The Austrian competition authority organized a workshop on artificial intelligence (AI) that brought together more than 80 experts from participating competition agencies. The workshop, which took place for the first time in this format, featured opening remarks from the Director General of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, Natalie Harsdorf, followed by presentations from representatives of various competition authorities.

Key topics discussed included the current utilization of AI tools by competition authorities and potential future developments in their application. The workshop also addressed the challenges and opportunities that AI presents for competition enforcement.

In addition to the workshop, leaders from competition authorities across over 30 countries convened for two half-days to discuss current priorities and challenges faced by these agencies. Among the topics were ongoing cases in merger control, where authorities are increasingly confronted with complex and often cross-border transactions. Another focus was on cases of abuse of market power, with many authorities observing a heightened scrutiny of unilateral behaviors in recent years.

A press conference was held on Thursday morning featuring Natalie Harsdorf and Olivier Guersent, the Director General for Competition at the European Commission. They discussed the crucial role of competition enforcement in promoting competitiveness, growth, and innovation, as well as the importance of independent national competition authorities in this context.

Harsdorf emphasized the need for Europe to unite and foster close cross-border collaboration to tackle current challenges, highlighting the importance of strengthening European cooperation for competitiveness, fairness, and a shared future. Guersent reiterated that European competition policy supports an innovative, decarbonized, and secure European economy, and that effective enforcement requires cross-border collaboration, underscoring the significance of national competition authorities.