

Mission Organization Chart Statutes Activities Plan Strategy Contacts National Legislation European Community Notification of Mergers Merger Decisions Other Cases and Decisions Non-notification cases Competition Authority European Commission Responsibilities National Bilateral Multilateral OECD WTO UNCTAD	Cooperação - Multilateral ECA - European Competition Authorities The organisation of the ECA (European Competition Authorities) was founded in Amsterdam in April 2001 as an informal association that serves as a discussion forum for the competition authorities in the EEA (European Economic Area). Accordingly, it involves the Member States of the European Community, the EFTA states, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, plus the European Commission and the EFTA Supervision Authority. The purpose of the ECA is to improve cooperation between competition authorities and contribute to the efficient application of national and Community competition rules. Cooperation is carried out, among other ways, through the organisation of meetings, the establishment of working groups and the exchange of information and experience. At present, the following five working groups have been set up within the ECA: Working Group on multi-jurisdictional mergers Working Group on Air Traffic Working Group on financial services Working Group on energy markets Working Group on sanctions Downloads: Discussion paper on the operation of the Association (formato PDF, 26KB) Principles on the application, by National Competition Authorities within the ECA, of Articles 4 (5) and 22 of the EC Merger Regulation (formato PDF, 75KB) Principles for Leniency Programmes (formato PDF, 30KB) The exchange of information between members on multijurisdictional mergers - Procedures guide (formato PDF, 31KB) The exchange of information between members on notifications, proceedings and decision in the field of air transport (formato PDF, 161KB) Report of the ECA Air Traffic Working Group Mergers and alliances in civil aviation (formato PDF, 380KB) Competition policy issues in the Portuguese food retail sector (formato PDF, 188KB) 2007 Annual Plenary Meeting, Sintra, 12-13 April 2007 – this meeting brought together 28 European competition authority presidents and the EC Director-General for Competition. The Portuguese Competition Authority organised this plenary as the current president in the context of the tripartite presidency of the ECA, along with France and Hungary. The agenda centred on reflection on the role of competition regulators in the application of the competition rules and on how to increase the efficiency of their action. The following documents were presented at this meeting: Competition in relation to airports - The ECA perspectives The ECA Working Group Air Trafic - Report on the Activities The Competition Authority and its stakeholder (formato PDF, 218KB) (apresentado pela Autoridade Portuguesa) Press Release by the Competition Authority: http://www.autoridadedaconcorrencia.pt/download/pressrelease2007_06.pdf ECA: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/publications/eca/ 2006 Annual Plenary Meeting, Nice, 18-19 May 2006 – In the course of the Annual Meeting, the Competition Authority took up the presidency of the Troika, which included the United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading and the French Conseil de la Concurrence and DGCCRF. In this capacity, it was the Portuguese Authority's responsibility to organise the next Annual Meeting in April 2007. The Working Groups' Activities in 2006 Ibero-American Forum on the Protection of Competition Portugal is one of the founding members of the Ibero-American Forum on the Protection of Competition, which was created on 25.02.2002 at a meeting in Madrid in which all the Ibero-American competition authorities took part. The main objective of this forum is to establish itself as a centre of debate and reflection on competition issues. Full information 2007 This year the Ibero-American Competition Forum and the Latin-American Competition Forum took place in the city of Puebla, Mexico. The Ibero-American Competition Forum took place on 18-19 September, with the participation of most Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal. Mention may be made of the Portuguese Competition Authority's presentation, through its president Professor Abel Mateus, of a plan for the Ibero-American Competition Network (IACN). The two following studies were also presented by the Authority at the session: Anti-Trust Analysis and the Issues on Buyer Power and Pass-Thorugh (formato PDF, 478KB); Competition policy issues in the Portuguese food retail sector (formato PDF, 188KB) Merger Control in the Food Retail Sector The Latin-American Competition Forum took place on 20 September. Portugal participated as the co-promoter of an OECD pilot project on cartels in public procurement, whose objective is to provide Brazil and Chile with better means of detecting and combating cartels in the field of open calls for tender. The OECD and Portugal consider that the experience already accumulated by the Portuguese Authority on this topic represents a valuable contribution to the success of this project. 2006 The course at the Ibero-American School for the Protection of Competition took place in Madrid between 20 November and 1 December 2006. The Ibero-American Workshop on Competition Policy and the Annual Meeting of the Forum took place in Lisbon from 31 May – 2 June 2006; it was organised by the Portuguese Competition Authority. More information ICN - International Competition Network From 16 April 2003, with the Competition Authority's membership, Portugal became part of the International Competition Network (ICN), which is the largest worldwide network for multinational cooperation on competition. Created in October 2001, the ICN is a project in which, at the beginning, 14 jurisdictions were involved, namely, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. More information The work of the ICN is carried out through the annual conferences and workshops of the specialised working groups. Currently, four working groups have been set up, on the following topics: cartels, unilateral conduct, mergers, and competition policy implementation. Topic selection and the countries that organise the workshops each year are the responsibility of the ICN Steering Committee. Annual ICN Conferences The I Annual Conference took place in Naples, Italy, 28-29 September 2002. The II Annual ICN Conference took place in Merida, Mexico, 26 June 2003. The III Annual ICN Conference took place in Seoul, Korea, 21-22 April 2004. The IV Annual ICN Conference took place in Bonn, Germany, 6-8 June 2005. The V Annual ICN Conference took place in Cape Town, South Africa, 3-5 May 2006. More information The VI Annual ICN Conference took place in Moscow, Russia, 29 May – 1 June 2007. More information on the Competition Authority's contribution to the work of the VI Annual Conference ICN Workshops on Cartels 1st: Competition Commission, Canada, 24-26 November 2001 2nd: SEAE and CADE, Brazil, 18-20 September 2002 3rd: European Commission, Brussels, 1-3 October 2003 4th: Competition and Consumer Commission, Australia, 19-23 November 2004 5th: Fair Trade Commission, Republic of Korea, 8-10 November 2005 6th: Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, Netherlands, 13-16 November 2006 7th: Superintendencia de la Competencia, Republic of El Salvador, 29 October – 1 November 2007. More information on the Competition Authority's contribution to the work of the session (formato PDF, 61KB). For detailed information on the ICN's work, consult the ICN website. Portuguese-speaking Countries In its international relations, the Competition Authority attributes the greatest importance to cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor and the Autonomous Region of Macau). The importance of competition for development and the creation of a favourable environment for direct international investment was included in the Declaration of Rio de Janeiro, which expresses the basic principles of this cooperation. Declaration of Rio de Janeiro, June 2004 (formato PDF, 67KB) Cooperation between the bodies responsible for competition and Portuguese-speaking countries has been pursued with the organisation of meetings, every two years, for those responsible for the promotion and protection of competition in these countries. The I Meeting of Portuguese-speaking Countries on Competition was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 28-29 June 2004. The II Meeting of Portuguese-speaking Countries on Competition was held in Lisbon, 29-30 May 2006.

