The Federal Competition Authority held a conference on November 18, 2024 in collaboration with the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) and the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). Everything revolved around the topics of competition, fairness and change.
The event with over 170 guests focused on three topics. In the first part, economist Tomaso Duso, professor at the German Institute for Economic Research and chairman of the Monopolies Commission, gave an overview of the development of European competition over the past 25 years. This article was followed by a policy roundtable on the topic of economic policy that promotes competition. Gabriel Felbermayr, director of WIFO, Wolfgang Urbantschitsch, board member of E-Control, Silvia Hruška-Frank and director of the Vienna Chamber of Labor discussed this. The round was moderated by Angelika Kramer, Trend magazine.
In the second part, the Director General of the Norwegian Competition Authority, Tina Søreide, gave a keynote speech on the topic of competition and industrial policy, offering considerations and experiences from Norway. In the leadership roundtable that followed, Natalie Harsdorf, Director General of the BWB, Thibaud Vergé, Vice President of the French Competition Authority, Martha Martinez Licetti, Head of the World Bank’s Department for Global Markets, Competition and Technology, and Antonio Capobianco, Deputy Head of the Competition Department, discussed visions in enforcement of competition law. Lewis Crofts from the trade magazine MLex moderated this discussion.
Finally, the focus was on the topic of “data”. Rupprecht Podszun from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and member of the Monopolies Commission gave a keynote speech on the growing use of AI and the effects on competitiveness and fairness within the framework of the “Digital Market Act”. Paulo Trezentos, CEO of Aptoide, an alternative Android app store, presented a business case and offered an entrepreneurial perspective on the topic of digital regulation. Finally, Viktoria Robertson, professor at WU, moderated the final discussion on the topic of competition policy in digital change with Stefan Ruech, head of department at the BWB, Klaus Gugler, professor at WU and Thomas Kramler, head of department at the European Commission.
„Europe is at a turning point on many important issues and faces many challenges. A well-designed competition policy and efficient enforcement can make a significant contribution to sustainable economic growth. But this also requires an active discourse, including a competition for the best ideas“, says Natalie Harsdorf, General Director of the BWB.
„Strict and coherent competition policy is necessary for the competitiveness of economies“, says Klaus Gugler, professor at the WU Vienna.
„The most pressing economic policy problem in Austria and the EU is low productivity growth, which is caused by various factors, including the intensity of competition. Greater promotion of competition could both increase productivity and have a positive impact on the purchasing power of the population“, says WIFO director Gabriel Felbermayr.