On the occasion of the celebration of 20 years of Competition Law enforcement in Romania, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis has conferred by decree the Industrial and Commercial Merit Order in the rank of Officer to Romanian Competition Council.
This beautiful day of May 18, 2017 has begun with the landmark event of the celebration of 20 years of Competition Law enforcement in Romania hosted at the Palace of the Romanian Parliament, C.A. Rosetti Hall. The EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager stimulated the audience thinking on a number of actual issues, highlighting the essential link between “Competition and the rule of law”, leaving a clear message truly appreciated by the attracted audience, and congratulating the Romanian Competition Council for its remarkable achievements: “Competition enforcement doesn’t play favourites. We base our decisions on the evidence and the law. But that doesn’t mean that our work is neutral. Quite the opposite. Our purpose is clear: we’re here to defend the consumer. So when Romania first adopted its competition law, twenty years ago, it sent a powerful message that consumers’ interests mattered. And it sends the same message today, with every decision of the Competition Council. So I want to congratulate you again on the first twenty years of competition law. And I want to wish you every success for many years to come.”[1]
The landmark event was also attended by other distinguished guests, such as: Frederic Jenny, Professor of economics, ESSEC Business School, Chairman OECD Competition Committee, and Judge at the Supreme Court of France (Cour de Cassation); Alberto Heimler, Chairman of the Working Party on Competition and Regulation of the Competition Committee of OECD, and Professor of Economics at the National School of Administration Rome (SNA) in Rome; Russell W. Pittman, Ph.D., Director of Economic Research, Economic Analysis Group, U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division; Russell Damtoft, Associate Director of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Office of International Affairs; Arabela Sena Aprahamian, Senior Operations Officer, Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank; Jonathan Scheele, President of the Advisory Board of the Romanian Competition Council, and former Head of Representation, European Commission Delegation in Romania; Antonio Gomes, Head of the Competition Division at the OECD (former President of the Portuguese Competition Authority); András Tóth, Ph.D., Chair of Competition Council and Vice-President of the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH); Viorica Cărare, President of the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova; Sean Ennis, Senior Economist, Competition Division, OECD; Nina Vasic, Adviser, International and Domestic Cooperation Division, Commission for Protection of Competition, Republic of Serbia.
And as “the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said” (according to reputed Peter Drucker), allow us finally to remember (beyond “Romanian Competition Council: A contribution we can be proud of”: https://holisticmarketingmanagement.ro/romanian-competition-council-a-contribution-we-can-be-proud-of/ ) another quote from Peter Drucker: “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/vestager/announcements/competition-and-rule-law_en
