Brussels, 14/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Alexander Schaub, Director General for Competition at the European Commission, during a breakfast debate organised by The European Policy Centre on the theme "The Global Competition Forum: how should it be organised and operated?", gave details on this "project", this "ambition", of the Commission, which is part, he underlined, of the wider context of "global governance", following the development of the "international dimension of competition policy".
Mr Schaub recalled that this international dimension is already taken into account in bilateral agreements (with the United States and Canada, while the EU is in the process of concluding one with Japan and may conclude further ones) and within international organisations such as the OECD, UNCTAD and the WTO (were the initiative launched a few years ago by the Commission lead to the creation of a working group), but what is missing is a forum in which the industrialised world and the developing countries meet on a "level playing field". Such a forum would also simplify the development of a "common competition policy culture", feels Mr Schaub, when noting that it is precisely what happened with the United States, "we have been doing many things together", he said.
The Global Competition Forum, added Mr Schaub, should be "inclusive", and not only include the sixty odd countries that already have laws and the competition authorities, but also those that are preparing to do so, and which will thus be able to draw benefit from previous lessons. Moreover, this forum should not be "another international organisation", but a "very light structure", for which Mr Schaub outlined the contours: - a hard core formed of state authorities (including Ministers), responsible for competition, which will examine the day to day problems, but which will also regularly consider the problems that risk presenting themselves in the medium and long-term; - the existing international organisations (WTO, OECD, UNCTAD, but also the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank); - the "strategic partners" from the private sector (such as the International Bar Association, Chambers of Commerce), which, they to, will outline the problems to which they are faced, in order to find solutions. According to Mr Schaub, we could start by creating a "Steering Group" with an annual rotating Presidency and, after having developed a "programme reflecting the interests of all the participants", organise an annual event in the countries of the Presidency.
We have not launched this idea to "kill our own initiative" in the WTO, on the contrary, the Word Trade Organisation process must continue and we must not "spend the next five years only at the level of the working group" in the WTO, asserted Mr Schaub, when underlining that it is important to include competition in the agenda of the multilateral trade negotiations, but with a "limited ambition", a "modest agenda". At the same time, the WTO working group will continue its activities, and the Global Competition Forum could prepare other initiatives that could be brought to the WTO process to calm those that are "very nervous", such as the Americans. We are not "obsessed" with the idea of a rapid success, we are not sprinters, but runners in the background, concluded Mr Schaub.