6th Franco-German Competition Day in Bonn

02.10.2014

Yesterday, the 6th Franco-German Competition Day was held in Bonn at the invitation of the Bundeskartellamt. The topics of this year's meeting, which were addressed in two panel discussions, were "Vertical Restraints in Online Sales" and "Convergence and Consolidation in the Telecommunications Sector - Fixed Networks, Cable Networks, Mobile Communications".

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "The issues raised by a globalised economy create new challenges for the competition authorities. This requires in many cases extensive and direct cooperation between the authorities. The Franco-German Competition Day bears witness to the well-established and excellent cooperation between the Bundeskartellamt and the Autorité de la concurrence."

Among the approximately 100 conference participants were members of the French and German competition authorities, court judges, university professors, lawyers, company representatives, and representatives of trade associations. The meeting was opened by the presidents of the two competition authorities, Andreas Mundt and Bruno Lasserre.

The first panel discussion addressed the growing significance of online sales and the resulting opportunities and challenges for manufacturers and retailers. The debate focused in particular on the extent to which the competition authorities should intervene to prevent new distribution channels from being foreclosed or reserved for only a few large companies. The main issue in this context were the current test cases on how to address restrictions of online sales by manufacturers.

The subject of the second panel discussion was the telecommunications sector with its dynamic developments and market structures shaped by innovation and technical progress. The panel discussed the effects of the current large-scale mergers in the telecommunications sector on the intensity of competition in the fixed network and mobile telecommunications markets. Another issue addressed was the relevance of competition for a sustainable expansion of network infrastructure and its funding.

The Franco-German Competition Day is a biennial bilateral conference which is hosted in turn by the French competition authority, Autorité de la Concurrence, and the Bundeskartellamt. The first meeting was held in Paris in 2004. The Competition Day provides a forum for its participants to exchange information on the legal frameworks and enforcement experience in both countries. In addition, the conference aims to identify possibilities for closer cooperation between the two authorities.

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