With the qualifications of the President of the Cyprus Competition Commission (CCC) as the bone of contention, the Plenary of the Parliament unanimously approved the adoption of the new legislation for the protection of competition, which harmonizes national legislation with the relevant European Union Directive. The 41 MPs present voted in favour.
At the same time, the majority of the House rejected amendments by the MP of the DPA - Cooperation of Democratic Forces Michalis Yiakoumis. The first one concerned the broadening of the qualifications for appointment to the post of chairman of the Competition Protection Committee, so that a person holding either a law degree and recognised experience in law or a degree in economics and recognised experience in economics or competition could be appointed to this post. The second amendment that was rejected concerned the broadening of the qualifications for the appointment of the members of the Competition Protection Committee, so that persons as suitable as possible with a high level of expertise in this committee may be appointed to this position.
The Committee on Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism of the Parliament had decided to amend the provision concerning the qualifications required for appointment to the position of the chairman of the NPC, so that a person who holds a law degree and a degree in economics or a degree in economics may be appointed to this position.
The Committee on Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism of the Parliament had decided to amend the provision concerning the qualifications required for appointment to the position of the chairman of the NPC, so that a person who holds a law degree and a degree in economics or a degree in economics may be appointed to this position. He wondered what serious lawyer would leave his office to be appointed to a committee for five years or whether the intention was to appoint only retired judges. He also wondered whether it is right that economists such as Nobel laureate Christoforos Pissarides or university professors in competition law are not eligible because for all that some people are plotting to legislate that only lawyers or judges are eligible for appointment.
He also wondered by what logic people with knowledge and experience in accounting, commerce and industry are excluded from membership of the Commission. He also described it as tragic that in a 100-plus page bill "we from November 2021 stuck to just two pages to change the lights on the qualifications of the chairman and members which were not prerequisites." He questioned what were the real reasons and the insistence of some on these changes.
AKEL MP Costas Costa said that this important bill, which strengthens the institutional role of the NPA and gives it powers to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, came late to Parliament after some people during the preparation of the bill tried to change the criteria for the appointment of the President of the NPA. The Cabinet, he said, adopted the final text that the Attorney General wanted in July, which stipulated that the chairman of the NPA should be a lawyer, but it came to Parliament in October because the Cabinet changed the text and put in what it wanted.
He added that after two letters were sent to the Minister of Energy by the Attorney General saying that this is unacceptable, the Minister of Energy was forced to back down and withdraw the economist. He added that they will not vote for the DPA amendments and called to "be very careful when dealing with some legislation" and a commission that handles multi-million fines that were previously dropped in the courts for procedural reasons only.
DIKO MP Panicos Leonidou said he was surprised by what he heard from Mr. Yakoomi about ulterior motives regarding the qualifications of the President of the NPA. He said he did not expect a young man to be grafted with so much bitterness and tension towards their colleagues. He further stated that semi-literacy is worse than ignorance. We, he said, have tried to implement what the Attorney General suggested and we have done nothing less and nothing more.
The NPA is an administrative body, he said, which has quasi-judicial powers and decides to impose fines indefinitely. He said the person who leads it should know how the judicial process works and possess the principles of law. He asked that lawyers and jurists not be underestimated. He described what was said by Mr. Yakoumi as unfortunate and said there was no behind the scenes either in the corridors or outside the House of Assembly, while there are others who had counsel, he said, outside the chamber.
Yakoumi then said that he did not characterize anyone and that his position is highly political and should be taken as such.
PPP MP Marinos Mousiuttas said that new colleagues may make mistakes but old colleagues should be more careful in what they say, noting that while Mr. Leonidou built an argument on what the Attorney General said, on another occasion in the Internal Affairs Committee he said that the Attorney General's opinion is not a statute.
Leonidou replied that it is one thing to agree with the Attorney General's opinion and another to agree with his legal opinion and asked that we "be particularly careful and calm in our positions."
The Chairman of the Energy Committee, DISY MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis said that competition is a vital issue and those who reduce it to the level of chairman and qualifications are unacceptable. He said it has to do with the consumer, accuracy and this policy must be upgraded through a national approach. At the same time, he said the necessary qualifications for the Chairman of the NPA should normally be from Attorney General and above, stressing the necessity of wisdom and experience
This he said would avoid failures, misconduct and cases falling into the courts at the drop of a hat. At the same time, he said that he does not accept what was said about behind the scenes and said that the Commission has sought the best to upgrade this policy since our economy and population is ailing because there are weaknesses in this area. The Commission's goal, he said, was to make this institution impenetrable. Anyone who dares, he added, to think that it is his right to appoint a president of low expectations, moral or otherwise, has no place in Parliament or the state.
Source: CNA
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