Bundeskartellamt President Ulf Böge unanimously elected new Chairman of the International Competition Network (ICN)

The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr. Ulf Böge has been elected as the new Chairman of the International Competition Network (ICN)  This was the unanimous decision of the ICN Steering Group on 23 September, 2004. Dr. Böge succeeds the former head of the Mexican competition authority, Fernando Sanchez Ugarte, who in September 2003 had taken over this office from the head of the Canadian competition authority, Konrad v. Finckenstein, after the latter had been appointed as judge at the Federal Court of Canada.

The aim of the ICN which was founded in 2001 and in which 84 competition authorities from 75 countries are represented, is to intensify cooperation between the competition authorities in the globalized world of today. Its two key objectives are: To ensure that the generally acknowledged aims of competition law are achieved more efficiently, e.g. combating cartels and preventing the abuse of market power and discrimination. To simplify proceedings for business undertakings, e.g. in merger control by the appropriate adaptation of competition laws in the various countries. To this end the ICN has formed working groups to prepare concrete results for approval at the annual conference of the ICN. Following conferences in Naples/Italy (2002), Mérida/Mexico (2003) and Seoul/South Korea (2004) the next ICN Annual Conference will take place in Bonn from 6 to 8 June 2005.

In Böge’s view “the ICN offers those countries which have in recent years decided to adopt a market economy orientated social system an opportunity to catch up more quickly with industrialised nations in enforcing the principle of competition”.

For further information on the ICN please see attached information sheet or visit the ICN website www.internationalcompetitionnetwork.org.