News

ICN “Kick-Off Call” 

Hear from the ICN Working Groups on New Work Products and

How to Get Involved in this Year’s Projects

  Wednesday, September 18, 2024

08:00–09:00 (Ottawa)/14:00–15:00 (Bonn)

Registration link

ICN working groups and project teams will present new work products, work plans for 2024/2025, ICN events, and opportunities to participate in this year’s projects.

The ICN Statement of Achievement 2023-2024 is available here.

The workshop was hosted by the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) from 2-4 October  2024 in Mexico City at the Barceló Reforma México Hotel.

This year’s event, entitled The Future of the Fight Against Cartel Agreements explored the challenges that competition agencies are facing and will face in the near future regarding the detection, investigation and enforcement of the law against cartels. The workshop featured both technical and practical sessions covering topics ranging from proactive detection tools, the impact of new technologies on collusion and the future of international cooperation in cartel enforcement.

The press release is available here.

 ICN 2024 MERGER WORKSHOP

13-15 November 2024

TAIPEI, TAIWAN

The International Competition Network (ICN) Merger Workshop was held by the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission at the Regent Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, from 13 to 15 November 2024.

The two-and-a-half-day workshop offered opportunities for national competition authorities (NCAs) and non-governmental advisors (NGAs) to discuss and exchange experiences on highly topical merger issues, including potential/dynamic competition, innovation theories of harm in both horizontal and non-horizontal mergers as well as other non-price parameters of competition. Given the increasingly dynamic nature of competition enforcement in digital and other sectors, these topics are more pertinent than ever.

Participants had the opportunity to discuss in an interactive setting various hypothetical cases (e.g. theories of harm, remedies, investigative tools), to elaborate on draft Merger Working Group products and discuss, among other topics, procedural aspects of merger investigations.

More information and videos are available here.

Check the 2024/25 ICN projects and get involved.

More detailed information and additional projects can be found in the ICN Working Group work plans available on the Working Group subpages along with the relevant contact information.

Join Us for the ICN Workshop on Competition and Sustainable Development

We are excited to announce the first ICN workshop on “The Role of Competition in Supporting Sustainable Development Goals,” which will be organized by the French Autorité de la concurrence and held online from July 2-3, 2024.

Event Overview

This workshop will explore the crucial role that competition plays in achieving sustainable development goals. It will provide a platform for experts, heads of agencies, and non-governmental advisors (NGAs) to discuss and share insights on integrating sustainability considerations into competition law assessments.

Agenda Highlights

Day One accessible here: Open to ICN Members

1:00 pm CEST: Introductory remarks by President Benoît Coeuré

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm CEST: Panel Discussion 1: “Sustainability considerations in competition law assessments: competition agencies’ mandate and where to draw the line.” This session will feature a moderator and four speakers who will delve into the mandates of competition agencies and the boundaries of sustainability considerations in legal assessments.

2:15 pm – 3:15 pm CEST: Panel Discussion 2: “How to effectively address behaviors that positively or negatively affect sustainability: advocacy, ex ante guidance, and the suitability of traditional enforcement tools.” This panel will discuss the practical tools and strategies for addressing sustainability-related behaviors.

3:15 pm – 3:30 pm CEST: Closing remarks by ICN Chair Andreas Mundt

Day Two: Agencies Only

This day will be dedicated to internal discussions among agency experts, focusing on practical issues and challenges related to sustainability in their day-to-day work. Topics will include capacity building, advocacy, ex ante guidance, and enforcement.

If you have any questions regarding the event or your agency is willing to share relevant experience on these topics, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

We look forward to your participation in this event as we explore the intersection of competition and sustainability to support global development goals.

ICN Steering Group confirms Andrea Marván, COFECE Mexico, as new ICN Vice Chair

Andrea Marván Saltiel, Chair of the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE), has been newly appointed as one of two ICN Steering Group Vice Chairs at the ICN Annual Conference in Brazil in May 2024 alongside Lina Khan, Chair of the US FTC. In this capacity, Andrea will focus on emerging competition issues.

The ICN would like to thank Sia Aik Kor for her commitment and leadership as former ICN Vice Chair.

The 23rd Annual Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) was hosted by the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) in Sauipe, Brazil from 14 to 17 May 2024.

At the conference, participants shared experiences and engaged in discussions in the plenaries and breakout sessions organised by the ICN working groups. Special sessions were dedicated to new developments in the field of artificial intelligence as well as the topic of state-owned enterprises for which the ICN had also invited the OECD and UNCTAD to participate.

For further information on the ICN Annual Conference, please visit the conference website (https://icn2024sauipe.cade.gov.br/). The recordings of the plenary sessions are available here without prior registration.

The ICN Statement of Achievement 2023-2024 is available here.

Check the 2023/24 ICN projects and get involved.

More detailed information and additional projects can be found in the ICN Working Group work plans available on the Working Group subpages along with the relevant contact information.