The President of the Competition Council, Ahmed Rahhou, said Tuesday in Rabat that free competition is a fundamental element to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the economy.
Speaking in an exchange workshop with Universities on the law and economics of competition, Ahmed Rahhou stressed that competition is not an end in itself, but aims to achieve the effectiveness and efficiency of competition. economy that can only be achieved through innovation, creation and competition.
In this sense, he noted that opening up competition and allowing it to be exercised freely remains the way to guarantee that the national economy is doing well.
Rahhou further underlined that the Council’s vision revolves mainly around two pillars, namely consumer protection, which can only be achieved through competition, and the protection of investors who create value. added, in order to enable them to access markets and sell their products under the best conditions.
Similarly, he highlighted all the actions carried out within the Council to achieve these objectives, noting, in this sense, that the Competition Council is an arbiter of the economy which ensures that the activity economy takes place under healthy rules of competition, and to be as neutral and fair as possible.
In addition, he specified that this exchange workshop with the academic world is part of a twinning contract signed with the European Union (EU) under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, adding that this twinning concerns three countries, namely Poland, Italy and Greece, with the aim of improving the Council’s expertise and skills and helping it to forge links with the business world, the the legal world and the world of economics.
This is a first session to lay the groundwork for collaboration with the academic world and identify a work program with the country’s universities, to better understand the competition laws and consumer rights that govern the Moroccan economy, he noted.
For his part, the Secretary General of the Competition Council, Mohamed Abouelaziz indicated that Moroccan competition law aims to stimulate economic efficiency and consumer well-being, noting that competition is beneficial for the company, the economy and the consumer.
Addressing the scope of competition law, he specified that it applies to all natural or legal persons whether or not they have their headquarters or establishments in Morocco, and to all production activities, distribution and services when acting as economic operators.
During this meeting, EU speakers discussed the application of competition law in Poland, presenting the missions and priorities of the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKIK).
In this regard, they indicated that the missions of UOKIK mainly concern three areas, namely the fight against unfair practices, the fight against practices that impact the interests of consumers and communication with market players.