ARMENIAN COMPETITION PROTECTION COMMISSION GOT ACQUAINTED WITH BEST PRACTICES OF LITHUANIAN COUNTERPARTS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS

On 6–9 September experts from the Armenian Competition Protection Commission participated in a study visit to the Lithuanian competition authority Konkurencijos taryba, as well as to other institutions, and got acquainted with their activities and practice of international cooperation.

During the visit implemented according to the technical cooperation project by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, representatives of the Armenian delegation learned about changes in the investigative powers of Konkurencijos taryba over 30 years of activity, annual calculation of expected benefits to consumers, conducted by the competition authority in accordance with the methodology developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as about cases when Konkurencijos taryba launches market studies in order to find our whether effective competition is ensured in particular markets.

The experts of Konkurencijos taryba presented the most significant cases of anti-competitive agreements, abuse of a dominant position, as well as shared experience in the field of merger control, evaluation of legal acts and their drafts.

Besides, the Armenian delegation visited institutions which actively cooperate with Konkurencijos taryba. The Special Investigation Service of Lithuania presented the results of long-term interinstitutional cooperation, and introduced the initiative "Itegrity Academy" aimed at improving the anti-corruption environment in the country. While visiting the State Consumer Rights Protection Service, the experts from Armenia got acquainted with the supervision of the Law on Advertising and the Law on the Prohibition of Unfair Business-to-Consumer Commercial Practices, while  representatives of the Bank of Lithuania reviewed the conclusions of the market study concerning small and medium-sized enterprise financing conducted in 2021 in cooperation with Konkurencijos taryba.