Conference on Competition
Damages, cartels, abuse of dominant position, the Meta-judgement and market investigations in Europe, at the conference which was organised by the Faroese Competition Authority.
Conferences are an important part of the Competition Authority’s means, of informing on developments in competition within Faroe Islands and abroad to interested parties.
On Sep. 19th 2024, the Competition Authority organised a conference on competition at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Torshavn
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade, Høgni Hoydal, opened the conference and this can be viewed here. The topics covered at the conference were damages in competition cases, cartels and abuse of dominant position, and the Meta-judgement (a case against the company behind Facebook), which is of great significance for the protection of personal data across the globe. Lastly, there was also a presentation on the German Market investigation tool. A similar market investigation tool has been introduced in the Faroe Islands through the new competition law, which will enable the Faroese competition authority to solve a number of issues in the Faroese market, which other provisions cannot.
Representatives for Faroese industry, political representatives, as well as lecturers and students from the University of Faroe Islands were invited to attend the conference.
Four experts were invited to the Faroe Islands to speak regarding their respective expertise on the topics mentioned above.
Dr Cento Veljanovski’s lecture was on damage claims within competition law. The lecture clearly showed, how easily such cases can turn into complex matters, involving vast amounts of people and huge fees. His lecture can be found here.
Dr Cento Veljanovski has a PhD in economics and founded Case Associates in 1995, who are among the leading consultants in Europe in economic and competition matters, particularly regarding damage claims. He has also written multiple prominent books in economics and law, amongst which are ‘Cartel Damages: Principles, Measurement and Economics’ and ‘Economic Principles of Law’.
Professor Christian Bergqvist presented on why companies break competition law, even when not intending to do so. He discussed both cartel and abuse of dominant position and the need for compliance in those areas. Professor Bergqvist’s presentation stresses the ease on which some of these competition law infractions can be prevented. One such method could be that the company has clear internal rules regarding communications, and that something as simple as saying no to a meeting with a competitor can avoid infractions. His presentation can be viewed here.
Christian Bergqvist is a professor and researcher in law at the University of Copenhagen. His research involves the study of EU competition law with particular focus on monopoly within telecommunication, energy industry and postal services. He also has expertise regarding abuse of dominant position within those same sectors of industry. Professor Bergqvist has written extensively within this field including the books ‘Konkurrenceretten’ (Competition law) and ‘Teleretten’ (Telecommunication law).
Professor Jens Fejø had a presentation regarding the Meta-judgement (The company behind Facebook and Instagram), where the collection and use of data was challenged successfully as a breach of EU law. A complication regarding this judgement is whether other parts of the world, such as the United States, will be as stringent in regulating giant tech companies, such as Meta, which is cause for uncertainty regarding the future of collection and use of personal data. The presentation explains the significance of the judgement especially regarding Competition authorities worldwide. The presentation is available here.
Jens Fejø is a law professor at Copenhagen Business School, where he has mainly researched in American and European monopolies and also Competition law regarding procurement rules in the EU and in Denmark. He has held multiple important positions within the public sector of Danish Competition law, including a position in the Competition Complaints Committee and the Energy Complaints Committee. Professor Fejø has also authored prominent books in the field including ‘EU-konkurrenceret – almindelig del’ (EU-competition law – Regular part) and ‘EU’s Udbudsregler: Implementering og håndhævelse i Norden’ (EU’s procurement rules: Implementation and enforcement in the Nordic countries).
The fourth and last presentation was held by Professor Martin Peitz and was about the market investigation tool in German Competition law. This presentation gives valuable insight into a market investigation tool which is similar to the tool introduced into law in Faroe Islands with the changes to the Competition Law in 2024. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the market investigation tool in both jurisdictions allows competition authorities to address problems which might arise in the market, without the need for a breach of Competition law rules or regulations. Martin Peitz’s presentation is available here.
Martin Peitz is an economics professor at the University of Mannheim in Germany, where he also serves as the director for the Mannheim Centre for Competition & Innovation, which is a research department for the University regarding law- and economics innovation. Prof Peitz is also a member of the working group ‘Competition Economics’ for the German Competition Authority, where he has researched in digital markets competition and regulation. He has the author of lots of literature within economics, including co-editing ‘Market Investigations – A New Competition Tool for Europe’.
