Competition

19 Feb 2024

Implications of the Revised Market Definition Notice for Western Balkan Countries

On February 8, 2024, the European Commission (“EC”) unveiled an updated Market Definition Notice (“the Notice”).  The revision plays a crucial role in the EC’s approach to assessing mergers and antitrust cases by delineating the competitive boundaries and assessing the market power of companies. The Notice extends beyond EU Member States, mandating compliance from Western Balkan countries (“WBs“) aligned with the EU competition law acquis.   Namely, all WBs, through the Stabilization and Association Agreements, have committed to enforce the criteria derived from the implementation of competition rules applicable in the EU, in particular from famous Articles 101, 102, 106 and […]

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01 Feb 2024

Another Triumph for Arena Channels Group in BiH Antitrust Case

Gecić Law is pleased to announce yet another win in an antitrust law case in collaboration with Marić & Co Law Firm Ltd.  Together, we have obtained a favorable judgment for our esteemed client Arena Channels Group (ACG). In October, we shared news on the case focused on premium football broadcasting within Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).  The Competition Authority of BiH (CA) initiated an investigation, prompted by Telemach, alleging abuse of market dominance by ACG.  After a thorough investigation, the CA dismissed the complaint, concluding ACG’s equitable engagement within the market. The dispute persisted as the initial claimant challenged the CA’s decision.  However, the […]

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18 Jan 2024

Game-changing Rules: How Competition Law Affects the Latest FIFA Regulations for Players’ Agents

New rules Fédération internationale de football association (“FIFA”), with its prerogatives in creating the legal framework for the game of football, enacted new changes in their FIFA Football Agent Regulations (“FFAR”).  To create a more transparent, efficient, and just system, the new regulations aim to reinforce contractual stability, protect the integrity of the transfer system, and achieve greater financial transparency.  However, some of the introduced provisions may potentially violate competition laws, leading to a reluctance among many countries to incorporate the FFAR into their national regulations.  With many court proceedings in various national courts from England to Brazil and before […]

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10 Jan 2024

EU Commission Seeks Input on Competition in Virtual Worlds and Generative AI

In a move to learn more about emerging digital markets, the European Commission today launched calls for contributions focused on virtual worlds and generative AI.  These initiatives represent a step by the Commission to understand the competitive dynamics in these rapidly evolving sectors. The Commission has reached out to various stakeholders, requesting information to gain a comprehensive view of the current state of competition in these innovative fields.  Players from all corners of the industry, including developers, consumers, and academic experts, will indeed share their experiences and insights. Virtual Worlds: A New Competitive Landscape Virtual worlds, characterized by their persistent, […]

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27 Dec 2023

Troubles in Paradise: Oligopoly in the Belgian Banking Sector

An (Un)expected Oligopoly At the end of October, the Belgian Competition Authority (L’Autorité belge de la Concurrence) (“ABC”) released an opinion on the state of competition in Belgium’s retail banking market (the “Opinion”).  The Opinion revealed that the retail banking market in Belgium is an oligopoly.  Four banks dominate the market: BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, Belfius, and ING. As an oligopoly, the retail banking market exhibits specific characteristics.   These include similar services on offer and frequent interactions between banks, facilitating coordination among the most prominent market participants and reducing competition.  The most obvious example of services with identical commercial terms […]

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24 Nov 2023

How to make EU Digital Markets more competitive?

What is the Digital Markets Act? The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) is meant to make digital markets fairer and more competitive.  How DMA does this is simple: the European Commission designates the “gatekeepers” (mostly the big tech companies), imposing on them new obligations such as mandatory interoperability of gatekeeper’s services and preventing the gatekeeper from favoring its products and services against similar services or products offered by third parties on the gatekeeper’s platform. A quick repeat of what it takes for a company to be a gatekeeper: strong economic position, significant impact on the internal market, and being active […]

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09 Oct 2023

EU Official Cautions Against Rushing Complaints on Qatar and UAE Subsidies in Football Market

In recent times, the European football landscape has witnessed a significant transformation.  The changes have been catalyzed by an unexpected influence – financial subsidies pouring in from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  These subsidies have not only captured the attention of football enthusiasts but have also raised concerns within the European Union (EU) regarding their impact on the continent’s football market.  This article will explore these concerns’ intricacies, focusing on how the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) intersects with the football world. The Complaints It all started with the complaints from football national leagues in Europe.  One of […]

