The Academy of European Law (ERA) has, within the auspices of a service contract with the European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition, implemented the project “Provision of training in EU competition law to national judges from Kosovo and North Macedonia” (SMP-COMP-2023-JUDG), under the Competition strand of the Single Market Programme.
Contextual background of the project
When some of the Western Balkan states joined the ‘Competition Policy’ strand of the Single Market Programme in 2023, it opened the door for the implementation of competition law projects addressing judges from this region, and for increasing the knowledge and know-how of the national judiciaries with respect to EU competition rules and the role of national judges for the enforcement, in the context of the Western Balkan States’ path to EU integration.
In this context, ERA is implementing a project for provision of training in EU competition law for national judges, prosecutors, apprentice national judges, and the staff of national courts from Kosovo and North Macedonia. The project is aimed at providing the members of the judiciary of these two states with a thorough overview of EU antitrust rules and with a good understanding of the economic rationale behind EU competition law. In doing so, the project seeks to raise awareness among national judges on public and private enforcement in the area of EU antitrust law, and to improve their capacity to handle antitrust cases.
The project will consist of the following main activities, which are designed in a way to complement one another and to form one comprehensive blended-learning product:
- the creation of an e-learning course on antitrust law;
- the preparation and implementation of two domestic face-to-face seminars in Pristina and in Skopje, with the aim to build upon and put into practice the knowledge gained from the e-learning course.
