EUROPEAN CONFERENCE on COMPETITION EUROLINK - House of Europe

 

CENTRAL EUROPEAN EXPERIENCES of IMPLEMENTATION of the ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE in the field of COMPETITION on the EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET

~ The Preparation of Romanian Business Environment for the New European Competition ~

organised by EUROLINK - HOUSE of EUROPE

at OXFORD Hotel in Constantza, Romania 

7 - 10 October 2004

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

AGENDA of the CONFERENCE

PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

For the Romanian version, click here!

PRESS RELEASES

12 October 2004 - Lansarea Platformei Central Europene pentru Concurenta Loiala si Transparenta (CEFTAC)  (in Romanian and English)

27 September 2004 - Larga participare la Conferinta Concurentei si Competitivitatii de la Constanta (in Romanian)

21 September 2004 - Companiile Romanesti in fata Competitiei Europene (in Romanian)

17 September 2004 - Pregatirea Mediului de Afaceri Romanesc pentru Competitia pe noua Piata Europeana (in Romanian)

28 August 2004 - European Competition and Competitivness of Romanian Firms within the New European Sigle Market (in Romanian and English)

10 August 2004 - Invitation to the first European Conference organised in Romania in the Field of Competition and Competitivness (Ro and Engl)

4 Iulie 2004 - Prima Conferinta Europeana in domeniul Concurentei si Competitivitatii organizata in Romania (Ro)

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The current project proposal relates to the priority regarding the implementation and enforcement of the internal market acquis in Romania, better using the previous experience of the new EU Member States. Its aim is to confront the case of Romania with other CEE experiences in the field of its efforts  to  eliminate the barriers for the free movement of services and improve the free movement of capitals, aimed to generate a stable, coherent and cohesive information, communication, mutual assistance and consultation impartial system for promoting the EU liberalisation/competition policies.

This action is planned to consolidate our REGENT Centre created in June 2001, especially the projects aimed to support the partnerships between public authorities and private & NGO sector organisations from national/regional capitals in EU and CEEC in the field of accelerating the European integration process. Also, we design to provide a practical impact and follow-up to other two initiatives supported in the past by projects supported by DG Education and DG Press: the research study and advocacy campaign “Europeanisation of Romania through Regional Development and Diversity“, and the newly created EU PROCESS ACADEMY - a intensive training programme for CEE  experts in European integration.

In terms of priority issues for 2004, the competition policy represents an essential dimension of the whole European accession process within the European Single Market.  As such, we are decided to concentrate on the effectiveness of enforcing/ implementation operations.  This could be attained through both the full harmonisation of the competition and State aid policy and rules, according to the EU legislative framework in the above mentioned field (including economic regulations, privatisation, antitrust measures, State aid supervision, international trade). In order to implement  the competition policy and rules within the structural reform, we consider that a special attention must be paid to the links between Chapter 6 - Competition Policy - and other more demanding  chapters of the Single Market acquis,  implied by the preparation of Romanian companies and involved bodies/authorities for a free and fair pan - European and global competition, and a for achieving a stronger socio-economic cohesion of the acceding countries involving various fields (energy, industrial policy or regional policy).

Using the mediation of our NGO advocacy and mediation capabilities, and choosing Romania as a main study-case of the project, to be framed and confronted with other more advanced CEE economies/reforms of the competition system, we believe to give our specific contribution to the supporting efforts of EU and to the acceleration of the entire integration process in our region.  

 

European Conference

The European Conference will be structured in plenary sessions and thematic and inter-active workshops, and the working languages are English and Romanian language. The invited representatives of EU-Romanian chambers of commerce, of social partners/confederations represented within the European Economic and Social Committee, associations of EU and leading investors, other experts will present their experiences, to be used as a know-how transfer and stimulating set of recommendations. At the end of each workshop, a rapporteur will present the results, the conclusions of discussions and will reply to questions of the other participants. At the end of works, a general and public Evaluation Meeting will be organised. On the basis of proposals, suggestions and conclusions of the Conference, within the final Press Conference, a permanent virtual platform will be launched. The internet plaform will be entitled Central-European Advocacy for a Fair and Transparent Competition (CEFTAC), and is aimed to promote a fair and effective economic competition and an increased transparency.