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29 Sep 2023

Arena Channels Group Triumphs in BiH Antitrust Case

Gecić Law is pleased to announce a recent win in antitrust law.  The case focused on premium football broadcasting within Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).  In collaboration with Marić & Co Law Firm Ltd., our team has obtained a favorable judgment for our esteemed client, Arena Channels Group (ACG). This legal journey began in April 2021, when the Competition Authority of BiH (CA) investigated ACG.  Another telecommunications company within BiH initiated the proceedings.  The firm alleged that ACG was abusing its dominant market position.  The purported abuses were inclusive of, but not limited to, creating a competitive disadvantage for the complainant, […]

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30 Aug 2023

Digital Services Act Takes Effect on Large Platforms

August 25, 2023, marks a monumental shift as the Digital Services Act (“DSA“) takes center stage, impacting industry giants like Amazon, Google, Apple, and TikTok.  With 19 platforms and search engines, each having a minimum of 45 million users, the DSA takes action to uphold data privacy, combat disinformation, and eliminate online hate speech.  This dynamic legislation aims to give users, including minors, enhanced rights and control over their online presence, fostering a high level of privacy and security. What’s the story? Back on April 25, 2023, the first designation decisions were made, designating very large online platforms (“VLOPs“) and […]

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06 Jun 2023

New Block Exemption Regulations and Guidelines on Horizontal Agreements

Starting from July 1, 2023, the newly adopted Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations on Research and Development Agreements (“R&D“) and Specialisation agreements (together “HBERs“) shall take effect in the EU. The essence of HBERs, and the accompanying Horizontal Guidelines (“Guidelines“), is to facilitate the self-assessment of the most common types of horizontal cooperation agreements.  They are also well-known as a safe harbor to undertakings, for as long as the latter comply with the rules set in the HBERs, leading to block exemption of such agreements from the competition rules. The novelties in said pieces of legislation offer a more flexible approach […]

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08 May 2023

AI and Competition Law: Threat or Solution

With technological advancements changing both how antitrust laws are enforced and how undertakings violate competition laws, the fourth industrial revolution and the rapid growth of AI continue to affect this area of law, as many others.  It is impossible to ignore the potential for AI to conquer markets and its ability to spot and fix basic market balance violations.  Despite the benefits of technology for customers, it also threatens their interests by distorting market dynamics and impacting competition.   Threat Using AI presents a potential risk as it allows for price collusion through price monitoring and algorithmic matching software.  While […]

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01 Feb 2023

EU Charges Meta with Antitrust Violations Linked to Marketplace

In December, the European Commission (“Commission”) issued a Statement of Objections (“SO”) to Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. The Commission said that based on its preliminary view, Facebook had violated EU antitrust rules by distorting competition for online display advertising on social media linked to Facebook Marketplace. Marketplace, which Meta launched back in 2016, is a virtual place for Facebook users to discover, buy and sell just about anything, from vehicles, clothes, books, smartphones, and even property, within their local social community. The Commission’s preliminary theory of harm presented in the SO concludes that Meta abused its dominating positions […]

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21 Nov 2022

Bogdan Gecić Talks Competition Law with Florence University Students

Our Founding Partner Bogdan Gecić shared his significant knowledge and experience with law students at the esteemed University of Florence (ita. Università Degli Studi di Firenze) as a guest lecturer to a class led by Prof. Ettore M. Lombardi. Students had the opportunity to participate actively in an online two-part mini-course titled “Elements of Competition Law: An International Perspective.” Bogdan provided practical insights into the most exciting aspects of competition law in the context of EU law and how they relate to international trade. Bogdan commented: ”I always enjoy speaking to students, and it was a great pleasure to hold […]

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18 Nov 2022

Ivana Stojanović Raišić and Vuk Leković speak with eKapija

We were recently entered the finals in four categories for The Lawyer European Awards 2022 and became one of the most nominated law firms in the whole of Europe! As last year’s winner, Gecić Law was nominated for Law firm of the Year: South East Europe, a 150 million strong market, and entered the finals with three of its practice area teams for impressive achievements in competition, corporate and litigation, standing shoulder to shoulder with the crème de la crème of the entire continent. Gecić Law received the most nominations among this year’s contenders across all of Europe – an […]

