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Former meritorious student and today renowned Professor Petru FILIP provides us with a new book with a stimulating, meaningful title: “România. Experienţa aderării” (Romania. The adherence experience), ECONOMICA Publishing House Bucharest. Professor Petru FILIP is Member of the Board of prestigious professional and scientific associations such as SSMAR and CRD, being also a Member of the Editorial Board of the “Romanian Distribution Committee Magazine” and of the “Holistic Marketing Management” Journal.

This challenging issue of adherence to the European Union (EU), is seen by the Author as a metric of being conscientious in supporting the rules of the adherence process while proving accuracy in following the time schedule, and endeavoring to implement the assigned pillars on the road to EU membership by implementing EU rules and regulations in all areas. The Author is looking at what the EU Treaty say about the adherence to EU, investigating in order to improve adherence management, measuring the adherence level, considering different views on providing adequate inputs and taking proactive role in the organization of the adherence process by building synergies based on competencies, and this way making possible the sharing of a remarkable experience.

Honored by the valuable Author autograph given by Professor Petru FILIP on this challenging book, allow us to remember the letter no. D/001049/6.11.02 of the distinguished Professor Mario Monti, the outstanding European Commissioner at that time (an essential moment of our EU adherence process), who congratulated us for our commitment to building an effective competition policy as shown on the website of the Romanian Competition Council.

Theodor PURCAREA, Road Map, The Store of the Future, World Premiere, May 4, 2015, at SHOP 2015, Expo Milano 2015

Two recent news have portrayed indirectly an interesting arch over time formed by a painting – the “Carousel of the Distribution” by Jean WEGNEZ (painting displayed for the first time at the end of 2004 in the Conference Room of the famous “Palais d’Egmont”, Brussels) – and a “Road Map of the Store of the Future” by Theodor PURCAREA (road map presented as a world premiere on May 4, 2015 at the opening of the “SHOP 2015” Conference, at Expo Milano 2015, see photo above).

On May 5, 2015, within the generous framework offered by “Forum Art Business”, the European Retail Academy – ERA (thanks to ERA President Prof. Dr. Bernd HALLIER, who is also publisher of “Culture and History of Commerce” and “Collectors and Sponsors of Commerce”) – was pleased to announce (see photo below) the opening of a painting exhibition (that is to take place soon, from May 17 to May 31, 2015) by the distinguished Belge Jean WEGNEZ at Cercle Artistique de Spa (“the water city”).

It is worth to remember that a visit to a painting exhibition of Jean WEGNEZ represents a true invitation to venture into the world of dreams, by meeting the magic of colors well-orchestrated and adding a symbolic level of meaning reflecting both peace and dynamism, Jean WEGNEZ being well-known for capturing the desire of engaging on the way to the unreal, thanks to his originality of thought, which allows to develop a unique vision in an unexpected way.

You can see below the painter’s brother, Léon F. WEGNEZ (Secretary General, International Association of the Distributive Trade, A.I.D.A. Brussels), and Florian POPA (Vice-President of the Commission of Public Health of the Romanian Senate, and President of SANABUNA International Congress) in front of the painting representing the “Carousel of the Distribution” (both being Honorary Members of the Romanian Distribution Committee).

The painter’s brother, Léon F. WEGNEZ, was recently quoted by Theodor PURCAREA at the opening of the “SHOP 2015” Conference, Expo Milano 2015 (see photo below).