Also, for supporting the inter-action between participants, their need for networking within the regional integration process, one-to-one exchange of experience discussions and information visits are to be organised with the support of the Constanta Chamber of Commerce, the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, the County Council Constanta and the regional branch of the Romanian Competition Council.

At the suggestion of our partners, we invited to attend the event the following personalities:

Special Guest Speakers

Mrs. Maria Blanca Rodriguez Galindo - Head of International Relations Unit - DG Competition
Mr. Giovanni NAPOLITANO - Senior Official, Italian Competition Authority
Ms. Marie-France HOUDE – Head, Investment Policy Reviews, OECD
Mr. Guy BURROW – Chairman of Branch Advisory Board of British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce

EU Moderators of workshops

Dr. Torge Hamkens (Task Force Global Issues of the German Federal Foreign Office, D)
Mr. Gabor SZOBOSZLAY (Office of Economic Competition, Hungary)
Mrs Katarina FODOROVA (Antimonopoly Office of Slovak Republic)
Mrs. Viktorija KAIDALOVA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia)

Romanian Guest Speakers

Dr. Mihai BERINDE – President of the Romanian Competition Council
Mr.. Gheorghe MUSLIU – Vice-President, Romanian Competition Council
Mr. Radu GHIDICEANU – Director of the National Association of Internet Service Providers in Romania (ANISP)
 

Mr. Mario Monti, the Competition Commissioner of European Commission and Mr. Mihai Berinde, the President of the Competition Council of Romania will assume the Honorary Patronage of the European Conference.

 

AGENDA OF THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE

 

7 October 2004

14.00 – 17.00  Arrival and registration of participants

20.00 – 22.00  Welcome ceremony and social in honour of the invited guests and participants

 

8 October 2004

Chair: Prof. Univ. Dr. Emilian M. DOBRESCU; H.E. Mr. Mihai BERINDE

9.30 – 09.40   Welcome speaches:

On the behalf of EUROLINK – House of Europe Foundation: Prof. Dr. Emilian M. DOBRESCU, Scientific Co-ordinator of the European Conference

On the behalf of the CityHall of Constanta – a representative of the CityHall Constanta

09.40 – 09.45 Short presentation of the House of Europe, main organiser of the European Conference and of the project „Central European Experiences of Implementation of the Acquis Communautaire in the field of Competition on the European Single Market”, within the PHARE Small Projects Programme.

09.45 – 09.55 Speach held by H.E. Mr. Mihai BERINDE – President of the Competition Council in Romania

09.55 – 10.05 Message on the behalf of DG Competition of the European Commission – Mrs. Maria-Blanca RODRIGUEZ- GALINDO– Head of International Relations Unit.

10.05 – 10.15  Message on the behalf of  the County Council of Constanta

10.15 – 11.35 Speaches held by the high representatives of Competition Authorities of EU Member States and other partner organisations:

11.35 – 12.00   Coffee break

12.00 – 13.00 Launching the internet platform CEFTAC: Central-European Advocacy for a Fair and Transparent Competition.

Press Conference held by the representatives of the member organisations of the Organising Consortium of the European Conference.

13.30 – 15.00   Lunch

15.00 – 16.30  Thematic workshops (part I)

Workshop no. 1:

“Liberalisation of monopolistic sectors: the role of authorities in the liberalisation process”

Chair: Mrs Maria-Blanca RODRIGUEZ-GALINDO – Head of International Relations Unit; Mr George MUSLIU – Vicepresident of the Competition Council in Romania.