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17 Nov 2022

Global Competition Review: Serbia raids food delivery app

Serbia’s competition authority has opened an investigation into Glovo, alleging the food delivery application abused its dominance by imposing exclusivity clauses on its restaurant partners. The agency raided the offices of Glovo on 2 November although the authority’s market study into online food delivery platforms is still ongoing. This and other recent raids have caused controversy over the practice and attracted the interest of Global Competition Review, a reputable global publication specialized in matters of competition law. The raids come as Serbia’s competition rules are being challenged before the courts in competition-based proceedings and also before the Constitutional Court per […]

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18 Oct 2022

EU and ASEAN Sign World’s First Air Transport Agreement

The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed yesterday in Bali the world’s first bloc-to-bloc Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA).  Most EU member states so far have had bilateral agreements with some of the ASEAN countries, with different scopes and rules. However, very few had such arrangements with all the countries of ASEAN. The new agreement now includes all member states of each region and replaces all existing contracts with a unified framework, connecting more than one billion people. The agreement aims to revitalize air travel and transport between Southeast Asia and Europe, which has […]

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08 Aug 2022

Google Play Store Under the Radar of the EU’s Competition Watchdog

The European Commission’s (Commission) antitrust enforcers are investigating Google Play Store.  The antitrust enforcers are now looking into the restrictions Google has placed on the Play Store app market. According to the sources, the Commission has sent a confidential questionnaire to several companies that use the Play Store.   Most of the questions are about the billing terms and fees they must pay to this tech giant to be listed in its application catalog. Any purchase made inside an application (in-app) that has been downloaded from the Play Store is subject to a 15% to 30% fee that Google charges.  Publishers […]

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21 Jul 2022

A Wrecking Ball in a UK Demolition Cartel’s Courtyard?

We recently wrote about bid rigging and the new guidelines issued by the Serbian NCA on detecting this illegal activity in public procurement procedures.  Here we look into an interesting case that illustrates how bid rigging occurs and is dealt with in the United Kingdom.  After it had initiated an antitrust probe in 2019, The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) came across a cartel activity of 10 demolition companies that plotted to rig bids for demolition and asbestos-removal contracts worth more than £150 million.  The contracts in question were the result of tenders organized by the MET Police Training […]

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17 Jun 2022

General’s Court Judgement Creates Two Massive Headaches for the European Commission

In January 2018, the European Commission (Commission) imposed on Qualcomm, a US chipsets company, a fine of close to €1 billion for abuse of dominance from February 2011 to September 2016.  The Commission found the company liable for prompting Apple to conclude agreements with incentive payments and make it exclusively bound by Qualcomm’s LTE chipsets to be incorporated into their devices.  This had, ultimately, led to anticompetitive effects on the relevant market. Qualcomm challenged the decision which was annulled in its entirety on June 15, 2022, by the General Court of the EU (Court) for two reasons – procedural irregularities […]

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17 Jun 2022

SCA adopted the proposal of the Model Program for Business Compliance with the Competition Rules

On June 17, 2022, the Council of the Serbian Competition Authority (“Council“) adopted the proposal of the Model Program for Business Compliance with the Competition Rules (“Model Program”), in order to help the undertakings in developing their own compliance programs. In that sense, the Council points out that the Model Program represents only an example and a proposal to the undertakings, and that each compliance program should be made in accordance with the specific needs of a certain undertaking, as well as adjusted with the markets on which a particular company operates. The aim of the Model Program is to assist undertakings […]

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17 Jun 2022

The Legal 500 Series: Bogdan Gecić enters Hall of Fame

In this edition of our series dedicated to our esteemed colleagues who were recognized in this year’s The Legal 500 EMEA rankings, we bring you our founder and managing partner Bogdan Gecić.  After being recognized by The Legal 500 as a Leading Individual in Competition for seven consecutive years, in this year’s rankings, Bogdan was especially honored by being amongst the distinguished few to be inducted into the elite global directory’s newly established EMEA Hall of Fame category, which highlights the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession having received constant praise by their clients for continued […]

