Antitrust, Mergers, State Aid and Consumer Protection Under the Same Roof: Does Political Compromise Prevail over the Expert Approach?

The aim of this contribution is to provide a critical view on different challenges in broader competition law and policy, with specific regard to institutional capacities of authorities responsible for competition protection, either through competition law enforcement or through advocacy activities. The paper further elaborates on different challenges regarding the introduction and protection of competition law and policy, as well as different competences of the competition authorities, on one hand, and sector regulators, on the other, bearing in mind the expected common result: a more competitive environment, leading to efficient economy and consumer benefits. The benefits of efficient competition law and policy are sometimes not appropriately recognised and proper understanding of who and what should be protected under competition law and policy remains a specific challenge, and in some cases the system of competition and consumer protection is less efficient than desired and necessary. This paper does not provide specific suggestions on how relevant authorities could be organised. Nevertheless, some specific challenges are highlighted, some of them perhaps in a provocative way, especially regarding the issue of who and what should be protected under competition law and policy, and the functional independence of the authorities concerned.