“From Collusion to Competition” – Sixth Issue

Mar 01, 2013

CPI Cartel Column edited by Rosa Abrantes-Metz (NYU Stern School of Business)

Introduction by Rosa Abrantes-Metz

Welcome to the February issue of “From Collusion to Competition.” This month’s column is dedicated to Romania. We have the privilege of having two excellent articles, the first by Dr. Bogdan Chiritoiu, President of the Romanian Competition Council (RCC), and the second by Livia Constantinescu and Alexandru Potlog, from DLA Piper Dinu SCA.

In his article, Dr. Chiritoiu explains the intricacies of the development and functioning of liberal professions in Romania, which preserved great privileges for their members over the years. As a consequence, attempts to increase competition in these sectors faced significant resistance. The article explains how the main anticompetitive aspects concerning these professions were subject to repeated interventions by the RCC to restore competition in these markets.

The Liberal Professions and the Competitive Environment in Romania Competition Policy International by Bogdan Chiritoiu (President, Romanian Competition Council)

The second article from DLA Piper Dinu SCA details the increased interest showed by the RCC in the area of public procurement in 2012, in particular as regards to bid-rigging practices. The RCC acted in two main directions when combating bid-rigging: first, it successfully concluded two major successful investigations last year in which very significant fines were applied; second, the RCC continued to reinforce its strategic partnerships with public authorities in view of raising awareness vis-a-vis bid-rigging and launching a national-scale effort to identify and suppress such anticompetitive practices.

The Fight Against Bid Rigging: One of the Antitrust Enforcement Priorities of the Romanian Competition Council by Livia Constantinescu (Partner, DLA Piper Dinu SCA) and Alexandru Potlog (LL.M., Associate, DLA Piper Dinu SCA)

I hope you enjoy this opportunity to learn about these developments in Romania, I know I did.

The next issue will be dedicated to OECD and its efforts in assisting the combat of cartels.

Happy reading!

Rosa M. Abrantes-Metz