The OECD-GVH Regional Centre for Competition in Budapest (RCC) was established on 16 February 2005 through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (GVH, Hungarian Competition Authority) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 

The RCC’s primary objective is to promote the development of competition law and culture across South-East Europe and Central Asia, contributing to economic growth and prosperity in the region.

The RCC provides capacity-building support and policy advice through workshops, seminars, and training programs on competition law and policy for officials in competition agencies, other government bodies, sector regulators, and judges. It also works to strengthen competition law and policy in Hungary and within the GVH itself.

The RCC’s work focuses on four main target groups. The first group comprises the competition authorities of South-East Europe and Central Asia, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo*¹, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Supporting these economies is considered the RCC’s core activity. While all have made progress in developing competition laws and policies, they are at different stages of implementation. Consequently, capacity-building needs vary across these non-OECD member economies, requiring a broad and flexible approach to competition outreach. 

Key capacity-building priorities in these regions include:

  • enhancing analytical skills in competition law enforcement, 
  • raising the awareness of the judiciary regarding the specific characteristics of competition law adjudication,
  • pro-competitive reform in infrastructure sectors,
  • competition advocacy,
  • relations between competition authorities and sector regulatory agencies,
  • legal and institutional reform in the area of competition, and
  • building international co-operation and networking.

Judges constitute the second target group of the RCC’s activities. The judges’ seminars offer participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of competition law and economics, exchange views on the latest developments in EU competition law, and discuss key challenges that arise in competition law cases.

The third group of RCC beneficiaries comprises the competition authorities that are members of the Central European Competition Initiative (CECI). Established in 2003 by Central European competition authorities, CECI provides a forum for cooperation on competition matters through workshops and informal meetings. The network includes the competition authorities of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary. These countries share a common geographic region, similar cultural traditions, and historical experiences, and are generally at comparable stages of development. Consequently, their competition authorities face many common challenges. Additionally, they sometimes deal with overlapping regional markets or the same companies, which further underscores the value of regional cooperation.

The fourth beneficiary of the RCC’s work is the GVH itself. Workshops organised for GVH staff focus on ongoing projects or “hot” topics, providing an excellent opportunity to learn about state-of-the-art antitrust theory and enforcement practices.

Regarding the RCC’s functioning, its Memorandum of Understanding provides that the GVH and the OECD jointly make major decisions concerning its activities. To this end, the parties meet annually to review the RCC’s operations and performance and to prepare the annual work plan.

Regarding the financing of the RCC, the GVH provides most of the funding required for its operations, including an annual voluntary contribution to the OECD to cover costs associated with the staff position in Paris. The OECD also co-finances the RCC’s activities and operations. In addition, both the GVH and the OECD collaborate to secure additional financial support for the RCC from third parties.

 

1* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ on Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Hereafter referred to as Kosovo.