Events
| Participation in OECD Meeting |
| On behalf of the Competition Authority, Vice President Hasan Hüseyin ÜNLÜ, Coordinator Meltem BAĞIŞ AKKAYA, Competition Expert Fatih ÇİROĞLU and Assistant Competition Expert Nazif IŞIK participated in the first meeting of this year organized in Paris between 03-08 June 2018 by OECD Competition Committee and Working Group No.2 and Working Group No.3. Participants from different competition authorities, associations and organizations as well as universities exchanged information during the discussions on “Taxi and Ride-Hailing Markets”, “Challenges and Co-ordination of Leniency Programmes”, “Designing and Testing Effective Consumer-facing Remedies”, “Non-Price Effects of Mergers”, “E-commerce and Competition”, “Market Concentration”, and “Blockchain and Competition”. Click http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/roundtables.htm for our contribution and more information about the meeting on “Taxi and Ride-Hailing Markets”. |
| Training for the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection of Mongolia |
| Between 4-8 June 2018, Osman Tan ÇATALCALI and Mücteba ALTUN executed the training program coordinated by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The main subjects included in the training are “the importance of competition”, “the procedure and methods for detecting cartels”, “the importance of leniency programs in competition law”, “competition advocacy”, “abuse of dominance”, “points to consider in mergers and acquisitions and sample cases” and points to consider in privatizations and sample cases.” |
| Panel on the Presentation and Assessment of Hazelnut Sector Inquiry Report |
| Hazelnut sector inquiry conducted by the Competition Authority in order to identify the competitive structure and competitive problems in the hazelnut sector was finalized. Minister of Customs and Trade Mr. Bülent TÜFENKÇİ honored the Panel on the presentation and assessment of Hazelnut Sector Inquiry Report, which was hold in Istanbul on 9 May 2018. Representatives of relevant public institutions as well as sector shareholders also participated in the panel. Following the opening speeches by the President of the Competition Authority Prof. Ömer TORLAK and Minister of Customs and Trade Mr. Bülent TÜFENKÇİ, Competition Expert Recep GÜNDÜZ presented the Hazelnut Sector Inquiry Report. The program ended with the panel moderated by Prof. Ahmet İNCEKARA, President of the Executive Committee, Economic Research Foundation, with the participation of Aysun AKAR, director of Hazelnut Research Institution, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Hakan Çalış, Deputy Director General of Domestic Trade, Ministry of Customs and Trade, Assoc. Prof. Semih TÜMEN, Director General, Structural Economic Research Department, , Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Levent Şahin BAŞARAN, Chairman of the Executive Board of Akçakoca Chamber of Agriculture, Turkish Association of Chambers of Agriculture. |
| Meeting on Competition Law Enforcement and the Activities of the Competition Authority - Abdullah Gül University – Erciyes University | Date:4 May 2018 |
| Within the framework of the promotion of the Competition Authority and competition law, President Prof. Ömer TORLAK made a presentation on “Digital Economies and the Competition Authority” on 04.05.2018 at Abdullah Gül university. Following the presentation, Prof. TORLAK and Assistant Competition Expert Zekeriya TURAN gave information about the Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition and answered the questions of the participants about competition law enforcement. Within the scope of the program, President TORLAK visited the President of Abdullah Gül University Prof. İhsan SABUNCUOĞLU, Vice President of Abdullah Gül University Prof. Dr. Cengiz YILMAZ, President of Erciyes University Prof. Muhammet GÜVEN and the Dean of Erciyes University Faculty of Tourism Prof. Kurtuluş KARAMUSTAFA. |
| Meeting on Competition Law Enforcement and the Activities of Competition Authority - Afyon Kocatepe University | Date: 27 April 2018 |
| Within the framework of the promotion of Competition Authority and competition law, the Competition Authority hosted a delegation from Afyon Kocatepe University on 27 April 2018. In the meeting held at the headquarters of the Competition Authority, academics and students of Afyon Kocatepe University Department of Finance were informed about the Competition Authority and competition law enforcement. In addition, a presentation about career opportunities and internship at the Authority was also made for the students. |
| Meeting about Competition Law Enforcement and Competition Authority’s Activities - Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University - Karaman Chamber of Industry and Commerce | Date: 27.4.2018 |