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31 May 2022

SCA Issues New Guidelines on Detecting Bid Rigging In Public Procurement

The Serbian Competition Authority (‘’SCA’’) revealed yesterday the long-awaited new Guidelines on bid-rigging (‘’Guidelines’’).  The Guidelines provide essential instructions on how to detect rigged bids in public procurement procedures.  They come 11 years after they were last updated, reflecting the latest amendments to the Public Procurement Act and the Criminal Code. This news is crucial as the new Guidelines aim to prevent and hinder bid-rigging, an illegal practice where bidders collude to decide the winner, resulting in a higher price than may have been achieved in a truly competitive bidding process.  As prices are driven up in public procurement processes, […]

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19 May 2022

EU’s New Vertical Block Exemption Regulation Revealed

On May 10, 2022, the European Commission adopted a new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER“) and related guidelines (“Vertical Guidelines“), following a detailed review of the previous Vertical Block Exemption Regulation dating to 2010 (“old VBER“). The objective of the VBER is to exempt agreements between undertakings operating at different levels of the supply chain (“vertical agreements”): if certain market share thresholds are met, and provided the agreement does not contain certain prohibited restrictions (“hardcore restrictions”). In other words, the VBER aims to recognize which types of vertical agreements are generally efficiency-enhancing and provide benefits to consumers. One of the […]

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25 Mar 2022

Court of Justice of EU Specifies Protection Against Double Jeopardy

The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) delivered two judgments on 22 March 2022.  By those judgments, the CJEU ruled on the scope of the protection afforded by the prohibition of ne bis in idem principle in competition law.  The CJEU recalled in both cases that the application of the ne bis in idem principle is subject to a twofold condition.  First, there must be a prior final decision and secondly, the prior decision and the subsequent proceedings must concern the same facts.  The CJEU clarified that the limitations may be imposed on the exercise of a fundamental right, such as the prohibition against double […]

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03 Dec 2021

Bogdan Gecić talks competition at Winter Vivaldi Forum

Bogdan Gecić, the founding partner at Gecić Law, spoke today at the winter edition of the prestigious Vivaldi Forum which traditionally takes place in Drvengrad, on the picturesque Mokra Gora mountain. His thought-provoking presentation titled “Sufficient Light: The Market and Competition”, delivered as part of the “Vivaldi Talks: Fertile Grounds for Growth” segment of the conference showed a fresh and unconventional perspective on the importance of fair competition for growth and development on the market, capturing the interest and sparking discussion among the delegates attending the event and numerous other participants who followed the session online. “Competition is a natural […]

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25 Nov 2021

Ivana Stojanović Raišić lectures at top Italian university

Our own Ivana Stojanović Raišić, Counsel, shared her tremendous knowledge and experience with the students of the esteemed University of Florence (ita. Università degli Studi di Firenze) in a unique experience, as a guest lecturer in the International Business Law Course, led by Prof. Ettore M. Lombardi. Students had the opportunity to listen in and take an active part in an online two-part mini-course titled Elements of Competition Law: An International Perspective, where Ivana provided practical insights into the most interesting aspects of competition law and how they relate to business activity. Students engaged in a number of hands-on exercises […]

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04 Oct 2021

EU Proposes the Prolongation of the State Aid Temporary Framework

The European Commission has proposed the prolongation of the State aid Temporary Framework until 30 June 2022, in order to expedite the ongoing Covid-19 economic recovery in Europe. The Temporary Framework was initially adopted on 19 March 2020 and to this date, it was amended and prolonged five times (more information available here and here). Margaret Vestager, the Executive Vice-President, who is in charge of the competition policy said that we are finally seeing improvements in the EU economy after the big crisis that hit the EU due to Covid-19.  She also added: ’’[W]e need to be aware of disparities […]

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22 Jul 2021

Internet of Things: A New Brainiac in the Hood

A phenomenon known as the Internet of Things (“IoT”), which has been at the forefront of the global tech changes, recently caught the European Commission’s (“Commission”) attention.  The Commission’s Preliminary Report and Q&A on this tech & business sector is a big step towards acknowledging IoT as a market of the future, while simultaneously pointing out some potential dangers of this groundbreaking technology. Internet of Things – a Brief Explanation Let’s imagine this situation: you are not only an ardent coffee drinker but also a sleepyhead.  Your alarm wakes you up at 7.00 am.  You have little precious time to […]

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21 Jun 2021

Serbia: One small step for a legislator means one big step for the EU acquis alignment

In the process of gradually aligning its legislation with the EU acquis the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted two bylaws on 11 March 2021 in the field of state aid, complementary to the recently adopted new State Aid Control Act. All this adds value to the start of talks on the Chapter 8 – Competition Policy of Serbia’s negotiation process and may speed up Serbia’s EU accession. Regional Aid Regulation This regulation is designed to promote economic development of the least developed regions or the development of regions with a high level of unemployment. It also allows state […]

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07 Jun 2021

Amazon Wins Major Tax Battle Against EU

The EU’s second-highest court sided with Amazon.com (“Amazon”) recently, saying it did not owe millions to Luxembourg in unpaid taxes.  On May 12, 2021, the General Court (“Court”) overturned the European Commission’s (“Commission”) order to Amazon to pay EUR 250 million to Luxembourg, as reimbursement of illegal State aid. The Court held that the European Commission’s primary finding of an alleged advantage was based on an incorrect analysis.  Precisely, the Court argued that none of the findings set out by the Commission in the contested decision were sufficient to demonstrate the existence of an advantage for the purposes of Article […]

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03 Jun 2021

A Snitch in the Cartel – the Leniency Program

Business cartels between competing market participants are designed to limit or eliminate competition between them, with the objective of increasing prices and profit of the cartel members.  In practice, this is generally achieved by fixing prices, market sharing, limiting output, allocating customers or territories, bid-rigging, or a combination of the above.  Cartels are harmful to consumers and society as a whole since the participating businesses charge higher prices (and earn higher profits) than would be the case in a competitive market. Because of their negative impact on the market, competition legislation fights against cartels, imposing substantial fines on participants, which […]

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12 Mar 2021

2020 in review – light at the end of the tunnel

At Gecić Law, we proudly look back at 2020 and remember it as a year of significant achievement. Some of our accomplishments singled out in this review testify not only to the ability of our team to quickly adapt to radically different circumstances, but to see them as an opportunity to affirm our core values, to build on them and to grow. We rose to the challenge, learned and developed, and in the process, we helped our employees, clients, and business partners gain the strength to overcome the uncertainty and grow together with us. These are the highlights of our […]

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05 Mar 2021

Our Energy practice is growing every day

Our Energy practice team has repeatedly demonstrated its credibility by devising unique opportunities for greenfield and brownfield investments for our clients. We provide comprehensive solutions related to privatization, regulatory compliance and due diligence in cooperation with eminent regulatory, corporate and financial experts. Counsel to Norwegian NBT AS on Wind Farms Project in Serbia Our latest accomplishment in the energy sector is providing counsel to NBT AS, Norway, a utility-scale wind power developer (exceeding 100 KW of power), in partnering with WV International (formerly Windvision).  WV International has been developing wind farm projects in Serbia since 2010 and has been active […]

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02 Feb 2021

Removing Competition and/or train tracks?

As you already know, we make it our business to bring you news of cases that are out of the ordinary and interesting in so many ways.  But this one is a first.  It is not new as in recent, because it all began 10 years ago, but new in the context of originality.  What you are about to read is the story of probably the most flagrant “abuse of dominant position” ever. Factual originality Providing the backdrop to this story is a business relationship in the Baltics between Lithuanian Railways (“LR”), the state-owned rail company in Lithuania, with responsibility […]

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04 Jan 2021

Amazon – One of “The Biggest Deals” for EU’s Antitrust Practice

Unbelievable numbers: 840,000 employees, USD 280 billion in revenue for 2019, USD 11.5 billion profit (for the same year) and first centi-billionaire owner ever.  Today, one of the biggest undertakings in global trade.  But, on the other side, one of “The Biggest Deals” for the EU, ever.  We bring you a story of to-ings and fro-ings between Amazon and the EU Commission. Short Recap Rewind to July 17, 2019.  On that day, the Commission opened an investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct by Amazon.  More precisely, an investigation was opened to assess whether Amazon’s use of sensitive data from independent retailers […]

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16 Jul 2020

Commission Suffers Major Blow in Apple State Aid Case?