Theodor PURCAREA, “Distribution, the challenge of the super agility”, Presentation at SHOP 2015, Expo Milano 2015

Professor Léon F. WEGNEZ was quoted recently by Theodor PURCAREA at SHOP 2015, Expo Milano 2015

News from Forum Art Business, ERA

Some paintings of Jean WEGNEZ

Léon F. WEGNEZ and Florian POPA in front of the painting “Carousel of the Distribution” by Jean WEGNEZ

The Romanian Competition Council launched, on April 16, 2015, the “2014 Annual Report”. The special event was hosted at Radisson Blue Hotel. It is well-known that the activity of the Romanian competition authority aims to maintain and to develop a normal competitive environment, generating economic efficiency, with direct benefits to consumers, and increasing the competitiveness of markets. The Romanian Competition Council’s objectives on medium and long term aim at increasing the efficiency and the effectiveness of the Romanian competition policy. The main strategic objectives for the period 2015-2020 are: increasing the impact of actions that ensure an efficient functioning of markets by enhancing the role of economic analysis; increasing the capacity of detection and investigation of cartels; completion of the internal reform process.

According to the President of the Romanian Competition Council, Mr. Bogdan M. Chiriţoiu, the Romanian competition authority has successfully managed all the challenges in 2014, both by using the tools for detecting and sanctioning Competition law infringement, and by proactive actions. The last year, the Romanian Competition Council has completed major investigations (including by applying the leniency policy), the fines applied (of around EUR 41.5 million) proving the strengthening of the sanctioning policy in respect to anticompetitive practices. It is worth mentioning that the Romanian competition authority also applied fines for non-compliance (as it has done, for the first time, in 2014, in the cases involving prepaid mobile phone cards and retransmission rights of football events). The Romanian Competition Council also promoted a new legislative framework on unfair competition (which modernizes specific provisions and the way they are enforced), after a complex process of public consultation, and also changed the State aid national procedures by aligning them to the new Community rules (the Competition Council was appointed in 2014 as board member of the EU Member States working group on implementing the new rules on State aid, and through an European-funded project, started in 2014, is aiming to design, develop and exploit a single interactive database of State aid and de minimis measures in Romania). On the other hand, the Romanian competition authority has obtained for Romania the status of associate in the Competition Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and in partnership with the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, the Ministry of Finance and OECD, started a project aiming at assessing the competitive impact of existing regulations in three sectors with significant share in the GDP: the processing of agricultural products, transports and constructions.

The Romanian Competition Council has confirmed its intention to complete in 2015 some important investigations on possible infringement of competition rules (such as the investigations regarding bid rigging tenders in the milk, energy and IT sectors, the energy sector being also on the priorities list), including the ongoing sector inquiry on the gas market and (while monitoring the liberalization of this relevant market). According to Mr. Bogdan M. Chiriţoiu, in the State aid field the Competition Council will continue to work this year with the Government and the European Commission on the privatization of the Romanian Post, CFR Marfă (national freight company), Oltchim and for the restructuring of the Oltenia Energy Complex and the Hunedoara Energy Complex as well. In terms of legislative initiatives, priorities for 2015 refer to: implementing the OECD project on the assessment and amendment of existing national legislation in order to remove anticompetitive regulations; capping the interchange fees applied to card transactions; changing the Competition Law (activity carried out within the PODCA Project, where the Competition Council benefits from the World Bank assistance), so as to optimize the procedures, to complete investigations faster and to introduce provisions in the conflict of interests.

The Prime Minister of Romania, Victor Ponta, has attended for the third time the presentation of the Annual Report of the Competition Council, and the President of the Romanian Competition Council, Bogdan M. Chiriţoiu, thanked the Prime Minister for the governmental support. Mr. Gert-Jan Koopman, Deputy Director General, State Aid Department, DG Competition, European Commission reconfirmed the importance of competition policy and law (market reforms depending on appropriate competition policy and law, and competition leading to competitiveness), and of controlling State aid which prevents distortions of Common market, avoid subsidy race, and preserve level playing field.

It was our pleasure to see that the “2014 Annual Report” of the Romanian Competition Council proved again the accumulated experience by refining its working practices and delivering decisions in a more timely manner without reducing quality, improving the methodology for analysis, reconfirming the impact of the promotion of the competition culture on the relevant markets and the worthwhile contribution to our economic performance, by tackling competition problems and encouraging compliance, struggling to deploy resources more effectively and flexibly across its significant work.

