In 2021 the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (“BCPC”) was focused on investigations for abuse of dominance in the medical sector. The centre of CPC’s attention were some medical institutions that refused to provide access to equipment, facilities, and specialists for performing medical services/treatments subject to reimbursement by the National Health Insurance Fund (“NHIF”). The investigated…
On 26 January 2022, the EU’s General Court (GC) annulled the European Commission’s (EC) €1.06 billion fine on Intel for abusing a dominant position with its rebate schemes.[1] The judgment demonstrates that the European Courts are prepared to look in detail at evidence and economic analysis in antitrust cases, and will annul EC decisions if…
2021 has been a busy year in many aspects, including competition law and policy in the Republic of Turkey. The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA“) developed and adopted its secondary legislation in response to amendments to Law No. 4054 on Protection of Competition (“Turkish Competition Law“)[1]. These recent developments on the secondary legislation include (i) the introduction…
We are delighted to see so many of our dear contributors’ blog posts shortlisted in different categories of the 2021 Antitrust Writing Awards. Congratulations on this great achievement! Now it is on you, loyal readers of the blog, to vote for these brilliant pieces: Business Articles – Concerted Practices Oleksander Dyakulych and Anastasiia Panchak…
On 24 December 2021, the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) published a summary decision finding an abuse of a dominant position by Apple. The decision dates back to 24 August 2021 but was published only last month following an injunction proceeding aimed at suspending the effects of the ACM’s decision as well as…
This post aims to present the main competition law developments in four Western Balkan jurisdictions – Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. Rather than being an exhaustive review of everything that happened in 2021, the post will focus on what really mattered in these jurisdictions during the previous year. A) The four…
2021 was another busy year regarding competition law developments in Greece, with several interesting initiatives by the Greek Competition Commission (“HCC”). Maintaining momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic As reported last year, the primary goal of the new leadership of the HCC for 2020 was to clear a stockpile of pending cases, many of which…
2021 – the year of first decisions – the law, the practice, and the facts The law The possibility to impose financial fines on individuals in case of undertaking anti-competitive agreements by companies was introduced into the Polish competition law in 2015. It is a responsibility of a subsidiary nature – firstly, an undertaking must…
Legislation overview The Constitution of Georgia (Article 6.2) lays down the framework for free and undistorted competition in the Georgian market. The Competition Chapter of the Association Agreement between the European Union (“EU”) and Georgia emphasizes the importance of “free and undistorted competition in the trade relations“. It also concretizes the obligation of the Parties…
In the traditional spirit of resolving to do better in the new year, there is some low-hanging fruit for the EU Member States who have not finalized their national implementation of the EU Whistleblowing Directive: Cover national competition law as one of the protected areas. The Directive itself (Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament…
