Search still on for new head of competition unit

The government is still looking for the right person to fill the post of director general of the Consumer and Competition Division, Communications and Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea told The Times yesterday.

At the end of last year, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise (GRTU) claimed that the present director, Marcel Pizzuto, had a conflict of interest since being appointed permanent secretary of the Competitiveness Ministry in October 2005.

The GRTU sought the European Commission's intervention claiming the office should be a semi-autonomous regulatory office responsible for competition, merger and anti-trust rules and cease to fall within the Consumer and Competition Division.

It deemed Mr Pizzuto's position conflicting given the government's direct interest in entities which could be in breach of competition rules and where an investigation might be required.

"All efforts are being made to find a replacement. I assure you that Mr Pizzuto himself is looking forward to giving up the post," Mr Galea said when contacted yesterday.

GRTU director-general Vince Farrugia had written to EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes who, in reply, said enforcing competition rules lies with the national authorities.

While the European Commission has to verify that EU competition, merger and anti-trust rules are properly applied, it was up to the member states to decide which authority they entrusted with applying the rules, the commissioner had said.

Calling the Commission's reply unacceptable, Mr Farrugia said the post should be filled by a qualified competition economist and be more flexible and business-friendly.

He said small businesses deemed the office to be very important, especially when it came to protect them from firms who have a dominant position in the market.

"As the office has functioned so far, hardly has it ever favoured small businesses. The office has to function and appear to be functioning. We have nothing personal against Mr Pizzuto, but something should be done about it," Mr Farrugia had said, adding that the government should not restrict itself to appointing a civil servant to the post.

Earlier this month, EuroCommerce - which represents the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors in Europe - also wrote to EU Competition Commissioner.

EuroCommerce secretary general Xavier R. Durieu said the GRTU had requested EuroCommerce to draw the EU's attention to the risk of "misapplication of competition rules which may derive from the lack of independence, autonomy and neutrality of the administrative body entitled to apply them in Malta".

EuroCommerce claimed that the independence and autonomy of the office was indispensable to guarantee a fair enforcement of European and national competition rules as well as a neutral handling of cases.