Cooperação - Multilateral

ECA - European Competition Authorities

The organisation of the ECA (European Competition Authorities) was founded in Amsterdam in April 2001 as an informal association that serves as a discussion forum for the competition authorities in the EEA (European Economic Area). Accordingly, it involves the Member States of the European Community, the EFTA states, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, plus the European Commission and the EFTA Supervision Authority.

The purpose of the ECA is to improve cooperation between competition authorities and contribute to the efficient application of national and Community competition rules. Cooperation is carried out, among other ways, through the organisation of meetings, the establishment of working groups and the exchange of information and experience.

At present, the following five working groups have been set up within the ECA:

Working Group on multi-jurisdictional mergers
Working Group on Air Traffic
Working Group on financial services
Working Group on energy markets
Working Group on sanctions

Downloads:

Discussion paper on the operation of the Association (formato PDF, 26KB)
Principles on the application, by National Competition Authorities within the ECA, of Articles 4 (5) and 22 of the EC Merger Regulation (formato PDF, 75KB)
Principles for Leniency Programmes (formato PDF, 30KB)
The exchange of information between members on multijurisdictional mergers - Procedures guide (formato PDF, 31KB)
The exchange of information between members on notifications, proceedings and decision in the field of air transport (formato PDF, 161KB)
Report of the ECA Air Traffic Working Group Mergers and alliances in civil aviation (formato PDF, 380KB)
Competition policy issues in the Portuguese food retail sector (formato PDF, 188KB)

2007

Annual Plenary Meeting, Sintra, 12-13 April 2007 – this meeting brought together 28 European competition authority presidents and the EC Director-General for Competition. The Portuguese Competition Authority organised this plenary as the current president in the context of the tripartite presidency of the ECA, along with France and Hungary. The agenda centred on reflection on the role of competition regulators in the application of the competition rules and on how to increase the efficiency of their action.

