The Hellenic Competition Commission (‘HCC’) in the context of its innovative initiatives in relation to sustainable development has successfully organized a teleconference on September 28th, 2020 with the participation of prominent specialists of the field.
The purpose of the teleconference was to launch a public debate on this issue, which is not only a national priority but also a priority of the European Commission.The teleconference aims to better prepare Greece for the implementation of the goals of sustainable development by respecting the rules of competition.The HCC has published a Staff Discussion Paper, where it analyses convergence areas and conflicts between sustainable development and competition law in all its aspects. The paper was warmly welcomed by the Commisioner and Vice President of the European Commission, Ms M. Vestager, in her recent speech in which she announced the European initiatives on this issue .
The teleconference, held via an in-house live streaming studio in FULLHD, is part of the broader reform of the HCC’s digital communication strategy. In enhancing HCC’s digital communication, the authority hopes to ensure a more direct contact with businesses as well as consumers and citizens and promote competition advocacy and engagement with the public.
The teleconference was addressed by Her Excellency the President of the Republic, Ms. K. Sakellaropoulou, the Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. A. Georgiadis, the Director General of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission, Mr. Olivier Guersant, as well as the member of the Board and head of the SEVcompetition working group , Mr. A. Panteliades. Contributed to the event high officials of the European Commission, the OECD and other international organizations, several heads of National Competition Authorities, judges, academics, companies, and representatives of economic and social organizations. The teleconference was attended through HCC’s platform of by more than 1,500 stakeholders, from all over Europe, professionally active in issues of sustainable development and protection of free competition.
In particular, the teleconference covered four key topics, namely: a) the extent that competition law can be a burden to innovative synergies between companies in order to promote sustainability, b) the legal, policy and business approach to the possibility and the prospects of integrating environmental and other social sustainability concepts into the application of competition law, c) implications of Green Growth Agenda on the organization of the economy and public policy in the field of economic regulation inGreeceandd) the prospects of adjusting competition law to different objectives of sustainability and protection of social justice in the next decade.
HCC has set as its next goals the adoption of further sustainability guidance in competition law enforcement and the establishment of a competition sustainability sandbox, following a process of public consultation with the industry and other stakeholders, in order to integrate sustainability objectives in competition law, also in consultation with the European Commission and the European Competition Network.
You can watch the tele-conference video here or directly at the HCC’s YouTube channel.