| Within the framework of the promotion of Competition Authority and competition law, President of the Competition Authority Prof. Ömer TORLAK made a presentation on Competition and Ethics in Digitalized Economies in the conference organized by Karamanaoğlu Mehmetbey University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences together with Public Auditorship Society on 26 April 2018. In addition, in the meeting hosted by Karaman Chamber of Industry and Commerce Prof. TORLAK met the representatives from the business community, gave information about the Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition and answered the questions of sector representatives about competition law enforcement. Mr. TORLAK also visited Mr. Fahri MERAL, the governor of Karaman, Prof. Ercan OKTAY, Vice President of Karamanaoğlu Mehmetbey University and Mr. Gökhan ALKAN, Chairman of Karaman Chamber of Industry and Commerce Board of Directors. |
| Big Data, Online Platforms and Competition Law Seminar Held with the cooperation of the Competition Authority and TUSIAD on 25 April 2018 in Istanbul | Date: 27.4.2018 |
| Big Data, Online Platforms and Competition Law Seminar, the first one of the seminar series on “New Economy’s Competition Dynamics” realized by the cooperation of the Competition Authority and TUSIAD was held in Istanbul on April 25, 2018. Minister of Customs and Trade, Mr. Bülent TÜFENKÇİ graced the seminar with his presence. Leading names of the business world and competition law professionals also attended the event. The program started with opening speeches by Erol BİLECİK, the president of TUSIAD’s Board of Directors and Prof. Ömer TORLAK, the President of the Competition Authority whereas Faruk ECZACIBAŞI, Vice President of Eczacıbaşı Holding Board of Directors and the president of Turkey Informatics Foundation made the keynote speech. Following the keynote speech, the panel moderated by Ferhat TOPKAYA, the head of Supervision and Enforcement Department-II was held, with the participation of Koç University Faculty Member Zeynep AYATA, the chair of UCL Global Competition Law and Public Policy Prof. Ioannis LIANOS and Legal Director of GittiGidiyor Serdar YILMAZ as speakers. In his opening speech, Mr. Bilecik stated, “Turkey is on a threshold. The way to pass this threshold is to know the dynamics of the new economy and place digitalization in the center of new development story. Today, digital transformation affects everything. We should think about both how big data, which is big, rapidly produced and diverse, will be stored, processed, and how competitive environment is affected by this transformation.” Mr. Bilecik also highlighted that it is important to understand the impact of digitalization process on competition dynamics for realizing “Digital Transformation of Industry” and success of the transformation with respect to ensuring and sustaining economic growth. In his speech, Prof. Torlak said, “Taking into account the impact of big data and algorithm based competition infringements; the Competition Authority should concentrate its energy on current digital economies. As the Competition Authority, it is important for us to act proactively and be prepared for possible developments. As a result of the amendments to be made on the Act no. 4054 on the Protection of Competition, by considering the practices of EU and developed countries, the Competition Authority will strengthen and raise the awareness of the public; be able to take protective measures against new generation competition infringements and be more innovative. The issues discussed in this meeting organized with the cooperation of TUSIAD, will provide us with important outcomes with respect to Competition Authority’s future activities.” He emphasized that digital transformation and its effects should be understood for fighting against new generation competition infringements, which could appear as a result of algorithms and bid data and which may require the revision of traditional competition laws. Faruk ECZACIBAŞI discussed the importance of data and the effects of digital transformation on the economy, by highlighting that economies go through a fast digital transformation process. The focal point of the panel was potential competition law challenges stemming from big data and algorithms. The speakers touched upon the features of the big data. While Zeynep AYATA and Ioannis LIANOS focused on the theoretical framework of competition problems based on big data and algorithms, Serdar YILMAZ made implications about where big data carried competition in markets. With active participation and deep interest by our shareholders, the panel made important contributions to creating and raising awareness of the public by providing an insight to the effects of digitalization on market dynamics and possible competition issues in this process. |