The following documents were presented at this meeting:

Competition in relation to airports - The ECA perspectives
The ECA Working Group Air Trafic - Report on the Activities
The Competition Authority and its stakeholder (formato PDF, 218KB) (apresentado pela Autoridade Portuguesa)

Press Release by the Competition Authority:
http://www.autoridadedaconcorrencia.pt/download/pressrelease2007_06.pdf

ECA: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/publications/eca/

2006

Annual Plenary Meeting, Nice, 18-19 May 2006 – In the course of the Annual Meeting, the Competition Authority took up the presidency of the Troika, which included the United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading and the French Conseil de la Concurrence and DGCCRF. In this capacity, it was the Portuguese Authority's responsibility to organise the next Annual Meeting in April 2007.

The Working Groups' Activities in 2006

Ibero-American Forum on the Protection of Competition

Portugal is one of the founding members of the Ibero-American Forum on the Protection of Competition, which was created on 25.02.2002 at a meeting in Madrid in which all the Ibero-American competition authorities took part.

The main objective of this forum is to establish itself as a centre of debate and reflection on competition issues.

Full information

2007

This year the Ibero-American Competition Forum and the Latin-American Competition Forum took place in the city of Puebla, Mexico.

The Ibero-American Competition Forum took place on 18-19 September, with the participation of most Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal. Mention may be made of the Portuguese Competition Authority's presentation, through its president Professor Abel Mateus, of a plan for the Ibero-American Competition Network (IACN). The two following studies were also presented by the Authority at the session:

Anti-Trust Analysis and the Issues on Buyer Power and Pass-Thorugh (formato PDF, 478KB); Competition policy issues in the Portuguese food retail sector (formato PDF, 188KB)
Merger Control in the Food Retail Sector

The Latin-American Competition Forum took place on 20 September. Portugal participated as the co-promoter of an OECD pilot project on cartels in public procurement, whose objective is to provide Brazil and Chile with better means of detecting and combating cartels in the field of open calls for tender. The OECD and Portugal consider that the experience already accumulated by the Portuguese Authority on this topic represents a valuable contribution to the success of this project.

2006

The course at the Ibero-American School for the Protection of Competition took place in Madrid between 20 November and 1 December 2006.

The Ibero-American Workshop on Competition Policy and the Annual Meeting of the Forum took place in Lisbon from 31 May – 2 June 2006; it was organised by the Portuguese Competition Authority.

More information

ICN - International Competition Network

From 16 April 2003, with the Competition Authority's membership, Portugal became part of the International Competition Network (ICN), which is the largest worldwide network for multinational cooperation on competition.

Created in October 2001, the ICN is a project in which, at the beginning, 14 jurisdictions were involved, namely, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. More information

The work of the ICN is carried out through the annual conferences and workshops of the specialised working groups. Currently, four working groups have been set up, on the following topics: cartels, unilateral conduct, mergers, and competition policy implementation. Topic selection and the countries that organise the workshops each year are the responsibility of the ICN Steering Committee.

Annual ICN Conferences

The I Annual Conference took place in Naples, Italy, 28-29 September 2002.
The II Annual ICN Conference took place in Merida, Mexico, 26 June 2003.
The III Annual ICN Conference took place in Seoul, Korea, 21-22 April 2004.
The IV Annual ICN Conference took place in Bonn, Germany, 6-8 June 2005.
The V Annual ICN Conference took place in Cape Town, South Africa, 3-5 May 2006. More information
The VI Annual ICN Conference took place in Moscow, Russia, 29 May – 1 June 2007. More information on the Competition Authority's contribution to the work of the VI Annual Conference

ICN Workshops on Cartels

1st: Competition Commission, Canada, 24-26 November 2001
2nd: SEAE and CADE, Brazil, 18-20 September 2002
3rd: European Commission, Brussels, 1-3 October 2003
4th: Competition and Consumer Commission, Australia, 19-23 November 2004
5th: Fair Trade Commission, Republic of Korea, 8-10 November 2005
6th: Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, Netherlands, 13-16 November 2006
7th: Superintendencia de la Competencia, Republic of El Salvador, 29 October – 1 November 2007. More information on the Competition Authority's contribution to the work of the session (formato PDF, 61KB).

For detailed information on the ICN's work, consult the ICN website.

Portuguese-speaking Countries

In its international relations, the Competition Authority attributes the greatest importance to cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor and the Autonomous Region of Macau). The importance of competition for development and the creation of a favourable environment for direct international investment was included in the Declaration of Rio de Janeiro, which expresses the basic principles of this cooperation.

Declaration of Rio de Janeiro, June 2004 (formato PDF, 67KB)

Cooperation between the bodies responsible for competition and Portuguese-speaking countries has been pursued with the organisation of meetings, every two years, for those responsible for the promotion and protection of competition in these countries.