European Bank for Reconstruction and Development implements the Technical Cooperation project in support of the Competition Protection Commission of the Republic of Armenia. The main objectives of the project are:
- Provide recommendations to align Armenian competition law to international best practices;
- Produce relevant guidelines in support of the operations of CPC RA;
- Deliver technical training to CPC RA’s staff;
- Conduct market studies in support of CPC RA’s investigations;
- Support to the advocacy strategy of CPC RA;
- Organisation of short study visit to other competition authorities and exposure CPC RA’s staff to international events.
The proposed program will consist of two components of work:
Component 1: Legal and economic support for the implementation of a state aid control framework (or other options to increase transparency and minimize discretion in granting of incentives and other financial advantages provided to firms):
- Review options and develop recommendations for implementing a state aid control framework (and/or other options to increase transparency and minimize discretion in granting of incentives and other financial advantages provided to firms);
- Support to develop implementation mechanisms to collect and publish information on state aid schemes from granting authorities;
- Provide support for the development of an updated legislative package on state aid where relevant based on review of options for improving the state aid framework;
- Support to conduct one assessment of a state aid measure using international good practices aligned with the Armenian framework;
- Develop guidelines on ex ante design of state aid to identify objectives and potential negative effects on competition for state aid grantors/support to optimize the design of current/future state aid schemes;
- Hold workshops on i) findings on recommendations for the establishment of a state aid control framework and ii) capacity building for assessing competition distortions linked to state aid.
Component 2: Provide technical assistance on measures needed to implement aspects of the 2018 amendments to the competition law related to Anticompetitive Actions of Public Bodies.
- Develop guidelines or implementing regulations for the implementation of provisions relating to Anticompetitive Actions of Public Bodies to identify and deter decisions of officials of public bodies that restrict competition.
- Hold a workshop to provide training and capacity building on implementation of this amendment.
The representatives of SCPEC RA participated in 2019 Internship program of Korea Fair Trade Commission in Sejong.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea confirmed 2021/2022 KSP Project proposal on Bid-Rigging Indicator Analysis System.
The objectives of the project are:
Action 1: 2 training sessions along with the study visits of Polish experts in Armenia on the strengthening the capacity, resources and competencies of the institutional consumer protection system; strengthening the capacity of the Competition Protection Commission officials; and Enhancing knowledge on how to improve the NGO sector; Strengthening the organisational capacity of the relevant institutions.
Action 2: 2 training sessions along with the study visits of Armenian experts in Poland on the Assistance to ensure effective enforcement of legal consumer protection; Strengthened institutional structure for cross-border issues; cooperation between relevant consumer protection institutions; and Market challenges such as consumer protection in online transactions; Capacity of relevant institutions in specific risk areas of e-commerce; Creation of a functional ADR system in the field of consumer protection.
Action 3: Analytical work (screening) of Armenia’s legislative documents and preparation of substantive and legal analyses/opinions on consumer protection.
The main objectives of the program are to:
- Introduce the staff of the Commission to the core principles and best practices in identifying and preventing abuse of dominance;
- Build the capacity of the Commission to investigate suspected abuse of dominance; and
- Identify any gaps in the legislative and regulatory framework that frustrate enforcement of Armenia’s competition law as it relates to abuse of dominance.
TAIEX Expert Mission on EU best practice on improvement of RA legislation on consumer rights protection and guiding principles for determination of existence of unfair commercial practices.
