-making Sanctions are a tool used for special and general deterrence of competition law infringements. When eercising its sanctioning powers in strict compliance with the Competition Law, the AdC will apply sanctions in accordance with the published guidance on applying fines. Sound decisions from a legal and economic perspective The AdC will continue to have internal checks and balances in more comple cases in order to ensure the legal and economic soundness of its decisions. Transparency The AdC will continue to regard transparency and the communication of its most relevant activity as a priority, and thus promote its accountability and credibility to stakeholders. Therefore, the AdC publishes its decisions and subsequent judicial decisions, as well as studies, opinions and recommendations through the currently available means. Given that the website of the AdC is a privileged tool for the dissemination of the activity of the authority to stakeholders, its features and format will continue to be improved. The AdC will also use additional communication means (for eample the monthly, bilingual newsletter - Notícias AdC/AdC News). In its activity, the AdC will pay close attention to rights of defense and due process. 5

7 An authority that promotes competition in the market In 2018 the AdC will foster the promotion of competition across all sectors of the economy. The AdC will analyze and monitor key sectors of the Portuguese economy and assess the impact of public policies on competition to subsequently provide opinions and recommendations that foster competition in different markets. The interaction with domestic and international stakeholders is also essential to develop a competition culture in Portugal. Competition Advocacy Opinions, Studies and Recommendations Assessment of Public Policies Advocacy and outreach initiatives Banking, Financial Markets and Insurance Telecommunications & Media Public Procurement Digital Economy Energy & Fuels Health & Pharmaceuticals Education Distribution & Food Environment and Waste Management Liberal Professions Transport & Infrastructures Postal Construction Mining and manufacturing 6

8 Monitoring of key sectors The AdC will continue to monitor and analyze key sectors of the Portuguese economy, providing opinions and recommendations that foster competition in different markets. Competition advocacy in regulated sectors Building on 2017 s initiatives, the AdC will continue to foster cooperation with sector regulators to promote knowledge and eperience-sharing on regulated markets and on potential restrictions of competition. Assessment of public policies The AdC Impact 2020 Project launched in cooperation with the OECD to assess the impact of public policies on competition will be concluded with the publication of a report which will include recommendations regarding barriers to competition arising from the legal and regulatory framework of the land and sea transport sectors and selfregulated liberal professions. The AdC will establish a strategic plan for the sustainable implementation of competition impact assessment. Digital innovation In 2018 the AdC will focus on promoting competition in sectors that go through changes involving digital innovation in order to raise awareness of technological barriers that can prevent the entry of new competitors or distort competition in different markets. Discussion and implementation of international best practices The AdC will continue its international activities with a view to discussing and implementing international best practice of competition enforcement and advocacy. In particular, the AdC will co-chair the Merger Working Group of the European Competition Network (ECN) and the Advocacy & Implementation Network of the International Competition Network (ICN). The AdC will launch the AdC Competition Policy Award to encourage research on competition law and economics thus contributing to the debate on such matters at the national and international level. In order to foster the debate and discussion of current competition issues, the AdC will host the V Lisbon Conference, which will be attended by 300 representatives of other national competition authorities, as well as lawyers, economists, the academia and international organizations. Interaction and communication with stakeholders Maintaining important interaction with stakeholders, in 2018 the AdC will undertake outreach initiatives to raise awareness of the benefits and rules of competition, as well as the harm caused by infringements of competition law. 7

9 To this end, the AdC will organize campaigns and workshops to raise the awareness of stakeholders regarding Fighting Bid-rigging in Public Procurement and the Guide for Business Associations published by the AdC. In addition to already eisting initiatives, the AdC will foster communication with stakeholders through multimedia contents on the benefits of competition. The AdC will also continue eternal seminars, which are open to the public, and held at the Abel Mateus Competition library with a view to foster the debate on competition policy issues at the national level. In 2018 the AdC will also continue its podcast series called CompCast - Competition Talks to discuss current competition policy issues at the national and international level. Lisbon, 22 December