WARSAW CONFERENCE ‘BUILDING COMPETITION INSTITUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH’

Dear network,

EULEN’s friends from UCL (London) and CARS (Warsaw) are excited to invite you to the international conference

“Building Competition Institutions for Sustainable Growth. A Retrospective on the Role of Competition Law and Policy in Central and Eastern Europe 20 years after EU Enlargement and Lessons for the Future”

organised on May 27th, 2025 in the Library of the University of Warsaw, ul. Dobra 56/66, Warszawa, Room 316 (3rd Floor).

Co-organisers: Maciej Bernatt (CARS, University of Warsaw) & Ioannis Lianos (UCL, ICF)
Organizing institutions: University College London, University of Warsaw, Inclusive Competition, ASCOLA Central Europe Chapter
Conference’s partner: Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Poland (UOKiK)

Registration for the conference ends on 15 March 2025 and is obligatory. Please register via the form.

The conference fee is PLN 280. Details are described in the registration form.

Theme of the conference

The recently published Draghi report on EU competition policy’s future has ignited intense discussion among experts, particularly regarding its proposals to modernize EU competition law. While some view EU competition enforcement as hindering industrial policy and growth initiatives, this perspective overlooks competition policy’s broader role. In today’s era of entrepreneurial states and mission-driven economies, competition policy serves to both create and shape markets, fostering innovation and competitiveness.

The transformation of Central and Eastern European (CEE) Member States over the past two decades since joining the EU exemplifies how growth-oriented policies can harmoniously coexist with competition protection and market access initiatives. Despite being sometimes portrayed as Europe’s economic periphery, these nations have achieved remarkable progress: their real GDP per capita has doubled or significantly increased, while both nominal and real wages have grown at rates substantially exceeding the EU average. Simultaneously, these countries implemented market liberalization policies and strengthened their competitive frameworks through the establishment of independent competition authorities.
This conference seeks to examine these developments in detail, analyzing the key components of this largely successful transformation while acknowledging persistent challenges and shortcomings. Moreover, it aims to extract valuable insights for the broader EU dialogue on competition law enforcement and policy’s role within the new EU sustainable growth and innovation framework proposed by the Draghi report.

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Also, you are encouraged to consult the call for papers for YARS oraz iKAR, where we invite your contributions.

We would also like to take this opportunity to inform you about the initiatives of CARS academic colleagues: Prof. Anna Piszcz invites you to the International Scientific Conference “The intersection of antitrust, labor and human rights law: American and European perspectives”. The conference will be held in Białystok, May 22-23, 2025, in the building of the Faculty of Law, 1 Adam Mickiewicz Street. The Call for Papers is available at: https://prawo.uwb.edu.pl/wydzial/struktura/inne-jednostki/legal-centre-for-research-on-education-lcre-prawnicze-centrum-badan-nad-edukacja/konferencje