Prioritisation of cases at the Competition Authority

In recent weeks, notifications of company mergers have increased rapidly, and today there are merger cases under consideration that correspond to just over half of all those cases which were concluded with an investigation in 2020. Furthermore, in many cases, these are mergers in markets that are of great importance to the public and the economy. Mergers concerning the tourism sector, the food market, the pharmaceutical market, the fuel market, etc., have been or will be under investigation.

Investigations into merger matters are given priority as they are subject to statutory deadlines. The workload involved in handling them can therefore have a significant impact on the handling of other matters by the authority.

In addition to merger cases, the Competition Authority will soon need to focus on handling cases concerning responses to the economic crisis related to COVID-19 and other most urgent investigations in line with the authority's priorities.

Suggestions rather than lectures

Despite the aforementioned difficulties, it is extremely important that companies and market participants continue to inform the Competition Authority of any indications of breaches of competition law and other barriers to competition.. Such parties are advised to send the supervisory authority a notification rather than a completed submission. Based on the notification, the individual can then seek further information on whether their case is likely to be accepted for consideration, and if so, when.

Notice of delays and re-evaluation of priorities

The Competition Authority will reassess the prioritisation of cases and, where appropriate, the merits of ongoing cases, in accordance with the aforementioned powers in paragraph 3 of Article 8 of the Competition Act. Parties to cases currently before the Competition Authority will be informed of any delays resulting from the above, as appropriate. Subject to no unforeseen changes, the Competition Authority anticipates that the above will apply to the first half of this year, although there is some uncertainty regarding the course of the health crisis caused by COVID-19.