Competition, Fairness and Change

The day focused on current economic and competition issues. Natalie Harsdorf (BWB), Gabriel Felbermayr (WIFO), Helene Schuberth (ÖGB), Tobias Schweitzer (AK), Claudia Huber (WKO) and Justus Haucap (DICE – Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics) discussed Austria's industrial strategy and how to strike a balance between industrial policy and regulatory policy in the first block. Moderator Andrea Hodoschek (Kurier) introduced the key challenges of the current economic policy debate to the panel. High inflation and increasing pressure along the entire value chain dominated the discussion. A common concern was to strengthen competitiveness in a sustainable manner. Accordingly, the contributions ranged from specific economic policy decisions to fundamental questions, such as the differences between location and industrial policy. It became clear that competition was consistently understood as a cornerstone of the economic order and was consistently included in all considerations.

The latter part of the morning was divided into two breakout sessions. First, the topic of "Fairness in the value chain: aspiration and wishful thinking" was examined in a critical keynote speech by Elisabeth Werner, Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development at the European Commission (DG AGRI). The focus was on the current preliminary ruling proceedings in the field of agriculture and retail submitted by Austria to the European Court of Justice. The panel discussion "Competition from a sporting perspective", which took place at the same time, was introduced by Matthias Sutter from the Max Planck Institute and raised the interesting thesis that competition in (top-level) sport functions as an essential element, but that performance in many other areas of our society is questioned. Both topics were explored in greater depth in a discussion panel with experts from various industries.

The afternoon began with a keynote speech by Bernhard Kasberger (WIFO) on the topic of "Rethinking the energy industry". This was followed by a lively discussion on this highly relevant issue, moderated by Agnes Kügler (WIFO), with different perspectives provided by Susanna Zapreva (Verbund), Wolfgang Urbantschitsch (E-Control), Martin Janda (BWB) and Franz Schellhorn (Agenda Austria).

The final part of the event on the topic of "Merger Control in Transition: The Dawn of a New Era?" was kicked off by a keynote speech from Guillaume Loriot, Deputy Director-General responsible for Merger Control in the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). The keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion with representatives from DG COMP, the Federal Cartel Office, the Study Association for Cartel Law and the University of Vienna. The panel was moderated by Nora Schindler (BWB). The focus was on the European Commission's ongoing consultation on merger control guidelines, digital transformation and its impact on merger control. "Our task is to distinguish scale that supports the Single Market from scale that harms competition, and to assess both in a way that is grounded in market realities and evidence," said Loriot.