The Competition Authority recently introduced the following bylaws:
- Directive on short-form procedures on the assessment of concentrations – this directive relies on the European Commission notice on simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under EU Regulation 139/2004.(1) The transactions to be treated under the simplified procedure include the following:
- Joint control is acquired, provided that the joint venture has no existing or expected activities in Albania;
- Two or more undertakings merge, or one or more gain control over another undertaking, provided that none of the parties is engaged in the same product or geographical market;
- Two or more undertakings merge, or one or more gain control of another undertaking, if the market share (horizontal relationship) is less than 15% or the market share (vertical relationship) is less than 25%; and
- Two or more undertakings merge, or one or more gain control over another undertaking if the combined market share (horizontal relationship) is less than 50% and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index value is below 150.
Further, if the parties request the assessment of ancillary restraints, the Competition Authority has deemed that the simplified procedure is not appropriate. The Competition Authority also introduced two further bylaws:
- Regulation on commitment procedures – this regulation relies on EU Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of rules on competition outlined in Articles 81 and 82 of the European Community Treaty, the Antitrust Manual of Procedures and the Commission notice on best practices for the conduct of proceedings concerning Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This regulation provides guidance to facilitate a dialogue between the Competition Authority and the concerned parties on commitments (in the form of behavioural or structural measures) that the parties may offer to the Competition Authority to mitigate competition concerns, avoid fines and end Competition Authority investigation.
- Regulation on administration of electronic data during inspections by the Competition Authority – this regulation provides parties with guidance on the data and documents that can be collected and the rights and obligations of the parties during dawn raids and Competition Authority investigations. This document was created as a result of issues raised during Competition Authority visits. The document outlines that the Competition Authority must inspect, collect and manage data in accordance with recognised international standards for IT forensics and the best practices of the Competition Authority.
For further information on this topic please contact Srdjana Petronijević at Moravčević Vojnović i Partneri in cooperation with Schoenherr by telephone (+381 11 320 26 00) or email ([email protected]). The Moravčević Vojnović i Partneri website can be accessed at www.schoenherr.rs.
Endnotes