RIMANTAS STANIKUNAS WILL HEAD THE COMPETITION COUNCIL FOR THE SECOND TERM

Today’s “Valstybes zinios” (Official Gazette) publishes the Decree signed by Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania and effective as of 18 October 2004 whereby, acting in accordance of par. 1 of Article 20 of the Law on Competition of the Republic of Lithuania and having regard to the proposal of Algirdas Brazauskas, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, President of the Republic appointed Rimantas Antanas Stanikunas to the position of the Chairman of the Competition Council for a five years’ period.

While assessing the tasks accomplished during his first term Rimantas Stanikunas pointed out that negotiations with the European Union on competition Chapter had been successfully completed in a relatively speedy manner, all necessary regulations have been drafted and adopted. This to a large extent facilitates the implementation of the competition policy requirements in the way that the policy could serve the public interests best and contributes to the enhancement of competition culture on the national scale. Both the competition policy pursued by the European Commission and the efforts of the Competition Council target the main objective, - to strengthen the competition processes beneficial to the economic development of the country and consumers. The analysis of competition processes and the assessment of possible infringements of the underlying principles, as well the effectiveness of the Resolutions passed by the Competition Council on the basis of the provisions of the Law on Competition are well reflected in the results of the activities of this institution. Lately the Competition Council has been focussing upon the improvement of its performance in the area of control and supervision exercised thereby, and with a view to enforcing the principles of fair competition will in the future place more emphasis on the promotion of the leniency programme implemented thereby.

Having acquired the status of the observer in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) the Competition Council is now better placed to share and exchange the accumulated experience with the counterparty institutions in other countries and, simultaneously, take over the most valuable experience.

In the context of the main tasks to be addressed by the Competition Council in the years to come Rimantas Stanikunas said that the task of prime importance is, by means of concrete decisions, to seek strengthening the confidence in the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania as an institution authorised to directly apply the competition rules of the European Union and, under the competition law of the European Union, entrusted with the task of he supervision of the application of such rules.