Icelandic Competition Authority (Samkeppniseftirlitið)

The Competition Authority is responsible for the enforcement of the Competition Act, the object of which is to promote effective competition in business activities. The Competition Authority is charged with the task of achieving the objectives of the Competition Act by preventing unreasonable barriers and restrictions on freedom in business operations, preventing harmful oligopoly and restriction of competition and facilitating the access of new competitors to the market. More precisely, the role of the Competition Authority includes the following: To enforce the requirements and prohibitions of the Competition Act and, as applicable, Articles 53 and 54 of the EEA Agreement, and to permit exceptions pursuant to the Competition Act; To decide on measures to be taken against anti-competitive behaviour of undertakings; To observe that measures taken by public entities do not restrict competition, and to indicate to the relevant authorities any means by which competition can be made more effective and the entry of new competitors into the market facilitated; To monitor the development of competition and trade practices in individual Icelandic market sectors and investigate the management and ownership relations between undertakings.