A delegation from the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova participated in the events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Regional Centre for Competition (RCC) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), held in Budapest on February 27-28, 2025.

Established in 2005 through a partnership between the OECD and the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH), the RCC’s mission is to support the institutional development of competition authorities in Eastern Europe, South-East Europe, and Central Asia. The Centre organizes training courses and professional programs aimed at strengthening expertise in competition law and policy. Over its 20 years of activity, the RCC has conducted more than 160 events, bringing together over 6,700 experts from across the region.

As part of the anniversary event, a conference was held with the participation of representatives from competition authorities of beneficiary states, where key topics related to the development and effective enforcement of competition policy were discussed. The President of the Competition Council of Moldova, Alexei Gherțescu, delivered a speech during the panel dedicated to the interaction between competition policy and industrial policy. He emphasized the importance of the complementarity between these two policy areas in creating a balanced and competitive economic environment, highlighting the need for rigorous enforcement of competition rules to prevent anti-competitive practices, alongside well-calibrated industrial policies aimed at fostering economic development.

Additionally, during the discussions, the need for a realistic approach in assessing the impact of competition authorities’ interventions was emphasized, focusing on the effectiveness of their actions and the avoidance of assuming roles that exceed their scope of competence. The representatives present reaffirmed their commitment to promoting open and well-functioning markets, based on clear competition principles.

Currently, the RCC supports 17 competition authorities from Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Uzbekistan. Globally, only three similar competition training centers exist, located in Hungary, Peru, and the Republic of Korea.

In 2025, the RCC will continue to support the development of competition policies in the region through international seminars, specialized publications, and educational resources aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of competition authorities, including the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova.