International Competition

And so the course comes to an end, not with a bang but with a bittersweet feeling among the participants from various countries. Plucked from our lives for a two-week training in a quaint town in Belgium that is Bruges, we left more than strangers, and far wiser on EU and competition law. And we got a certificate to prove for it.

I can’t say I can’t wait to return home; I would love to be able to travel for far longer and much further, but this all must come to an end. I can’t say I’ll remember or speak fondly of these two weeks when pressed in the future about some of my best experiences ever but I hope to recall this for as long as I can. If not, the photos will hopefully jog my memory of the wonderful time here.

Dominating the Competition

The day right after the EC’s landmark decision on Android, we had a lesson on abuse of dominant positions. Serendipity, much?

At the risk of stereotyping, we had a very British lecturer, complete with the accent, humour and almost a performance from an Oscar Wilde play. He illustrated concepts with maths and meticulously went through various examples of abuse. That was a refreshing change from simply hearing from the lecturer and having a brief Q&A.

After almost two weeks here and missing two Sport Wednesdays, I finally put them sneakers on and went for a run around the area. By the end of the run, it was clear that I needed to shape up.

One more of day of school to go!

After dinner, I decided on another beach visit — Oostende!

I would have loved to lie on the sand and let the cold wind blow over me, and have the sea wash my feet while doing absolutely nothing. I haven’t been on a beach holiday in a while and I think I’m missing that. And I’m missing that, not somewhere on the familiar shores of South East Asia but, further elsewhere.

Ah, I wish I had spent more time at Knokke and Oostende.

Acquiring the Competition

If I’ve learnt anything from the lesson on Wednesday, it’s that Bastille Day originated in 1789 where a monarch was overthrown and sent to the guillotine, along with Marie Antoinette. Also, I learnt the importance of being vigilant and what steps to take, like avoid crowds and know your exits, when living in an environment of heightened security. Sometimes, Singaporeans do take security for granted even when there are national campaigns and posters everywhere. Perhaps apathy, perhaps de-sensitisation.

On to lessin proper, I personally don’t understand the extraterritorial reach of law but that’s a point of law I should read up on and has nothing to do with merger control. I always supposed that if Country A wishes to enforce its laws in Country B, there would be some leverage and negotiations. That may be so but that may not be so as well. Otherwise, it was an eye-opener to the process and threshold checks on notifying mergers in the EU.

For this two-week course, we had team activity for the first time which was a great way for the trainees to interact. Not that this one session was exceptional but I do think there could be one or few more of such activities to promote interaction as well as break the monotony of lectures.

After lesson, it was another evening trip and this time to Ghent for the Gentse Feesten!

Ghent is this Bruges-like place with canals and medieval structures like a belfry and brick buildings. The setup of a music festival in the heart of it, juxtaposing the contemporary with the old is both refreshing and slightly bizarre. While it’s quite a unique sight, I do wonder what the place world look like when stripped of all the temporary setup such as booths, stages and sound equipment.

More than a week in and I’m already wishing I had managed my time better to get more done and visit more places. Ghent was a good destination though I was partly sad I could not stay till dark when the lights wee more prominent. Perhaps another festival for another time.

The Procedures to Competition

Largely, the case procedures in the EU is the same as back home, I think. I don’t handle cases and my understanding of the similarity is at best guesswork. Why did I sign up for summer school and what am I learning here? Is it really because I intend to handle cases come the near future? I guess with only three days of school left, those questions may be too late to ask.

Our lecturer for the afternoon had to return to Brussels in anticipation of a landmark decision by the European Commission. Hence, the lesson on public and privileged undertaking was conducted via Skype by another lecturer. I was rather lost in the lesson itself but the case examples made it a lot easier to understand. To add another question to my list of queries, I wonder whether the whole course would have been easier to understand had I some case experience, knowledge of law and/or knowledge of economics.

In the evening, we had the privilege of being in the company of the Chief Competition Economist of the EC, and to hear his opinion on just about anything the students in attendance asked. I tried my best to put forth a query, and found my question wanting in the midst of the intellectuals present. Strike one for self-confidence, eh? Anyway, his reply on sector inquiries was most interesting. Given the amount of resources put into studying a market, the natural tendency is to want to or to start cases even when there was little to nothing to go on. And that he said, was perhaps the wrong mentality because we sometimes do have to remember to simply leave things be but we don’t because we have spent a considerable amount of resources and find it somewhat justifiable something had to follow.

Such is perhaps the human flaw of trying to find flaws in places where there aren’t any. I will do well to remember that for life in general and not just sector inquiries.

Competition and State Aid

State aid is not something our country deals with as an issue. But then I think, shouldn’t we? Are not government subsidies and grants a form of state aid? If so, then why do we not deal with it? But then I think that if the government is already exempted from the Act, then perhaps that is why we make no mention of state aid.

The most interesting I learnt today was from outside class when chatting with a fellow student. She mentioned how state aid control becomes an important issue for us, even though we do not recognise state aid, when it comes to trade negotiations with the EU. My narrow-minded self had not thought of that implication till it was pointed out to me and for that, I’m all the wiser.

I always thought it would be easy to hop on to the train and get out of Bruges for a short trip somewhere near, like Oostende or Ghent for the evening. Surprisingly, I decided on Knokke after overhearing some chatter about a beach getaway. And to my delight, it was a nice beach town with cool wind blowing from the seas down the street. The long days made it easier to get around in the evening and the beach was a pretty sight of endless water and sand, though it appears to be the culture here to pepper the beachfront with establishments and deck chairs which made the entire view slightly unnatural. But I got my hour’s worth at Knokke and it was worth it.

On my way back from Knokke, I chatted with a Belgian on the train who has now learnt that Singapore is not in China, has opened my eyes to the possibility of visiting Ghent because of the ongoing Gentse Feesten, and reminded me that perhaps the Asian sitting next to you on the train knows English, is not a recluse and can sustain a conversation if he or she wants to. I certainly never expected to be chatting with a local but I guess that shared moment of moving backwards on a locomotive does bring out the best of experiences.

Horizontal Competition

Fridays are the worst because all you think about is the weekend and the lecturer’s words are like water through a funnel.

Is information sharing bad? Can information sharing be a necessity? If businesses co-ordinate on prices but compete on other aspects such as delivery time, quality of service, etc., then is that fine? To quote the words of the lecturer from the day before, it seems like the answers to any queries on competition should be “it depends” unless it’s found to be a hardcore conduct. Even that, there’s probably some element of subjectivity.

How do oligopolies come about? It’s not all right if the transparency of the market was created by the companies themselves, is it? I only knew of retail petrol as such an industry but I know too little to make an informed comment about what it should be or how it’s like. Is it a form of price signalling and if so, does that mean it’s fine? I seem to be walking away with more questions than answers.

In the evening, I explored the route to Bruges train station. More medieval sights, water and generally very pretty things were about. I do think it would be great to stay here instead of Brussels. Perhaps I’m not a city boy after all, or I’ve not been here long enough to call it a permanent lifestyle. Two non-continuous weeks are what they are; not a lifetime.

It’s almost unbelievable that I’ve been here for almost a week. Partly, I wish I had made plans other than London this coming weekend, and partly I’m glad to be able to travel about in spite of the seeming intensity of this two-week schedule. To the weekend, it is then!

Competition in the Tech Sphere

It was a stay-in day of studies and barbecue.

I have never studied economics formally. It’s just never crossed my mind to do so nor have I been put in the way of an economics course till today. The course has sent some pretty experienced people to teach us, each with their wealth of knowledge and case work handled. For that, I’m grateful the lessons have been interesting and not lacking in humour nor substance.

“Homogeneous markets”, “supply-demand curve”, “deadweight loss” are some terms I hear often but have little to no appreciation of. It was a morning of theory, graph and application of the theory to real world situations. The afternoon portion was basically a history lesson of computing and the software giant that is Microsoft. The funny thing is that I’ve heard this story before in another form that is the background of how internet and computers came to be but never heard the story from the competition perspective. It goes to show how one single story can apply to different fields of study and draw varied responses and reactions.

For once, I did not venture out of school this evening but instead stayed back to interact and bond with fellow trainees at a barbecue organised for the summer school participants. Granted it cost €15 each, but the food and drinks along with the company were reason enough to be there. Identity is a fascinating construct as I tried to figure out the my attitude on segregation and common beliefs. Am I foremost Chinese, Singaporean, South East Asian or does this concept of identity shift with the setting? That affected the way I interacted with my peers and strangers. I suppose we take the persona of whichever we deem beneficial to our standing at whatever particular moment in time we are in.

Protect Competition, Not Competitors

Today we learnt the fundamentals of Competition Law in the EU.

I had wondered how many of my fellow trainees were actually in need of the training provided by the course given some of them had extensive experience in their respective competition authorities. But I realised this was not about learning competition from scratch but actually, gaining an appreciation of how things worked in the European Union. The lecturer for the day was great for he was experienced and engaging, while able to give advice that was particularly helpful to our respective predicaments given the diversity of our jurisdictions.

Furthermore, as a non-case handler and non-practitioner, I was able to feel like I could speak without fear of sounding embarrassing. But that could also mean that I have matured as a trainee. That certainly took a while given the number of years I have been learning and have been attending training sessions.

When confronted with the unfamiliar, the mind tries to draw links with the familiar. The various Articles under the Treaty reminded me of the Sections under our Act and made things easier to understand as I could draw the parallels for those. Well, at least I could still draw the parallel for all but State Aid Control and vertical agreements but even for these topics mentioned, I still learnt quite a bit. However, practical case experience dished by the lecturer was far more interesting than whatever theories and slides offered. One point I remember clearly is the argument of how we should not be protecting local small enterprises if they were to argue for such need so that they could grow to compete with international players. I was very taken when it was mentioned that such an action was tantamount to condoning businesses’ exploitation of local consumers just so that they could be the best to take on overseas players. “Price of progress” much, ain’t it?

