The Commission for the Protection of Competition has published its 2010 annual report in which it summarises the current state of competition law in Macedonia and outlines the developments that occurred in the previous year.
On a legislative level, an important development was the entry into force of the new Law on Protection of Competition (Official Gazette 145/10) on November 13 2010. The annual report indicates that the new law further harmonises Macedonian legislation with EU law, especially through the introduction of the leniency programme. Furthermore, the annual report highlights as an important novelty: the introduction of a single investigation procedure in which the commission can both determine the existence of a violation and impose an appropriate penalty for such behaviour.
In 2010 the council resolved four cases involving alleged restrictive practices, one case involving an alleged abuse of dominance and 21 concentrations. The annual report briefly summarises each of the rendered decisions. The commission also initiated a total of seven misdemeanour proceedings, six of which relate to abuse of dominance. In 2010 the commission completed its analysis of the following sectors:
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banking services;
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money transfer services; and
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the market for elementary-school and high-school textbooks.
The commission also issued six opinions, of which four related to different draft laws.
The annual report highlights different forms of international cooperation between the commission and foreign state bodies. The annual report references a report by the European Commission regarding the enforcement of competition laws in Macedonia. In it, the European Commission noted that although overall progress had been made, implementation of the law remains poor in the fields of cartels and state aid. The report especially underlines the fact that the Macedonian commission needs to improve its institutional capacity.
For further information on this topic please contact Srdjana Petronijevic at Moravcevic Vojnovic Zdravkovic in cooperation with Schoenherr by telephone (+381 11 320 26 00), fax (+381 11 320 26 10) or email ([email protected]).
