Ireland in Europe: Competition Policy
“Discuss the relationship between EU competition policy and consumer interests with particular reference to the economic assessment of markets.”
In this academic essay I will investigate various sectors both private and public that have been affected by of EU competition policies that focus on the consumer interests while considering the market. I will outline one case the was taken to Irish courts to enforce the competition authorities’ policies and one that was dealt with by the EU.
“Competition in markets in generally a good thing” (Purcell, 2010)
Consumers benefit when there is fair competition in a market. Consumers get high quality products, have better choices and get greater value for money. Innovation is encouraged in a competitive market place as it is a method used to gain market share and each competitor wants to maintain or grow their market share. Competitive markets generally support long term economic growth.
Competition Authority (CA) was set up to promote competition and tackle anti-competitive practices. The CA “enforces Irish and European competition law” (TCA, 2012). They also help to increase people’s awareness of anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing. The CA’s mission statement “to ensure competition works well for Irish consumers, business and economy” highlights that a competitive market doesn’t only benefit the consumer.
During the 2000’s due to numerous criticisms the modernisation of competition policy arose which covered various topics such as; decentralization, self assessment and the European Competition Network.
There are four main areas in the EU’s Competition Policy.
“Antitrust enforcement, incl. the enforcement of prohibitions against cartels and the abuse of market dominance (monopolies, oligopolies),
Merger review and control
State-owned enterprises and special relationships between states and firms, such as government-granted monopolies for postal delivery, IT service provision, etc.,
In this academic essay I will investigate various sectors both private and public that have been affected by of EU competition policies that focus on the consumer interests while considering the market. I will outline one case the was taken to Irish courts to enforce the competition authorities’ policies and one that was dealt with by the EU.
“Competition in markets in generally a good thing” (Purcell, 2010)
Consumers benefit when there is fair competition in a market. Consumers get high quality products, have better choices and get greater value for money. Innovation is encouraged in a competitive market place as it is a method used to gain market share and each competitor wants to maintain or grow their market share. Competitive markets generally support long term economic growth.
Competition Authority (CA) was set up to promote competition and tackle anti-competitive practices. The CA “enforces Irish and European competition law” (TCA, 2012). They also help to increase people’s awareness of anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing. The CA’s mission statement “to ensure competition works well for Irish consumers, business and economy” highlights that a competitive market doesn’t only benefit the consumer.
During the 2000’s due to numerous criticisms the modernisation of competition policy arose which covered various topics such as; decentralization, self assessment and the European Competition Network.
There are four main areas in the EU’s Competition Policy.
“Antitrust enforcement, incl. the enforcement of prohibitions against cartels and the abuse of market dominance (monopolies, oligopolies),
Merger review and control
State-owned enterprises and special relationships between states and firms, such as government-granted monopolies for postal delivery, IT service provision, etc.,
References: Almunia, J. (2011) Speech ‘New challenges in mergers and antitrust’, IBA annual competition conference, Florence. 16 September. Available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-11-581_en.htm [Accessed 5 November 2012] Buthe, T CER (2011) Decision Paper on the Deregulation of Domestic Markets. Available at: http://www.cer.ie/en/documents-by-year.aspx?year=2011 [Accessed 5 November 2012] Cini, M O’Donnell. R, (2000) Ireland’s in Europe: The Economic Dimension Power, V TCA (2012) ‘Cartel Immunity Programme’, The Competition Authority. Available at: http://www.tca.ie/EN/Enforcing-Competition-Law/Cartel-Immunity-Programme.aspx [Accessed 10 November 2012] TCA (2012) ‘Heating Oil’, The Competition Authority Wilks, S. (2010) Competition Policy In Coen, D., Grant, W. and Wilson, G. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Business and Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [This book is available to download from the UCD Library on-line e-book collection.]