The EU Project “Support to the Competition Council”, which is planned for two years, aims to support the beneficiary institution in achieving objectives set in the chapter of competition law and policy under the DCFTA.

 

While the overall objective of the Project is “to improve the application of the law and regulations governing competition in Moldova”, the more specific purposes are as follows:

1.      to enhance  the capacity of the Competition Council, and

2.      to improve the competition culture in the Republic of Moldova.

 

The expected results of the Project are: improvement of the understanding of the Competition Council staff on a wide range of competition issues, which will result in better prosecution of offences; increasing the competence of all staff, officials and the wider group of participants in the area of competition.

 

While the Competition Council is the beneficiary of the project, it will also cover a number of counterparts as target groups, in particular: the Ministry of Economy and other Ministries associated with competition; the productive sectors of the economy; the private sector and business representative organizations; the judiciary and other agencies involved in enforcement of competition; civil society organizations; the press and other forms of mass media; Academia; the people of the Republic of Moldova.

 

The Project foresees a number of activities related to the development of institutional capacities of the Competition Council, application of competition law and related regulations, improvement of the competition culture and public awareness.

 

At the Opening Conference have been invited high ranking officials, namely: the Viceprime-minister of the Republic of Moldova, Minister of Economy, Mr. Octavian Calmîc, Head of Operations, Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Aneil Singh. Prof. Viorica Carare, President of the Competition Council, opened the conference with a welcome speech.

During the first part of the event, the Team Leader of the Project Dr. Heinrich Hölzler, addressed the challenges for Moldova in the field of competition policy and law.

The second part started with a welcome speech of Mrs. Andreea Comsa, Project Director of the leading Consortium Company Archidata.

The participants had also the possibility to listen to the presentations of the Project’s key experts, Mr. Markus Haendelin and Dr. Theodor Koutsompinas, on the increasing complexity of European Union rules and regulations on competition and the importance of the development of competition culture and public awareness in the Republic of Moldova.