Archive for November 1st, 2010
The Distance between Brussels and Paris
… seems far bigger than 300 kilometers. See press article at the end of this post.
What constitutes almost standard lobbying practices in Brussels is perceived in Paris as a large-scale conspiracy from the private sector.
The Canard Enchaîné reports that the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris has arguably (1) sponsored a biased study on fines (and their alleged excessive level); and (2) invited a Judge of the Paris Appeals Court to a secret meeting, in an attempt to persuade him that some recent investigation techniques of the French Autorité de la concurrence are illegitimate.
In reading this, and in particular (2), I realize that we in Brussels are possibly a little too lenient and naïve in relation to lobbying strategies in competition matters. Of course, (1) raises no ethical issues, as long as the ICC sponsoring is made public. However, secret attempts to influence judges and officials are almost akin to corruption practices, and deserve to be fiercely combated.
Chillin'Competition 