2021-2022 ICN Kickoff call: November 24

Join us for a

 “Kickoff Call” for the new ICN Year

Hear from the ICN Working Groups on New Work Product & How to Get Involved in this Year’s Projects

  Wednesday, November 24, 2021

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

Join us for this kickoff call of the new ICN year. The Co-chairs from each ICN working group – Advocacy, Agency Effectiveness, Cartels, Mergers, and Unilateral Conduct – will present new work product,  work plans for 2021/2022, and opportunities to participate in this year’s projects. You also will hear about various ICN projects, plans for promoting implementation and a preview of the upcoming 2022 ICN annual conference. Member agencies please forward to your NGAs. Please find the relevant information to join the call:

https://ftc.zoomgov.com/j/1611699637?pwd=TlJBMWFVL0hwL3BMV1RsZzZyQllQQT09

Meeting ID: 161 169 9637

Passcode: .5wu8J

Dial by your location:

Find your local number: https://ftc.zoomgov.com/u/au1BVEHvN

+1 551 285 1373 US

Meeting ID: 161 169 9637

 

We look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday.

 

 


2021 ICN Virtual Itinerary


The ICN’s Virtual Itinerary keeps you up-to-date with the schedule of upcoming ICN events, including seminars, workshops, and the annual conference. This list is updated monthly, and other additions and changes are made when available, so check back often for confirmation.



Replay: 2020-2021 Competition Advocacy Contest Award Ceremony

Watch the 2020-2021 Competition Advocacy Contest Award Ceremony

Winners and honorable mentions were announced during a virtual ceremony on October 7th, 2021, when the chair of the ICN Steering Group and representatives of the ICN Advocacy Working Group, World Bank Group and the selecting panel discussed lessons learned and details of the successful advocacy initiatives with officials from the awarded competition authorities, selected among 31 entries submitted by both government authorities and non-governmental organizations from 19 jurisdictions around the world. To discover the awarded authorities and watch the Ceremony, click here https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2021/04/07/competition-advocacy-contest-2021


The ICN Turns 20!

The ICN celebrates its 20th Anniversary on October 25, 2021! 

20th Anniversary webpage


Replay: ICN's 20th Annual Conference Panels

Recordings now available: Relive the plenary panels from the 2021 ICN Annual Conference!

Link to 2021 ICN Annual Conference

Link to the conference website. Scroll down to "Programs and Recordings." Pick a conference day, and choose a panel.


ICN's 20th Annual Conference

The ICN virtually celebrates its 20th Anniversary in Budapest and announces Berlin as venue for the 21st ICN Annual Conference

The International Competition Network (ICN) held its 20th annual conference from 13 to 15 October. The event hosted by the Hungarian Competition Authority took place in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ICN is the most important network of competition authorities worldwide. It comprises 140 competition agencies from 130 jurisdictions. At the conference, the ICN Steering Group re-elected Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, as Chair for the 2021-2022 term.

“The ICN has provided the basis for 20 years of successful multilateral cooperation. Congratulations to our colleagues in Hungary for organizing the ICN Anniversary Conference!” Andreas Mundt, ICN Chair and President of the Bundeskartellamt. “We are entering the ICN’s third decade and it is time to look ahead: Digitalization will remain a key issue. Sustainability is the second topic which will lead to a major transformation and will require our attention. The third challenge for competition agencies is the interaction with other areas of law. We will have to keep an open mind.”

The conference host presented a panel about sustainability and competition law. The ICN Advocacy Working Group panellists shared views and experiences on how companies, with limited resources and capabilities, could best manage to ensure compliance with competition law. The Agency Effectiveness Working Group discussed the opportunities and challenges for competition agencies in the post-COVID world. The Cartel Working Group addressed issues and challenges in international cooperation in the fight against cross-border cartels. The Merger Working Group discussed merger control in the ICN’s third decade. The Unilateral Conduct Working Group explored how agencies deal with challenges they face when analysing theories of harm and designing remedies in unilateral conduct cases in digital markets.

Three other panels looked at the intersection between competition, consumer protection and privacy, international cooperation, and the implementation of ICN work. A breakout session presented first results of the ICN Third Decade Review, a self-evaluation of the network looking at tools, structure and topics to provide a roadmap for the ICN during its third decade.

A recording of the conference will be available on the ICN conference webpage.

The 21st ICN Annual Conference will take place in Berlin from 4 to 6 May 2022. The ICN 2022 conference video is available here.


