The Competition Authority has recently had to take remedial action in administrative matters and take steps to align its operations with the Authority's budget, which in recent years has not kept pace with the increased scale of the economy. Part of these measures has involved closing cases without a final decision.
This involves parties to a case being notified of its closure where it is discontinued without the investigation being fully completed and without any position being taken on possible intervention. Through this and other prioritisation, the Competition Authority has significantly reduced the number of cases, and it is planned to close more cases in this manner in the coming months.
These measures do not mean that the supervisory authority will not initiate new inspections or will not continue the handling of matters that are unfinished. The measures, however, involve adapting the authority's operations to the funding it receives, and the authority has informed the Ministry of Competition and the Althingi that the institution's operational capacity is insufficient.
The Competition Act grants the Competition Authority the powers to manage the use of the manpower and financial resources at its disposal, pursuant to section 3 of article 8 of the Competition Act. The Competition Appeal Board has confirmed the authority of the Authority to assess the grounds for investigations and to prioritise cases otherwise.
In paragraph 2 of Article 9 of Regulation No 880/2005 on the procedure of the Competition Authority, factors which may influence the assessment of the justification for an investigation are listed by way of example. These considerations are relevant when assessing the prioritisation of cases.
Upon the conclusion of cases, the Competition Authority has, where applicable, issued recommendations and guidance which contribute to the reduction of barriers to competition in the relevant activity.
It should be noted that merger cases are given priority in the order of precedence, due to statutory deadlines. However, investigations into them can also be delayed, as was recently the case. notification on the authority's website.
Parties who are not satisfied with the outcome can have the decision reviewed by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Í Discussion Paper No. 3/2023, discusses funding for the Competition Authority. It states, among other things, that funding for the authority has decreased by 20% in real terms between 2014 and 2024, at the same time as the scale of economic activity has increased by 35-40%.
The Competition Authority has publicly stated that its workload and insufficient funding make it difficult for the authority to fulfil its statutory duties, see e.g. The Competition Authority's report to the Budget Committee, dated 14 November 2023. The review was accompanied by, among other things. The Competition Authority's assessment of staffing requirements. Reference may also be made to recent Submission to the Budget Committee on the financial plan for the years 2025-2029, dated 17 May last.
The aforementioned closure of cases is unavoidable and is part of the measures concerning the situation described above.
"*" indicates required fields
