From 29 September to 1 October 2026, the Polish competition authority held expert workshops in Warsaw for representatives of Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee and Moldova’s Competition Council. The event was part of a Polish Aid project supporting the two countries’ government administrations in EU integration on competition and state aid, funded by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The workshops continued the authority’s support for Ukraine and Moldova as they adapt their competition systems to EU standards. This edition also focused on state aid, which, alongside competition protection, is covered by Chapter 8 of the EU accession negotiations.

Representatives of competition authorities from Lithuania, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary also took part. Their institutions belong to a regional competition-policy cooperation agreement initiated by the Polish authority in 2023 and involving 11 Central and Eastern European countries. Ukraine holds the agreement’s chairmanship in 2026, so the project also provided practical support to its Antimonopoly Committee in carrying out that role. Officials from Poland’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Climate and Environment also attended.

Participants discussed adapting state aid systems to EU rules, including tax measures and tax rulings, investment financing, risk-finance instruments, support for the energy transition, compensation for damage caused by exceptional events, and reviewing existing aid schemes. They exchanged experience on applying EU rules and frameworks, including the CEEAG, GBER and the new framework for supporting clean industry.

The workshops addressed Ukraine’s and Moldova’s needs in accession negotiations and in aligning national law with the EU acquis. A further three-day project workshop, on competition-law enforcement and merger control, is scheduled to take place in Warsaw from 17 to 19 November 2026.