Now Playing! 2021 Working Group Update Videos

The 2021 Working Group & projects update videos are out! Enjoy viewing updates on work product and activities from Working Group chairs for the 2020-21 ICN year and previews for next year.

 

Links to 2021 Working Group update videos:

Advocacy Working Group

Agency Effectiveness Working Group

Cartel Working Group

Merger Working Group

Unilateral Conduct Working Group

Intersection of competition, consumer, and data privacy Project


2020-2021 ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy Contest Award Ceremony

Building Forward Better: how competition advocacy can support countries with Covid19 crisis response, relief, and resilient recovery

Thursday, 7th October 2021
8:00-9:00 EDT (Washington D.C.) / 14:00-15:00 CEDT (Rome)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1OjFSUGsMQ

Dear ICN members and NGAs,

Please join us to watch live this year’s Competition Advocacy Contest and discover the winners and honorable mentions. The Ceremony will be opened by Andreas Mundt, ICN Steering Group Chair.
No pre-registration is required. For more information see the attached flyer.Moderator: Andrea Minuto Rizzo, Head of International Affairs Office, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM)

Opening remarks:
Andreas Mundt, ICN Steering Group Chair and President of Bundeskartellamt
Martha Licetti, Practice Manager, Global Markets, Competition and Technology Unit, World Bank Group

Awards announcements & discussion:

Theme 1: Promoting an inclusive, sustainable, and green recovery while preserving contestability
Presenter: Alessandra Tonazzi, Director of the European and International Affairs Directorate, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM)

Theme 2: Leveraging the competitive impact of the digital economy for a faster and inclusive recovery
Presenter: Georgiana Pop, Global Lead, Competition Policy, World Bank Group

Theme 3: Responding to the increased role of the State in markets and the government relief measures
Presenter: Eleanor Fox, Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation at New York University School of Law

Theme 4: Revisiting antitrust rules and Implementing initiatives in response to the Covid19 crisis
Presenter: Mariana Tavares, Partner, Levy & Salomão Advogados

 

Best regards
The Global Competition Policy Team of The World Bank Group & The Italian Competition Authority on behalf of the ICN Advocacy Working Group


ICN Steering Group confirms Rod Sims, ACCC, as new Vice Chair

ICN Steering Group confirms Rod Sims, ACCC, as new Vice Chair for Digital Co-ordination and Asia-Pacific Liaison

On 15 September 2021 the ICN Steering Group confirmed Rod Sims as new Vice Chair for Digital Co-ordination and Asia-Pacific Liaison.

Rod Sims has been a long-term supporter of the ICN and active participant since becoming Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2011. As ICN Vice Chair he will focus on overarching co-ordination of projects and discussions on competition in the digital economy within the ICN and additionally will support agencies in the Asia-Pacific region facing the challenges of the time zone in their engagement with the ICN.

Rod Sims will work together with the ICN’s other Vice Chair, Tembinkosi Bonakele, Commissioner of the South African Competition Commission.

The ICN thanks Alejandra Palacios, former President of COFECE Mexico, for her leadership as Vice Chair until her term as head of COFECE came to an end in September 2021.


Intersection of Competition, Consumer Protection, & Privacy - September 7

THIRD ICN WEBINAR ON
COMPETITION LAW ENFORCEMENT AT THE INTERSECTION OF COMPETITION, CONSUMER PROTECTION, AND PRIVACY

Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 8:00 am EDT/ 2:00 pm CEST

 Please join us for this ICN Webinar on the ICN Steering Group’s project on competition law enforcement at the intersection of competition, consumer protection, and privacy, and more specifically, on its issues identification paper.

The webinar – which will take place on Tuesday, September 7 at 8:00am EDT/ 2:00pm CEST – is the third of four series for ICN members and Non-Governmental Advisors to hear from academia, privacy forum, private practitioners. The relationship between competition and consumer laws and policies has been topical for a decade or more and, if anything, has become more complex. The webinar will explore how the competition/consumer/privacy intersection should be navigated through an examination of the varied ways in which the different regimes may in practice interact with one another.


Moderator:
John Fingleton, Fingleton
Speakers:
Andrea Minuto Rizzo, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM)
Morag Bond, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)
Eliana Garces, Facebook
Emily Hart, Motion Mobs

 

For more information about the call, please email the co-chairs of the intersection project.