The Commission for Protection of Competition has organized a public debate in Kragujevac dedicated to examining potential solutions towards the improvement of competition policy and law in the Republic of Serbia.

Professors of the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Economics of the Universities of Kragujevac, Niš and Novi Sad, Dr Milan Kostić, Prof Dr Boban Stojanović and Dr Sandra Fišer-Šobot, respectively, took part in the panel discussion, as well as representatives of the City of Kragujevac, companies and business clusters from the Region of Šumadija.

Gordana Lukić, member of the Working Group on drafting new competition act and Head of the Merger Investigation Division, began by welcoming the audience and underlying that the new legal framework governing competition policy should enable the improvement of procedural rights of the parties in specific administrative procedures initiated before the Commission, with due regard for specificities of the proceedings from that area, and in particular for the need for economy and efficiency.

It is established that a new legal framework governing competition policy is needed, both against the background of continued harmonization against EU acquis, and on account of strengthening the existing institutional capacity of the Commission for Protection of Competition. It is also underlined that this is the first time that all relevant stakeholders are taking part in drafting new regulation, specifying that besides representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications and experts from the Ministries of Economy, Justice, Public Administration and the Commission for Protection of Competition, the Working Group is comprised of representatives from numerous associations of undertakings as well.

The public debate is organized as part of the project “Increasing economic growth through support to the promotion of competition policy”, supported by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Further three more public debates are planned, to be held in Niš, Novi Sad and Belgrade.