3
|
Toolkit for Competition
Advocacy in ASEAN
CONTENTS
Preface
3
24
Preface
The establishment of the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) on 31 December 2015
marks an important milestone towards deeper
regional economic integration in ASEAN.
Competition Policy and Law (CPL) plays a
critical role in this context by creating a
competitive, innovative and dynamic region
with well-functioning markets.
Although ASEAN Member States (AMS) are at
varying stages of economic development and
CPL implementation, there is a common need to
promote greater understanding about the benefits
of fair competition among various stakeholder
groups. This will contribute to a more effective
enforcement of competition rules and help create
a level playing field for businesses in ASEAN.
This toolkit is designed as a step-by-step
guide for competition authorities (CA) in ASEAN
on advocating for CPL. As each AMS has different
needs and priorities, the toolkit provides a
range of options to conduct advocacy activities,
depending on the specific objective
and stakeholder group.
Introduction
This section briefly explains what is generally meant by “competition advocacy”, why
and for whom this toolkit has been devised. This is in the understanding the advocacy
and enforcement strategies and efforts need to be closely aligned.
Definition of competition advocacy
Broadly speaking, advocacy refers to conducting activities that influence the
attitudes, behaviour or decisions of individuals or entities towards a specific cause
or desired outcome. In its simplest form, advocacy is structured dialogue with a
common theme, delivered in a targeted manner to achieve maximum influence and
outcomes. In the case of competition advocacy, this generally entails proactively
promoting the benefits of competition to relevant stakeholders through non-
enforcement means and with the objective of creating a competitive environment
for businesses.
The International Competition Network (ICN)
defines advocacy as:
Similarly, advocacy is defined in the “Guidelines
on Developing Core Competencies in Competition
Policy and Law for ASEAN” as:
Competition advocacy refers to those activities
conducted by the competition authority related to
the promotion of a competitive environment for
economic activities by means of non-enforcement
mechanisms, mainly through its relationships with
other governmental entities and by increasing
public awareness of the benefits of competition.
… the range of non-enforcement activities which
promote a competitive environment within an AMS.
AMS acknowledge that advocacy is a fundamental
tool to develop a workable competition law system.
