This session is dedicated to the various approaches taken by competition authorities in response to the challenges arising from the global economic crisis in order to achieve effective enforcement of merger control.

Just as the effects of the recession went beyond the markets in which it originated, so too should the outlook of competition policy enforcers when applying competition policy and merger control. For enforcement to be effective, governments should endeavour to minimize any negative impact on competition arising from their interventions and account for the risk of creating adverse consequences in other states given the global dimensions of many markets. Therefore, anti-competitive practices require globally coordinated responses.

In addition to increased coordination, it appears that effective enforcement of competition policy and merger control requires that national laws are enforced with consistent rigor throughout the economic cycle and not relaxed in response to a recession. Competition advocacy becomes even more important during periods of economic troubles given that effective enforcement of competition policy requires that competition advocacy is broadened to wider policy areas without compromising on the independence of competition authorities.

Related questions for discussion include the following:

• How can coordination between competition authorities of developing countries and developed countries be encouraged in times of economic trouble and beyond?
• How can we achieve more global cooperation on the application of the failing firm defence?
• How can competition authorities gain more exposure to wider forums in which government policy decisions are made and avoid political capture?