June 2013 – Recent developments in competition law in the CEE-SEE region.
Czech Republic
Czech Supreme Administrative Court cancelled the decision of the Regional Court which had refused Litvínovská uhelná access to the file of a competitor in a merger control case (Litvínovská Uhelná)
On 3 August 2008, Litvínovská uhelná a.s. (“Litvínovská uhelná”), a producer of lignite and at that time a part of the Czech Coal Group (one of the major players in the Czech energy sector) filed a complaint to the Czech Office for Protection of Competition (the “Office”) against a proposed merger of LIBUTE INVESTMENTS Ltd. and International Power Opatovice, a.s. (the “Merger”). Read more
Hungary
The Hungarian Competition Office held in the watermelon cartel case that the statutory immunity relating to agricultural products may be in violation of EU competition law
The Hungarian Competition Office (“HCO”) launched competition supervision proceedings in 2012 against six major supermarket chains and two agricultural professional organisations for forming a price cartel in respect of Hungarian-produced watermelons. On 10 April 2013, the HCO terminated the proceedings due to the immunity from competition liability for anticompetitive practices in respect of agricultural products under Act No. 128 of 2012 (the “Agricultural Organisations Act”). Read more
Romania
The Romanian Competition Council released the report in relation to the payment cards market
In 2011, the Romanian Competition Council (the “RCC”) launched a sector inquiry for which information were requested from 28 Visa / MasterCard member banks, from 22 economic agents with activity in various fields (hypermarkets, supermarkets, travel agencies, restaurants) and from Visa Europe and MasterCard organizations. The RCC issued the report in relation to the market of payment cards in Romania on 30 May 2013 (the “Report”). Read more
Serbia
Overview of most notable draft amendments to the Serbian Law on Protection of Competition
Various experts in the field of competition legislation recently came together to comment on a draft proposal (the “Draft Proposal”) for the first ever amendments to the 2009 Law on Protection of Competition (the “Competition Law”) Although there is general agreement that the Competition Law contained major deficiencies (especially regarding rules of procedure), it is debatable whether the proposed amendments present adequate solutions. Read more
Slovakia
The Slovak Antimonopoly Office has initiated public discussion on the amendment of the Competition Act
As a follow-up to the release by the Slovak Anti-Monopoly Office (the “AMO”) of information on the planned amendment of the Slovak Competition Act (the “Act”), the AMO recently initiated public discussion on the amendment. The declared purpose of the amendment is to better link the Act with the actual practices followed by the AMO. While the amendment also concerns the functioning of AMO, it primarily proposes that certain practical changes be made to the merger control procedure and to the imposition of sanctions and introduces a new framework for whistle-blowing in respect of cartel. Read more
Turkey
The Turkish Competition Board grants individual and group exemptions to Coca Cola regarding its wholesale distribution contracts in Turkey
On 7 March 2013, the Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) concluded a preliminary investigation concerning Coca Cola Satış ve Dağıtım A.Ş. (“Coca Cola”) as a result of the application filed by the Özbağ Meşrubat Gıda Pazarlama Dağıtım Taşımacılık San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti. (‘’Complainant”). Read more