Competition policy for fairer markets

Competition authorities and policy makers across Africa and Europe face the challenge of how to make markets work better for citizens, consumers and businesses, while ensuring fairer outcomes and market processes. The rise of the digital economy presents opportunities with new markets and business models but also ways of potentially harming competition and society more broadly. There is also increased momentum for competition authorities to prioritise market problems of wider social concern. Therefore competition enforcers need to work together, regionally and internationally, to keep up as the world changes and to help make the system work fairly and deliver the benefits of digital and trade liberalisation for consumers and businesses alike. A case in point is the forthcoming Competition Protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), with its potential to deliver efficient and fairer markets across Africa. Regional and international partnerships can support these competition objectives and this Conference aims to create a forum for the exchange of ideas and good practices among officials and practitioners from the EU and Africa to address the challenges of an ever-changing world.

Registration from 9:30 to 10:20 am

10:20 – 10:40
Welcome Remarks

10:40 – 12:15
Panel 1 – Competition in the digital age in Africa and the EU – shared realities?

13:45 – 15:15
Panel 2 – Working together for a continental competition regime for Africa – the AfCFTA

15:45 – 17:00
Panel 3 – International and regional cooperation – partnerships for development

17:00 – 17:30
Closing Remarks