On Thursday, October 2, 2014, the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova hosted the official launching of the cooperation relations with the Slovak Embassy in Chisinau.

     The event was attended by Mrs. Viorica CĂRARE, the President of the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova; Mr. Robert KIRNAG, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Chisinau, Ms. Andrea WILHEMOVA, Public Relations Department; Erika LOVÁSOVÁ, Mergers Department; Ivona FILLOVÁ, Department for abuse of dominance and vertical agreements from Slovak Competition Authority.

     Launching the cooperation relations between the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova and the Embassy of Slovakia in Chisinau was started by a project of experience exchange between the competition authorities of the Republic of Moldova and Slovakia, conducted with the support of the Slovak Embassy in Chisinau and financed from EU funds.

     The purpose of this project lies in fostering the exchange of information and experience between the competition authorities of the two countries. In this context, during September 30 to October 3, 2014, a group of experts from Slovak Competition Authority have been undertaking a working visit to the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova to share the experience of Slovak authority on reforms and adjustment of the legal framework to EU standards.

     Under the project, new practices for approaching and assessing economic mergers have been discussed, as well as the imposition of the conditions and obligations under the mergers, investigations of abuse of dominant position, market assessment studies, examples and sector inquiries etc.

     In this context, the experts from Slovakia presented examples of sector inquiry for energy and rail freight sectors, competition restrictions that directly relate to a merger, capital reduction impact analysis of mergers, the procedure deadlines in assessing mergers, competences, technical and practical experience to obtain relevant evidence, etc.

     The President of the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova, Mrs. Viorica CĂRARE, mentioned the pro-active role of Moldovan Competition Authority in the process of European integration and globalization, but also specified the importance of establishing bilateral relations.

     “We are members of several European and international institutions, but also, very important are the bilateral agreements. Under such agreements there is the possibility to work on particular areas and topics with colleagues form other authorities, concomitantly assimilating a particular experience in identified areas. Therefore, having concluded agreements with several countries from Europe and the CIS, we are at the stage of discussing an agreement with the colleagues from Slovakia “- said Mrs. CĂRARE.

     In his turn, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Chisinau, Mr. Robert KIRNAG, said that this project is a good start to launch collaborative relationships and emphasized the timely, relevant and applicable character of it.

     “Moldova has taken over the European legislation on competition and state aid, and now, when we are at the stage of implementation, it is important to apply it correctly, based on the experience of colleagues in the EU. It’s not enough to have a good law. The most important is how to enforce it. “- said the President of the Competition Council, giving thanks to His Excellency, Mr. Robert KIRNAG for this personal support in implementing this project.

     Finally, the parties stressed the importance of established collaboration and expressed their willingness to a further fruitful cooperation, organizing a visit to the Slovak Competition Authority by the representatives of the Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova and signing a Memorandum of Understanding or an Agreement of cooperation between both institutions.