6 May, Berlin
On May 6, the 21st annual conference of the International Competition Network concluded in Berlin, hosted by the German Bundeskartellamt. Over 350 participants from more than 80 jurisdictions participated in the three day event for competition agencies and ICN non-governmental advisors including competition academics, practitioners, and other international organizations. The ICN is a virtual network of competition agencies dedicated to promoting cooperation and understanding for effective competition law enforcement through experience sharing, policy discussions, and written work product based on agency practices and perspectives. ICN members collaborate year round in working groups on vital topics of relevance to competition agencies.
In 2022, the focus of ICN ongoing work and conference discussions covers vigorous enforcement in digital markets, agency operations during the pandemic and recovery, and fundamentals of effective enforcement in markets across member economies. The conference held panels and breakout discussions on addressing killer acquisitions, regulatory and competition law tools in digital markets, and economic tools to evaluate large volumes of data. More discussions evaluated the standard of proof for competition law cases, anti-cartel enforcement trends, cross-border agency cooperation, the intersection of competition, consumer protection, and data privacy, markets affected by the pandemic, sustainability and competition, gender-inclusive competition policy, leniency, and effective competition remedies.
