ABSTRACT
The function of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Office, or AOSR2) should be seen within the broader framework of dismantling socialism and building a market-oriented society. Each element of the economic transition has been very much linked to competition policy. In the broader sense, the AOSR’s aim of creating a competitive environment is identical with escaping from a centrally planned economy and maximizing social welfare through the optimization of resource allocation. The AOSR, therefore, has not only been deeply involved in so-called standard areas of competition protection, namely monitoring concentrations, preventing dominant firms from abusing their economic power and dealing with agreements restricting competition. From its inception, the Office devoted a large portion of its capacity to influencing the privatization process, promoting the adoption of new laws, undertaking educational activities and requesting administrative bodies to remove measures negatively influencing the competitive environment. These circumstances have been mirrored in the portfolio of the Office’s activities dealing with anti-competitive practices, influencing the legislative processes in Slovakia, influencing the industrial structure though privatization as well as in its personnel policy, in the relevant legislation prepared by AOSR, in the system of gathering information, and in public relations and international co-operation.
