European Competition and Consumer Day

Am involved in the following session in Dublin next Friday - a very interesting area where behavioural economics has become increasingly relevant. 

European Competition and Consumer Day

Competition Policy and Consumer Protection: Challenges and Choices

24 May 2013, Dublin CastleAs part of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2013 the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency are jointly hosting a one day conference in Dublin Castle on 24 May 2013. This timely programme will feature perspectives from leading authorities on issues central to the protection of consumers through competition enforcement and consumer protection. It will be opened by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton, TD.

PLEASE NOTE: registration for this event is now closed.

Registration and coffee (8.30am to 9.00am)

Welcome (9.00am to 9.10am)
Mr Patrick Kenny, Acting Chairperson, The Competition Authority, Ireland

Minister's Address (9.10am to 9.30am)
Mr Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ireland

Session 1: Key Note Speeches: Critical Issues for Consumer Protection and Competition Policy (9.00am to 10.30am)

Chair: Ms Karen O'Leary, Chief Executive, National Consumer Agency, Ireland
Mr Tonio Borg, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy
Dr Alexander Italianer, Director General Competition Policy, European Commission

Session 2: Interaction of Competition Policy and Consumer Protection - Panel Discussion (10.50am to 12.15pm)

Moderator: Professor Alex Schuster, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Mr Philip Collins, Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading, UK
Mr Chris Fonteijn, Chairman of the Authority for Consumers & Markets, Netherlands
Ms Agnete Gersing, Director General of the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, Denmark
Ms Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, USA

Lunch (12:15pm)


Session 3: Collective Redress (13.05pm to 14.50pm)

Moderator: Ms Joanne Blennerhassett, College Lecturer in the School of Law, University College Dublin, Ireland
Professor Christopher Hodges, Head of the CMS/Swiss Re Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford and Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Professor Rachael Mulheron, Professor of Law, Queen Mary University of London and Council Member of the Civil Justice Council of England and Wales, UK
Mr Eddy De Smijter, Private Enforcement Unit, DG Competition, European Commission

Session 4: Behavioural Economics: Consumers’ Use of Information and Decision Making (15.10pm to 16.40pm)

Moderator: Professor Liam Delaney, University of Stirling, UK
Dr Pete Lunn, Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland
Mr Bernard Sheridan, Director of Consumer Protection, Central Bank of Ireland, Ireland
Professor Maurice Stucke, University of Tennessee College of Law, USA

Closing remarks (16.40pm to 16.50pm)
Ms Karen O'Leary, Chief Executive, National Consumer Agency, Ireland