World Cup fever continued as I followed two of my fellow trainees out to the Markt catch the match between England and Croatia. I had a beer for €4 which wasn’t that great, as well as sat in a pub to catch the match where the quality of the telecast was not as great. In fact, it was almost disappointing that we missed the first goal because we were out and on our way to figuring out the best place to settle down. We soon took root and caught the spectacular goal by Croatia during the second half of the match. The match went into extra time and the crowd was fired up though I think most of us wished Belgium had performed similarly to Croatia yesterday. Flags for England were abound near the viewing area and I couldn’t tell if the right response to Croatia’s second goal was to cheer but I did anyway. While I didn’t get much bonding or make speaking time with the other trainees, it was good to be amongst them and interacting. I also found out news indeed travels far and wide since one of them knew about recent organisational changes where I worked. That was a surprise.

And so the day ended at 10 p.m., which really only felt like the start of the evening but it was time to rest and prepare ourselves to conquer another day ahead!

Visiting the Competition

Today started really early — like at a reporting time of 6.30 a.m. so that we could trot off to the bus pick-up point some ten minutes away to get to Brussels.

We arrived at DG Comp and packed the security screening and registration counter with black suits and noise. Like airport clearance queues, we were eventually on our way. The day’s activities mostly took place in the auditorium where we listened to lecture after lecture alongside our Asian colleagues, learning about the workings of DG Competition, the various articles, the European Competition Network as well as the workings of the EU court. I was quite lost at State Aid Control and court matters but that could be due to lack of prior exposure in these areas. Nevertheless, it was a day of exchange and questions, listening to the concerns of other authorities and learning whatever I could in the process.

Lunch at the canteen was an experience too, like entering Ikea except there were many queues for food instead of one, and some of the items were self-served. I would whether I would be able to stick to the canteen always for lunch if I worked here. Then again, I would never get to work here though one can dream.

It was a Tuesday and the bus back to Bruges from Brussels almost took forever. It was a Tuesday and the day of Belgium coming up against France in the the 2018 World Cup. I spent the first half on the bus back, then walking back to the College, and then in the canteen having dinner while trying to catch some action on a laptop at another table. Then I missed the first goal and decided I should get out to soak in whatever football atmosphere the Belgians were enveloped in.

There were public screenings around and I simply stood near a public screen. I’d imagine if such an event were happening back home, the restaurant or pub owner
would make sure any viewer was paying in some manner to feast their eyes on the screen. But none of that here and I simply stood near a public screening to watch the final twenty minutes.

It’s amazing how I do not catch soccer nor follow any news of it but still feel compelled nevertheless to watch a match or two and even find myself oddly invested in my present host country’s victory. I wanted to cheer a “goal” for Belgium but alas the match ended 1-0 not in their favour. There was no unruly ending or chanting at the final whistle but perhaps an air of resignation and disappointment. And with that, I faded from fervent fan to just another passerby on his way back to his room.

School continues the next day!

Competition 101

Competition Summer School begins at the College of Europe.

The day started with an introduction to the EU and its structure. It’s one thing to just know what the European Union is (a collective of countries) while it’s another to be lectured and taught what it really is, how decisions are made, and some of the intricacies behind the structure. We only scratched the surface but I already felt like I had the blessing of opening a treasure chest.

The day closed with an introduction to Competition Law in the EU. This one was a bit more interactive in that the lecturer asked and the students had to answer. I have no experience in case work and I do wonder if this feeling of inadequacy that is the thought that therefore my answers carry less weight, is a manifestation of impostor syndrome. I think so; I don’t know. If the morning was informative, then the afternoon session was more of the same but more engaging.

School could be fun after all but I digress. Now, on to other things about school but not the lessons.

“Business casual” was the recommended or stipulated attire for the duration of the course but scatterbrain me packed clothes for a summer vacation having equated “summer school” with that. In any case, what is “business casual”? Would polo tee and jeans suffice? How about dress shirt and jeans? Maybe dress shirt and pants? Or perhaps a blazer to accompany any of the aforementioned three options? I wanted to go with polo tee but changed to dress shirt and jeans and even that appeared underwhelming compared to my course mates who went full-on formal wear. I am clearly not going to be able to keep up given the lack of dress shirts and pants I brought from home.

After class, and dinner, I took the time to visit the windmills of Bruges again. I recall only coming across two the last time I was here in 2012 and so, this time round, I made the trip to visit all four. It was quite the evening walk, but the long day and short night meant a stroll at 7 p.m. felt as though it was on mid-afternoon, only that it was hot but not humid like back home. Along the way, I also managed to catch some exhibits of the Triennale Brugge 2018, of which some were structural art pieces that were part of the open space that visitors could walk around in, like a bridge or a floating platform.

This Summer School programme is off to a great start!