The President of the Commission for Protection of Competition, Miloje Obradovic, Phd, with the members of the Councel of the Commission, has received Dimitri Loukas who is the Vice-President of the Commission for Protection of Competition of Greece.

In order to promote the further cooperation of these two institutions the topics of disscussion were the exchange of experiences in the field of the legislative framework and also the implementation of the policy of the Protection of Competition.

Obradović and Loukas agreed that there will be further steps in the collaboration which would allow the policy of the Protection of Competition to be even more efficient in this part of Europe. The activities that follow will provide for the Serbian Commision for the Protection of Competition to be even closer to European standards in the field of Law and the Policy of the Protection of Competition, which are an essential part of the negotiating process for accession to full membership in the European Union.

Representatives of the Commission for Protection of Competition have participated in the seminar “Basic concepts and procedures in competition law for young authority staff”, which was held in Budapest from 08th to 11th March 2016 and organized by the Regional Centre for Competition – OECD and the Hungarian Competition Authority.

The main topics discussed in the seminar touched upon various issues of competition law, such as the definition of the relevant market, use and storage of confidential information in the investigation of competition infringements, abuse of dominant position, mergers, etc. Special emphasis was placed on work-group exercises and discussions, with examples provided from practice and solutions available in differing national legislation. Additionally, a brief overview of the relevant case-law of the European Court of Justice, which has left a mark on the application of competition law and the conduct of the European Commission in the field, was provided for the majority of discussed topics.

At the invitation of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation, President of the Commission for Protection of Competition, Mr. Miloje Obradovic, Ph.D. and a member of the Council, Ms. Mirjana Miskovic Vukasinovic, on September 23, 2015 attended jubilee session marking 25 years since its founding, and ”Competition Week” in Moscow. On this occassion, President of the Commission gave a remarkable presentation at the formal part of the session, which was also attended by the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin.

President of the Commission, Mr.Miloje Obradovic, Ph.D. in his address pointed out that competition policy has long ago overcome national boundaries and therefore cannot depend only on domestic rules of work, but should be regularly coordinated with the general rules of competition protection applied worlwide. That is why the cooperation with competition authority from Russian Federation, raised to the highest level in the last few years, as indicated by him, has opened yet another significant chapter in the development of Serbian Commission. Expedient exchange of information, comparative practice and possibility of exchanging experience through joint meetings, are of great benefit to Technical Service of the Commission.

Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia and Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation signed Cooperation Agreement in 2012, followed by a series of joint activities that significantly influenced the improvement of work of the Commission. Pursuant to the Agreement, seminars and education in FAS training center in Kazan were organized, attended by many employees from Technical Service of the Commission, as well as a study visit and a visit of Russian colleagues last year to Serbia.

On October 11 and 12, 2012 International Conference was held in Beograd presenting expert analysis of the competition law and policy in Serbia and its results (Peer Review Report). Relevant analysis was made as a result of cooperation between Commission for Protection of Competition and expert team of UN Conference on Trade and Development – UNCTAD.

Report acknowledged enhancement achieved in the field of competition protection from the date of its introduction upto the present date, both as regards application of competition rules, and strenghtening of administrative and institutional capacities of the Commission for Protection of Competition.

It was assessed that Serbia succeeded in introducing modern system  of competition protection, through establishment of an independent institution and adoption and enforcement of relevant legislative frame.

Report includes a series of recommendations, comments and suggestions aimed at further improvement of legislative frame, strenghtening of capacities and efficient application of Law and supporting sub-legal acts.

Among others, Conference was attended by Mr.Petko Draganov, Deputy to Secretary General, UNCTAD, Mr.Hassan Qaqaya, Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD, Prof. William Kovacic, George Washington University, Prof. Vincent Martenet, President of the Commission for Protection of Competition of Switzerland, representatives from European Commission (DG COMP), competition authorities from Sweden, Hungary, Czeck Republic, Russian Federation, Romania, Bulgaria, countries from the region, as well as a large number of experts in the field of competition protection from the country and abroad.

Several lestures were given at the Conference, having as a topic cooperation of government bodies in joint struggle against violation of competition. Also, a round table was organised on the issues concerning importance of raising of awareness on competition protection and acquiring and transferring the knowledge to younger competition authorities.