| Participation to the Workshop on “New Approaches to Market Definition in an Anti-monopoly Investigation” organized by FAS Russia (9.4.2018) |
| The Workshop on “New Approaches to Market Definition in an Anti-monopoly Investigation” organized by FAS Russia was held between 27-30 March 2018 in Kazan, the capital city of Republic of Tatarstan, subject to Russian Federation. On behalf of the Competition Authority Chief Competition Expert İsmail Yücel ARDIÇ and Competition Expert Recep GÜNDÜZ attended the Workshop. During the Workshop, which included discussions on issues such as “Market Definition in digital Economy” and “Digital Economy and Cartels” the meeting of the Working Group on Research of Competition Issues in the ICT sector established and co-chaired by the Competition Authority and FAS Russia was also held. Within this framework, the Competition Authority was represented on co-chair level during the Working Group activities. The experts representing the Authority made a presentation on “Evaluation of Consumer Data in Mergers and Acquisitions.” |
| Meeting about the Competition Authority and its Activities and 360 Degrees with Youth 5th International Student Congress - Manisa Organized Industrial Zone - Manisa Celal Bayar University | Date: 6.4.2018 |
| Within the framework of the promotion of the Competition Authority and competition law, in the meeting hosted by Manisa Organized Industrial Zone on 2 April 2018, president of the Competition Authority Prof. Ömer TORLAK gave information about the Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition and answered the questions of sector representatives about competition law enforcement. On 3 April 2018, Prof. TORLAK made a presentation on the place of the competition policy in sustainable growth and development in the opening session of 360 Degrees with Youth 5th International Student Congress on “Economy, Policy and the Society in the Axis of Sustainability”, which was organized with the cooperation of International Vision University, Sakarya University, Balıkesir University and Uludağ University and hosted by Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences. Also, President TORLAK visited Mustafa Hakan GÜVENÇER, the Governor of Manisa; Prof. A. Kemal ÇELEBİ, the President of Manisa Celal Bayar University and Mustafa SARIGÖZOĞLU, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Manisa Organized Industrial Zone. |
| Symposium on the Recent Developments in Competition Law | Date: 6.4.2018 |
| The Competition Authority, with the cooperation of TOBB Economy and Technology University, organized a Symposium on “New Practices for Increasing Efficiency in terms of Turkish Competition Law” in Ankara on 4 April 2018. In the opening speech of the symposium in which Undersecretary of the Ministry of Customs and Trade Cenap AŞCI, President of TOBB Economy and Technology University Prof. Adem ŞAHİN, bureaucrats and academics participated, President of the Competition Authority Ömer TORLAK emphasized that in the changing and transforming world, competition authorities should review their positions and ensure efficiency by acting proactively in the digitalized world and public institutions continue their activities on the basis of innovation. President TORLAK also highlighted that as a result of possible amendments to the Act, the Authority will benefit from human resources more efficiently and scarce resources will be distributed more effectively. During the panel moderated by the Vice President Kürşat ÜNLSOY, commitment and settlement issues, which will be implemented within the scope of the amendments to the Act, as well as country practices, especially enforcement in EU were discussed. Faculty member Dr. İbrahim Nihat BAYAR made a presentation about the place of commitments/settlements in Turkish law system on the basis of article 9 of the Act no. 4054 on the Protection of Competition. Faculty member Dr. Fatih Cemil ÖZBUĞDAY made assessments about settlement and commitment practices within the scope of economic approaches towards the modernization of competition. Competition Expert Neyzar ÜNÜBOL touched upon the settlement issue within the framework of the amendments to be made in the competition act and made suggestions for enforcement in Turkey taking into account the experience of EU. Yüksel KAYA from ENRE Consultancy made suggestions about the fundamental elements of commitments with respect to Turkish competition law and pointed out possible matters of discussion with reference to EU enforcement. Lastly, Faculty member Dr. Murat ŞAHİN addressed judicial review of settlement and commitment processes within the scope of Turkish competition law and Board decisions and analyzed recent judicial decisions. The symposium served as a fruitful platform where all shareholders met and shared knowledge and ended with the wish that the amendments to the act will be beneficial for all. |
Total : 30 records