India-EU Competition Week on digital resolutions starts on Monday

The European Union-India Competition Week, which was inaugurated on Monday by the competition commission of India’s (CCI) acting chairperson Sangeeta Verma, is expected to build the capacity of CCI officers in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. 

“The practical insights shared by experts from the EU in designing and implementing their digital regulations will lead to very engaging discussions,” Verma said in her inaugural address. 

Experts from the European Union would share their experiences in applying antitrust laws to the digital economy and markets and the introduction of the EU’s Digital Markets Act. 

CCI’s European counterparts would also delve into investigating hub-and-spoke agreements, other atypical cartels and competition law along with sustainable co-operation during the competition week from December 5 to 7. 

Verma also said the topics on the agenda are not only of great contemporary relevance and significance but also quite futuristic. 

The three day meet comes in the backdrop of CCI’s recent actions against the big tech companies such as Google. 

CCI and Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2013. “This technical cooperation program has provided a platform for dialogue and exchange of good practices between competition authority officials and experts from the EU and India,” Verma added.

She said that there is a need for competition agencies to develop innovative perspectives on how to apply the existing instruments suitably and devise new tools, where necessary. 

The Deputy Head of the EU delegation, Seppo Nurmi  said that the fifth India-EU Competition Week provides a platform to share views from two key economies on antitrust action in digital and technology markets as we attempt to find answers to these challenges and provides an opportunity to discuss how regulation can supplement competition enforcement.