Is competition law a pursuit in itself?

I have accepted the challenge of writing a paper about the possible benefits of the competition policy from the perspective of the private sector. However I must mention from the beginning that the main pursuit of the competition policy is not the protection of competitors, but the protection of competition as an instrument of public governance. From the state point of view the most effective allocation of resources in the economy may be obtained only by preserving a climate favourable to competition.

Another area of public policy, the protection of consumer is very closely related with the competition policy. The consumer welfare is increased by employing measures of competition policy. Moreover in the EU the European integration project has been supported by trade and competition reforms. Trade creates bridges between people and builds new common identities worldwide. In this sense free competition opens a gate to new opportunities, but also implies a permanent reconsideration of your own priorities and strategies.

Competition is supposed to stimulate flexibility, creativity, adaptability, innovation and mobility. However it is also very clear that a trade space characterised by free competition, it is not free from regulation, but just the opposite. My personal opinion is that we no longer can talk about state and market as distinct regulators of trade. The liberalisation of trade sectors previously belonging to the public patrimony and the enhanced role of non-state regulators of trade brought about a new situation, in which markets incorporate elements of public governance and the states can’t afford to intervene and control the economy in any significant manner.

The available choice is not, as understood before, one between free markets and state intervention. A controlled form of market freedom is the only choice and the control task does no longer belong to one level of governance. The national states have to share their control authority with various other actors: supranational bodies, international trade organizations, private self-regulating associations and standard setting bodies. In this context it is easy to comprehend that the multinational corporations have a bigger role to play and can exercise a significant influence on redefining free-market economy as a social construction.

Therefore antitrust law is so important in order to maintain the balance between the competition quest for more market power on one side and the protection of the small and medium enterprises, consumer welfare, innovation incentives and market access on the other side. The main philosophical dictum of European antitrust policy relates to competition on the merits and non-tolerance against cartel activities. More recently a new dimension became more important: the private enforcement of competition law. Can this new enhanced goal improve the balance between the market powerful and the rest of the participants?