Monopoly Commission

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The Monopolies Commission is a permanent, independent advisory body that advises the German Federal Government , the legislative bodies and the public in the fields of competition policy , competition law and regulation . The legal position of the Monopolies Commission is not regulated by law. The tasks of the Monopolies Commission result from § § 44 to § 47 Law against Restraints of Competition (GWB). The commission was established with the second amendment to the GWB parallel to the introduction of merger control .

The Monopolies Commission was formed in 1973 by the social liberal government under Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt . It started work in January 1974.

structure

According to Section 45 GWB, the commission consists of five members who must have particular knowledge and experience of economic , business , socio-political, technological or commercial law . The members of the Monopolies Commission are appointed by the Federal President on a proposal by the Federal Government for a period of four years; reappointments are permitted. The chairperson is elected by the Monopolies Commission itself. Traditionally, the commission consists of two professors (a lawyer and an economist) and three experts from business practice.

The members may not belong to the government or a legislative body of the federal government or a state or the public service of the federal government, a state or any other legal person under public law , except as a university professor or as an employee of a scientific institute. Furthermore, they may not represent a trade association or an employer or employee organization or have a permanent service or agency relationship with them. You may not have held such a position during the last year before your appointment as a member of the Monopolies Commission.

The official seat of the Monopolies Commission is Bonn , where the office has been based in the former state representation of Hesse since September 2018 .

Main and special reports

According to Section 44 GWB, the commission prepares an expert opinion every two years in which it assesses the status and foreseeable development of corporate concentration in Germany, evaluates the application of the regulations on merger control and takes a position on current competition policy issues. The Monopolies Commission has presented these main reports to the Federal Government in the even years since 1976 and published them at the same time.

In addition, the commission prepares special reports . This is necessary in the case of a ministerial permit ( Section 42 (4) GWB). Every two years it issues a special report on the development of competition in the area of ​​"network-based industries": on the telecommunications markets ( Section 121 (2 ) of the Telecommunications Act ), on the postal markets (Section 44 of the Postal Act, old version, in conjunction with Section 81 (3) of the Telecommunications Act aF), on the markets for grid-based supply of electricity and gas ( Section 62 of the Energy Industry Act ) and in the railways sector ( Section 36 of the General Railway Act ). These special reports appear in odd years. Special reports can also be prepared on special order from the Federal Government and at their own discretion ( Section 44 (1) GWB).

effect

The commission is to develop independent opinions based on current scientific knowledge on important and current competition topics. In this role, it also takes contrary positions towards political actors, the authorities and associations.

In contrast to the Federal Cartel Office and the Federal Network Agency , the Monopolies Commission has no direct intervention options other than a public warning, which is comparable to the Federal Audit Office . However, the Federal Government is obliged to comment publicly on the main reports of the Monopolies Commission and on some of the special reports for network-based industries.

In addition to providing direct advice to the Federal Government, the Monopolies Commission's advisory function is also exercised through the public. Many current topics with points of contact with economic and competition policy, such as B. the energy transition , are taken up in the reports and critically analyzed. The media reaction gives the body's position additional weight in public opinion.

Conflicts

A crisis of the Monopolies Commission triggered the controversial purchase of the aerospace company Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm by the automobile company Daimler-Benz in 1988/1989 . Because the federal government signaled a positive ministerial approval even before the expected negative decision by the Federal Cartel Office, the legally stipulated opinion of the Monopolies Commission was pointless, commented its chairman Ulrich Immenga and resigned after the opinion had been submitted.

In March 2016, the chairman resigned from his post in protest because of a ministerial approval given against the Council of the Commission. Daniel Zimmer was responsible for the preparation of the expert opinion in August 2015 on the ministerial approval procedure in relation to the takeover of Kaiser's Tengelmann by Edeka , which came to the unequivocal conclusion that the "adverse effects on competition would not be offset with sufficient certainty by advantages for the common good". When, on March 17, 2016, Federal Minister of Economics Sigmar Gabriel approved the takeover of Tengelmann by Edeka, subject to certain conditions in order to maintain jobs, Daniel Zimmer immediately resigned from the chair and also resigned from the commission.

Members

Chairperson
Current members (as of March 2016)

Publications

Main opinion

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hartmut Berg: Competition Policy . In: Vahlens Compendium of Economic Theory and Economic Policy . 7th edition. tape 2 . Vahlen, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-8006-2382-X , p. 332 .
  2. ↑ Friederike Mattes: The ministerial permit in merger control: history of origin and critical discussion . M-Press, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-89975-505-7 , p. 207-219 .
  3. ↑ Dietmar Bartz: Business from A to Z . Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 2002, ISBN 3-8218-3944-9 , p. 317 .
  4. ↑ Friederike Mattes: The ministerial permit in merger control: history of origin and critical discussion . M-Press, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-89975-505-7 , p. 107-116 .
  5. ^ Special report 70: Merger of Edeka Zentrale AG & Co. KG with Kaiser's Tengelmann GmbH. (No longer available online.) In: monopolkommission.de. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016 ; accessed on August 5, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.monopolkommission.de
  6. ^ Edeka-Tengelmann merger: Head of the Monopolies Commission resigns. In: Spiegel Online . Retrieved August 5, 2016 .
  7. ^ Resignation of the chairman of the Monopolies Commission due to ministerial approval for Edeka / Kaiser's Tengelmann. (No longer available online.) In: monopolkommission.de. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016 ; accessed on August 5, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.monopolkommission.de