General Court brings the curtain down on epic court battle between Apple Ireland and the EU/European Commission in a state aid case labelled the ‘Apple Tax case’. On July 15, 2020, the EU’s General Court overturned the Commission’s decision because the Commission failed to prove Apple had broken competition rules.  Following an in-depth state aid investigation launched in June 2014, the Commission requested information on any rulings granted by Ireland in favour of the Apple Group companies: Apple Operations International (AOI), Apple Sales International (ASI) and Apple Operations Europe (AOE).  The Commission concluded that two tax rulings issued by Ireland to […]

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31 Oct 2019

All for One and One for All! – Antitrust Class Action: Part I

We all love to see the famous musketeer whoop, as a true stalwart of modern society.  Notwithstanding a reality check which may be otherwise, it does not necessarily mean that society is not continually aiming to reverse such “otherwise” state of affairs. Is it really: every man for himself and the Devil take the hindmost?  … even before the eerie courts? Well, fortunately not always. Casting an eye over justice systems around the world, one bumps into something called class action, or collective redress.  In common law systems, with the United States as their standard-bearer, class action is currently in […]

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22 Sep 2017

Challenges Against Croatia by Agrokor’s Ex-Owner?

For the first time since Agrokor—one of the leading regional companies with almost 60,000 employees, became the biggest national news in the Balkans for facing liquidity issues—former Agrokor owner, Ivica Todoric, broke his silence, claiming he gave up control “under duress” and that “this is not Parmalat” indicating a potential and broader legal battle against the Croatian state on multiple fronts?  Possible ramifications may include EU law, state aid & competition issues, constitutional claims, ECHR and even more.  The extensive public announcement issued today and signed by Mr. Todoric points to “an unconstitutional and illegal nationalization” and states he “will […]

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07 Jul 2017

Frikom, Leading Ice-cream Manufacturer, Under the Loupe of Serbia’s Commission for Protection of Competition for the Second Time

On 29 May 2017, the Serbian Competition Commission initiated ex officio proceedings for the alleged abuse of dominance against Frikom, the largest producer of frozen food in Serbia. The day following the initiation of proceedings, a dawn raid at Frikom’s business premises was carried out. Frikom’s abuse of dominance history This is not the first time the Serbian National Competition Authority (NCA) initiated a proceeding against Frikom. In 2012, the NCA found that Frikom abused its dominance in the wholesale market of industrial ice-cream by engaging in vertical price-fixing, imposing exclusivity on retailers (either through explicit exclusivity clauses or through […]

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26 Jun 2017

Thresholds for Merger Control in Serbia – a Treasure Island of False Positives?

The Serbian 2009 Protection of Competition Act (as amended in 2013) (the Act) provides for rather low merger control thresholds, compared both to EU law and countries in the region. Thresholds set this low can (and usually do) result in excessive merger control which eventually brings more harm than good to market competition.  In order to put an end to this, a change in decisional practice and/or legislative change in regards to this important aspect of merger control is required. The Act provides for rather low merger control thresholds, compared both to EU law and countries in the region.  Namely, […]

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13 Jun 2017

Quarterly Review of Decisions Taken by Serbia’s Commission for Protection of Competition

During the first quarter of 2017, the Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia handed down a number of decisions in different areas of competition protection and recognized the necessity of conducting analyses of vital sectors such as telecoms, oil products and oil-derivatives: Restrictive agreements.  The Commission decided to investigate a close collaboration between two large players on the oil products market in Serbia.  On March 13, 2017, the Commission fined two direct competitors – Victoriaoil and Vital – for entering into a mutual cooperation agreement under which Vital agreed to outsource production and packaging of […]

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25 May 2017

“Sharing Economy” in the Spotlight – Let’s Call a Spade a Spade, Says EU Advocate General on Uber

On 11 May 2017, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Mr. Maciej Szpunar, issued a landmark opinion on legal qualification of Uber, the US ride hailing app, claiming that, from the perspective of the EU law, Uber should be characterized and treated as a transport company rather than as a mere information technology provider. The question that was posed to the EU highest court and that, according to Advocate General, needs to be assessed on a rather technical level, deals with Uber’s standing within the EU regulatory framework. Although non-binding, the opinion given by the […]

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01 Mar 2016

Slovak Telekom Case – a Reminder of Unexploited Antitrust Damage Claim Mechanisms in European National Laws?

