- Home
- News & Insights
Search by
Latest
Settlement procedure: Overview for businesses in light of Ukraine's new competition law
Building on established practices, and taking inspiration from the successful experiences of international partners, the Ukrainian competition authority (the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine) has introduced a settlement procedure for cartels and abuse of dominance cases. The procedure became effective on 30 January 2024 within the framework of recent competition law reforms. The procedure is designed as a "win-win" enforcement tool that can both simplify and expedite the adoption of cartel or abuse of dominance decisions, and reduce fines by 15%, provided that defendants meet the respective competition authority eligibility requirements. For more details, please see our leaflet covering this topic in English and
Improved leniency policy: Overview for businesses in light of Ukraine's new competition law
A leniency procedure has been in place in Ukraine for many years. However, available data suggests it has been severely underutilised. A recent first stage of competition law reforms in Ukraine introduced, among other things, an improved leniency policy. The changes, implemented in February 2024, are aimed at aligning the respective local regulations more closely with EU laws. The most noteworthy changes include: in addition to full immunity for a first applicant, the programme offers a reduction in fines for other cartel participants applying for leniency; the possibility to conduct anonymous preliminary consultations with the regulator; a detailed procedure for obtaining a marker.
Coffee industry leaders face EUR 2 million fine and secure a conditional merger before Serbian Competition Authority
On 29 February 2024, the Serbian Competition Authority (the “SCA”) published two detailed decisions involving two largest undertakings on the Serbian coffee market. The first one relates to concerted practices that resulted in a joint fine of approximately EUR 2 million, while the other one relates to the conditional approval of the acquisition of Strauss Adriatic by Atlantic Group. As per data released by the SCA, these two enterprises collectively h approximately 70% to 80% of the coffee market in Serbia, boasting a portfolio that includes the most significant coffee brands in the region. In 2021, the SCA conducted a sectorial analysis encompassing various food markets, including a specific focus on the ground coffee
Dawn raids: Guidelines for businesses in light of Ukraine's new competition law
At present, even though the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) does not actively conduct inspections, conducting dawn raid inspections is still permissible during martial law. On 6 February 2024, the updated Dawn Raids Procedure was implemented in Ukraine in order to make the process more transparent and lucid. The document outlines the steps that the AMC must take in order to carry out a dawn raid, as well as the step-by-step protocols for each stage of the inspection, such as taking pictures, recording audio or video, seizing or restricting evidence, checking and sealing the premises and other possessions, and copying papers and data storage devices. There are three noteworthy changes to the updated process:
Kinstellar announces new promotions to Counsel
February 2024 – Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotions to Counsel of: Yerlan Akhmetov, Kuanysh Shekerbekov (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Cătălin Dinu, Cătălin Graure (Bucharest, Romania), Barnabás Sági (Budapest, Hungary), Yulia Eismont, Maksym Tesliar (Kyiv, Ukraine), Michal Forýtek (Prague, Czech Republic), Andrijana Kaštelan, Vedran Kopilović, Marija Vuchetich (Zagreb, Croatia). ALMATY Yerlan Akhmetov focuses on banking and finance, M&A and capital markets matters. Having been with the Firm for nine years, Yerlan has earned a reputation for cultivating strong client relationships, demonstrating leadership qualities and making significant contributions to our firm's success. He has played a key role
Hungarian Government's decree on reducing food inflation to enter into force
The Hungarian government's decree on measures to combat the so-called “shrinkflation” will enter into force on 1 February 2024. “Shrinkflation” refers to the hidden raising of prices by reducing the size of products. The measures apply to pre-packaged products that are sold by retailers in one or more sizes in a uniform appearance. The new measures primarily affect convenience store retailers with a net turnover of more than HUF 1 billion, but also expressly impose obligations on manufacturers. Moreover, the obligations of manufacturers forms the basis of compliance. The manufacturer (or the first distributor/wholesaler in Hungary) is obliged to inform both the retailer and the National Food Chain Safety
Romania transposes the ECN+ Directive, further strengthening the Competition Council’s investigative powers
Facing EU infringement concerns, Romania has finally adopted an ordinance amending the Competition Law no. 21/1996 (the “Competition Law”), aimed at fully transposing into local law EU Directive 1/2019 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market (the “ECN+ Directive”). This was carried out through Government Emergency Ordinance no. 108/2023 (“GEO 108/2023”), published in the Official Gazette on 6 December 2023. GEO 108/2023 goes further than merely transposing the provisions of the ECN+ Directive (as some of the principles in the directive had already been reflected under national law previously)
Kinstellar advises AIK Banka on the acquisition of Eurobank Direktna in Serbia
Kinstellar has successfully advised AIK Banka on the competition law aspects of the EUR 280 million acquisition of 100% of Eurobank Direktna Beograd. The transaction closed in November upon receiving the necessary regulatory approvals, including competition clearances. AIK Banka is a prominent financial institution with a strong presence in the banking sector. Committed to excellence and strategic growth, AIK Banka's recent acquisition strengthens its position as a key player on the Serbian market.The acquisition of Eurobank Direktna represents a significant milestone, underscoring the consolidation trend within Serbia's banking sector and is one of the largest transactions of this kind in the sector. Kinstellar's
Slovakia: Subsidies for the construction of Renewable Energy Sources
Are you considering building your own Renewable Energy Source ("RES") in order to reduce your electricity costs, comply with internal ESG policies, or for any other reason? If so, you may find this overview of currently available subsidies to entrepreneurs in Slovakia for the construction of RES helpful. Currently, there are two opened calls for the submission of applications for state aid in the total amount of EUR 94,554,298. We provide an overview of key information on such aid below. Overview Call Call for the submission of applications for funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support the construction of new facilities for the production
Kinstellar, Gen & Temizer | Özer advise Property Finder and Zingat on the sale of 100% of Zingat to hepsiemlak, and on Property Finder’s subsequent share subscription into hepsiemlak
Kinstellar Gen & Temizer | Özer have successfully advised Property Finder and Zingat on the sale of 100% of Zingat to hepsiemlak, and Property Finder’s subsequent share subscription into hepsiemlak. The transaction is expected to close after the approval of the Turkish Competition Authority. Property Finder is the Middle East's largest property portal and was the 100% shareholder of Zingat. Established in 2015, Zingat is one of the largest property portals in Turkey with a wide range of residential and commercial properties listed for rent and sale. Hepsiemlak is one of Turkey's major real estate buying, selling, renting and advertising platforms, under the umbrella of Doğan Holding. The team was
New Competition Regulations in Kosovo
Kosovo has over at the end of summer 2023 adopted a set of new regulations on competition law matters to underpin the Competition Act adopted in June 2022. Following up on our previous announcements regarding changes to competition rules in Kosovo, we provide below an overview of the latest changes. New merger control regulation The new Merger Control Regulation in Kosovo — Administrative Instruction on the Procedure for Submitting a Request to Clear a Review of a Concentration No. 02/2023 — sets out the procedure for submitting a notification of a concentration and defines the required content and document format, as well as the data that must be provided with the form. An important change brought by
Ukrainian competition law reform to kick of in 2024
On 1 January 2024, Law of Ukraine No. 3295-IX (Law), aimed at strengthening the powers of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) and overhauling Ukrainian competition laws by aligning them more closely with European Union standards, will come into force. The most notable changes include an improved leniency policy, the introduction of a settlement procedure for cartels and abuse of dominance cases, clear deadlines for AMC investigations, and enhanced controls over concentrations, including updated filing thresholds. Click on one of the images below or click on the following links to read the overview in English or in Ukrainian. Download in English: Download in Ukrainian: