In the period from March 31 to April 2, 2014, the explanatory screening for the Negotiation Chapter 8 – Competition, with the European Commission, was held in Brussels, in the framework of the negotiations on the accession of Serbia to the European Union
The Serbian delegation was headed by Dušan Protić, Assistant to the Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications, and the Deputy President of the Negotiating Group on Competition; the screening meeting was attended by Dr. Tanja Miščević, the Head of the Serbian team for accession negotiations with the European Union, as well as by the representatives of the following institutions: the Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Finance, the Commission for State Aid Control, the Competition Commission, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Construction and Urban Planning, the Ministry of Energy, Development and Environment, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the National Bank of Serbia, and the Office for European integration.
At the meeting, two important areas of harmonization of the legal and institutional framework of the Republic of Serbia with the EU standards of competition and state aid policy were discussed in detail. Competition protection is aimed against violations of the market economy, such as restrictive agreements (cartels) and abuse of dominant position, which create significant market distortions, limitations, closure and deformation, and ultimately affect the consumer, as he pays the price of lack of competition through greater purchase prices and lower quality goods and services.
Competition has a significant impact on the overall economic growth, it creates opportunities for investment and improving the quality of goods and services, which could, with a well-designed state aid policy, establish a modern market economy, ready to engage in a united European Union market.
In this first phase of the screening process for the negotiating Chapter 8, the representatives of the European Commission gave an analytical overview of the European legislation in the field of competition and state aid, in relation to the rules on combating abuse of dominant position and restrictive agreements, concentration control and the rules on state aid, with a special focus on the sector of energy, environmental protection, postal service, culture, transport, infrastructure, and services of general economic interest.
The next stage of screening in this section is planned for the 4th and 5th of November, 2014, when the bilateral screening will be held, in which the representatives of the Republic of Serbia are to present the current situation in these areas in terms of harmonization of national legislation with the EU acquis.