After the European Commission (the “Commission”) by its decision from 5 October 20141 imposed a fine of more than 38 millions of euros on Slovak Telekom for the abuse of its dominant position on Slovak market for broadband services, Slovak Telekom has come to face damage claims from mobile operators Orange Slovensko and SWAN.  The said operators claimed damages they allegedly suffered before Bratislava court, in the amount exceeding 280 million euros on the grounds of the said Commission’s decision that found Slovak Telekom has abused its dominant position. By the same 2014 decision of the Commission, Deutsche Telekom was […]

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17 Feb 2016

Competition Commission Published Its Guidance on Individual Exemptions

On 11 February 2016, the Serbian Commission for the Protection of Competition (the “Competition Commission”) published on its official website the Guidance Concerning Requests for Individual Exemption (the “Guidance”). The overall message the Guidance sends can be seen as a warning that Competition Commission will no longer tolerate delays in notification of restrictive agreements – the deadline for such notification is immediately, otherwise annulment and fines may be incurred. Namely, the Competition Commission, having in mind frequently asked questions in its everyday practice, concluded that it should provide more detailed information regarding the notifications of restrictive agreements.  In particular, as stated […]

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17 Feb 2016

Regional Subsidies Race to the Bottom Intensifies?

A race to the bottom is a socio-economic phrase used to describe a situation in which countries or companies try to compete in order to attract and retain economic activity and the latest data from the Center for Economic Analysis (CEA) in Macedonia suggests that the country is pushing the envelope on its regional counterparts.  CEA recently published that seven companies doing business within Macedonian technological industrial development zones have have been granted a total of 56 million euros in state aid.  In certain cases, the state aid granted amounted up to 47% of overall value of the investment.  Vesna Garvanlieva, CEA […]

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09 Feb 2016

Is Telenor Breaching Competition Rules in Norway?

On 1 February 2016 the European Free Trade Organization (“EFTA”) Surveillance Authority has sent a Statement of Objections to Telenor over the possible breach of EEA competition rules in Norway.  Telenor now has until 11 April to claim its position regarding the received antitrust charge sheet. Namely, the EFTA Surveillance Authority suspects that Telenor may have abused its dominant position in Norway, by obstructing competitors in three markets related to the provision of mobile communications services to Norwegian users: the market for wholesale mobile access and origination services, the market for mobile broadband services to residential customers, and the market for […]

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28 Jan 2016

Serbia Revamps Merger Control Procedure

On 23 January 2016 the Serbian Government adopted the new Regulation on the Content and Method of Submittal of Request for Issuing of Approval for Proposed Concentration (Official Gazette of RS no. 5/2016 – the “Regulation”) that will be effective as of 2 February 2016. The importance of the new Regulation lies in the fact that it introduces a simplified method for notification of the proposed concentration, harmonizing in that regards the national procedure with the existing EU procedure for notification of concentration. The simplified procedure allows merging undertakings to use a shorter notification form for concentration that are unlikely […]

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27 Jan 2016

Ukrainian Competition Watchdog Levies $3.4bn Fine on Gazprom

On January 22, 2016, Yuriy Terentyev, chairman of the Ukrainian competition watchdog, the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), took to Facebook to announce that Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas enterprise and the exclusive supplier of gas through Ukraine’s transit pipeline, will be fined for the abuse of dominant position in the Ukrainian gas transit market.  According to Mr. Terentyev, the AMCU issued a fine of 85 billion hryvnias, or 3.4 billion dollars.  No other details were disclosed.  Whether or not Gazprom ends up paying said amount, this case is particularly interesting as it represents the first time that a fine was actually levied […]

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05 Oct 2015

A Short Guide on Dawn Raids

This Short Guide provides guidance on how to ensure an effective response to an unannounced inspection (known as a “dawn raid”) of the Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Serbia (further Competition Commission).  Topics covered include: What to do at the beginning of a dawn raid Managing an ongoing dawn raid What to do at the end of a dawn raid Do’s and Don’ts at each stage This Short Guide will consider the key practical points and legal issues to bear in mind when facing a dawn raid.  It should be used to assist your company in providing […]

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05 Oct 2015

Serbian Antitrust Agency Pursues Potential “Gun Jumping” Case

On 4 September 2015, the Competition Commission, Serbian competition watchdog, closed an investigation against Agriser, a subsidiary of Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. and a member of Ferrero Group, owner of brands with global recognition including Nuttela, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, etc.  This case may, as well, indicate an increasing interest of the Serbian antitrust authority in tackling concentrations in the form of asset deals subject to the privatization procedures.  In April this year Agriser purchased entire assets of Aleksa Šantić, a Serbian company active in the production of primary agriculture produces, within the framework of a public bid procedure governed by Privatization Agency of the […]

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