At the opening of this year's annual conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) on 18.10.2023, it was announced that the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) was selected to co-chair the ICN Agency Effectiveness Working Group (AEWG), together with the Competition Authorities of Italy, Hungary and Mexico. The International Competition Network, which represents more than 140 Competition Authorities (NCAs), aims at promoting convergence between competition legislations and policies as well as cooperation between Competition Authorities. The issues addressed within the ICN are of special practical and scientific interest and the HCC is actively involved in its works in recent years.

The objective of the AEWG is to identify the key elements that are necessary for the NCAs’ proper functioning as well as to develop and disseminate best practices in terms of strategy and planning to enhance Competition Authorities’ effectiveness.

It should be noted that this is the first time that the Hellenic Competition Commission is selected to co-chair an International Competition Network’s working group, which is a particularly honorable development and signals the HCC’s international recognition in recent years (see, inter alia, the election of the HCC’s President, Ioannis Lianos, as a regular member to the 2021 and 2022 Bureau of the OECD Competition Committee, his selection to the High-Level Group on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) etc.), thus strengthening the international presence and role of the HCC in the formulation of competition policies at the European and international level.

More information about the HCC’s international cooperation and activities is provided on its dedicated webpage.