This session included Opening remarks by the OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann followed by a presentation of OECD Competition Trends 2022 by Carmine Di Noia, Director of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of this century. Due to the pressure on governments to act, the debate on climate change is moving quickly from the political level to focused conversations on policy choices and implementation options. This panel explored the role of competition policy as a driver of sustainability and investments in green innovation. It discussed how competition authorities may analyse effects on green quality, choice or innovation in concrete cases. The risk of ‘sustainability killer acquisitions’ and the suitability of the current analytical tools was also discussed. See also oe.cd/ecce.

Following the adoption of the OECD Recommendation on Competitive Neutrality, this panel discussed the importance of competitive neutrality to ensure that the most efficient enterprises thrive in both domestic and international markets. It focused on how the state can ensure a level-playing field between state-owned and privately-owned enterprises, and between privately-owned enterprises. It also covered the design of state support measures according to competitive neutrality principles, in order to avoid benefitting certain enterprises over others and distorting competition. See also oe.cd/comp-neutrality.

A Keynote Address was given by Joseph Stiglitz, Economist and Professor at Columbia University. The Keynote Address was followed by a Q&A session with Joseph Stiglitz moderated by António Gomes, Deputy Director, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (OECD).

This session discussed the intersection between regulation and competition enforcement, with a focus on digital markets. It looked at different agencies’ case experiences and regulatory approaches to deal with anticompetitive conduct and transactions by large platforms. The discussion touched upon the best approaches to capturing killer acquisitions, assessing potential competition and designing and applying adequate remedies, including data portability. The panel also focused on the importance of achieving a consistent approach via international cooperation to deal with these practices. See also oe.cd/rcdm.

This panel discussed the competitive dynamics between media and digital platforms, focusing on the future of news media in the internet age, platforms’ hosting, curation and distribution of media content, and connected policy issues related to user data and online advertising. It also looked at the different approaches that competition authorities and other government agencies are taking to address issues in these markets. See also oe.cd/nmdp. It was followed by Concluding Remarks given by Ori Schwartz, Head of the Competition Division, DAF, OECD.