The Commission for Protection of Competition participated at the international conference “Implementation of competition law in Serbia – status and perspectives”, organized by the Law Office CMS Beograd, a member of CMS Group, aimed at achieving increased visibility of competition advocacy efforts.

President of the Commission Dr. Miloje Obradović gave a keynote address, while the Commission Council members, Čedomir Radojčić and Dr. Veljko Milutinović, participated as panelists at both sessions of the conference.

The conference was focused on different experiences in the implementation of competition law by using national and EU practical examples on the importance of competition policy.

Dr. Obradović presented activities to date and plans of the Commission for Protection of Competition, as an authority which by using the approaches and methods available within the current legislation in an effort to strengthen competition in line with EU standards, has achieved the recognisability as one of the most active competition authorities in the region.

The Commission President reminded the audience that in the recently published Progress Report, the European Commission assessed that the implementation of the Law on Protection of Competition in the previous two years is increased, both in the number of antitrust cases and the relative size and significance of companies under CPC’s investigations.
The topics of two sessions organized as part of the conference covered both the public and private law enforcement.

The first panel discussion, also attended by Commission Council member Čedomir Radojčić, covered the issues of detection and follow up on infringements and related decisions, as well as leniency programs and dawn raids.

The focus of the second panel discussion opened on the topic of private law enforcement, related to the possibility of making the action for damages a real probability in Serbia, and also on what needs to be amended in the current competition legislative framework. Dr. Veljko Milutinović, member of the CPC Council, participated at this session on behalf of the Commission.

The conference was also attended by Nikolas Banašević from the EC Directorate-General for Competition, as well as Dr. Harald Kalenberg, a partner in CMS Stuttgart office, also a chair of the antitrust and competition practice group.

The general conclusion of the Conference’s participants is that Serbia has experienced a major breakthrough in the field of competition policy, particularly in terms of case-related efficiency and increased level of awareness on the importance of antitrust law. It is also acknowledged that there is still room for further improvement, particularly in the field of action for damages, when such damages are inflicted on companies and consumers by anticompetitive practices.