It is also worth mentioning that a day before the above mentioned special event, on April 15, 2015, the meeting of the Advisory Board of the Romanian Competition Council took place. The event was hosted at Radisson Blue Hotel, Merope Conference Room. As it is well-known throughout the “competition family”, the meetings of the Advisory Board of the Romanian Competition Council are a traditional opportunity to share ideas on competition policy and to receive feedback on these ideas and policy visions within the strong commitment of promoting the competition culture in full process of the effective implementation of the competition policy. And, as usual, the meeting of April 15, 2015 proved to be a pragmatic exchange of views carried out between, on one hand, the President of the Romanian Competition Council, Bogdan M. Chiriţoiu, Vice President Otilian B. Neagoe, and Dan N. Ionescu, Competition Councillor, and on the other hand, the majority of the Advisory Board of the Romanian Competition Council – Jonathan Scheele, Mihai Berinde, Natalia Roman, Florin Pogonaru, Steven van Groningen, Costel Stanciu, Violeta Alexandru, Viorel Munteanu, Claudiu Paul Buglea and Theodor Purcarea. The technical Secretariat organizing the works of the Advisory Board of the Romanian Competition Council was ensured by Simona Barbu and George Angliţoiu with their already known rigor and professionalism.

     European Competence Centre for Vocational Training recently welcomed Bulgaria, underlining that the international exchange team of trainees of the European Retail Academy will be supported for three months by Nora Tineva.

     Nora Tineva is currently doing her Joint Master Degree between Nottingham Trent University/UK and Sofia’s University of National and World Economy/Bulgaria. Nora was already in Germany in 2011/2012 during her Bachelor studies as an exchange student of the University of Applied Sciences in Worms. During her Erasmus experience she has also obtained an internship in the German Bundestag. Nora is a former Treasurer of the biggest student organization Erasmus Student Network Bulgaria and a former President of Erasmus Student Network`s section at the University of National and World Economy. Now she will work within the ERA/EUCVOT-network to promote international relations.

European Retail Academy announces thatat the Singapore Awards Ceremony of Asia-Pacific Retailers in November the top three retailers within 14 key markets had been honored. The international Jury considered several criteria (such as: marketing strategies, operational success, human resources and IT-investments), including environmental issues. Prof. Dr. Bernd Hallier, President of European Retail Academy, was a Member of the Judging Panel of Asia-Pacific Retailers Awards.

Prof. Dr. Bernd Hallier, an Honorary Member of the Romanian Distribution Committee, and distinguished Member of the Editorial Board of “Romanian Distribution Committee Magazine”, visited Romania for the first time in May 1998, on the occasion of the International Congress of AIDA. As we have said on other occasions, at the heart of our basic human experience there is our brain’s ability to preserve or alter our memories, which are transformed each time we revisit them. Within this context, allow us recalling some challenging memories:

– The Volume “Sammler, Stifte und Maezene des Handels” (Bernd Hallier);

– The Volume “Praxisorientierte Handelsforschung” (Bernd Hallier); the Volume “Kultur und Geschichte des Handels” (Hans-Jorg Bauer und Bernd Hallier);

– A Letter from Dr. Bernd Hallier to Theodor Purcarea, immediately after the International Congress of AIDA in Bucharest, inMay 1998;

– A Letter from distinguished Bundesminister Carl-Dieter Spranger to Theodor Purcarea, exactly four years before, in May 1994;

– “Mesagerul economic” Journal of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bucharest Municipality (CCIRB), No. 27-28 (401-402), July 1998;

– “Mesagerul economic” Journal of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bucharest Municipality (CCIRB), No.29-30 (611-612), July 2002 (considering the significant contribution of the leaders of CCIRB, George Cojocaru and Aurel Vainer, to the success of the International Congress of AIDA in Bucharest).