Moderators: Mr Giovanni NAPOLITANO – Competition Authority in Italy; Mrs Daniela BADILA – Competition Council in Romania; Dr. Oliver KNIPPING – Deutsche Telekom

Presentations:

§         high representatives of the competition authorities;

§         representatives of the Romanian Competition Council: Dna Violeta TOADER, Dl Daniel CHILEA;

§         representatives of the law firms and participating companies;

§         representatives of the reglemetation authorities in the field of competition

Workshop no. 2:

„Mergers and restrictive agreements on the Single Market”

Chair: Mrs Marie-France HOUDE, OECD; Mr. Mihai DARBAN – Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Agriculture and Navigation of the Constanta  County

Moderators: Mrs Georgeta FOTINO – Romanian Competition Council; Mr Peter IMRE – Philip Morris Romania

Presentations:

16.30 – 16.45  Coffee break

16.45 – 17.30  Thematic workshops (part II)

17.30 – 17.45  Short presentation of reports of each workshop debates.

18.30 – 19.00 Trip to Cazino Constanta.

19.00 – 22.00 The ceremony of awarding the annual distinctions of EUROLINK – House of Europe “The Personality of the Year for a European Romania”. Official ceremony and reception in the honour of the guests was organised in the Ceremony Hall of Cazino Constanta.

This year, the awards were given to Romanian and European personalities which exemplarily contributed, each of them in their own field of activity, to rending closer the Romanian society to the European principles, values and standards, as well as fulfilling of more intense exchange of experience and persons between Romania and the European Union: 

9 October 2004

Optional program, to be decided by the participants:

09.00 – 11.00  Visit and presentation of the Administration of Shipyard Tomis - Constanta.

09.00 – 11.00  Visit the historical and cultural city of Tomis.

11.00 – 11.30  Return to Hotel Oxford

11.30 – 13.30  The communications and lobby strategies of the new CEE sectoral interest- groups before and after the EU accession.

Moderators: Dr. Torge HAMKENS – EUTOP Brussels; Mr Ion VACIU –Comunicatii Mobile Magazine; Mr Mihai BALASANU – British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce; Mr Michael CHARTIER – Embassy of Costa Rica in Brussels

13.30 – 15.00 Lunch

15.00 – 16.45 Plenary session. Presentations and discussions.

The promotion of  principles of the competition culture and  the transparency of the competition environment at the basis of  a successful  socio-economic  integration of the acceding countries Moderators: Mr George MUSLIU – Vicepresident of the Romanian Competition Council

Discussions:

§         representatives of competition authorities

§         representatives of the participating companies

16.45 – 17.00 Coffee break

17.00 – 17.30 Final Evaluation:

Dl. George MUSLIU – Vicepresident of the Romanian Competition Council

Dl. Sever AVRAM –Executive President of EUROLINK – House of Europe

18.30 – 19.00 Trip to Hotel Flora – Mamaia Resort

19.00 – 22.00 Traditional restaurant at Flora Hotel. Farewell Party with traditional folk music

22.00   Return to Hotel Oxford.

 

10 October 2004

7.00 – 9.00 Breakfast

         Departure of participants.

CEE Advocacy Platform

The permanent virtual platform Central-European Advocacy for a Fair and Transparent Competition (CEFTAC) is to start from the participating institutions and is to be extended towards to entire CEE region.

Methods of implementation for the virtual CEE Competition Platform:

o       inter-active forum of discussions;

o       publication of press releases, announcements, annual and other periodical reports;

o       promoting best practices in terms methods and measures within the process of privatisation and deregulation;

o       an open space for mutual assistance and solicited consultation offered by experienced EU experts;

o       an evolving and updated guidelines for enforcing deterrent and transparency policies. 

 

PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

Our project is implemented with the support of various Romanian and European institutions and organisations.

Organising Partners

Organising Consortium:

and with the support of:

 

Target-groups

The identified target groups are composed from experts of the general and specialised regulatory bodies, corporate members of the chambers of commerce, employer organisations and concerned professional associations, foreign representatives of the bilateral chambers of commerce and foreign investors associations.

Estimated number of direct beneficiaries: 70 participants

Foreign participants are welcomed from the new Member States.

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