Chapter 1: Competitive Environments
Major events in the competitive areas
The year 2004 were characterized by the recent collaboration between the competition authorities in the other EU countries and the Commission starting on the 1st of May 2004. Experiences of this new network have been favourable, although there are certain teething problems which the Competition Authority is trying to resolve.
The collaboration has offered increased knowledge sharing and a closer coordination of the efforts between the European competition authorities. In the major cases there is a constructive dialogue with the Commission on how to solve the problems in the best possible manner. This leads to a more effective and homogeneous enforcement of the competitive rules in Europe. The main challenge is to create a system for both companies and citizens to gain insight into which decisions are made by the authorities in the individual countries.
The Danish competition law was revised in 2004. The major revision is due to the fact, that the Competition Council has now the possibility of signing negotiated settlements with the companies. It provides a better platform for an increased dialogue between the companies and the authorities with the advantage of it being possible to resolve competitive problems which are technically and commercially difficult in nature.
With regard to the tender procedure, Denmark as the first country has completed the recent EU rules. The rules are more flexible allowing for a greater extent to complete restricted tenders in order to intensify competition for public assignments. The new rules will therefore contribute to ensure that the public gets better service for less money.
(Finn Lauritzen, Niels Erik Monrad, Kim Sparlund)