COMPETITION COUNCIL CLOSES INVESTIGATION ON SUSPECTED ANTI-COMPETITIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BREWERS

On December 23 The Competition Council (the Council) closed an investigation on the suspected anti-competitive agreement between the members of the Lithuanian Guild of Breweries. According to the preliminary evaluation by the Council’s experts, the Lithuanian Guild of Breweries and its members by concluding an agreement restricting the production of certain strength beer had infringed the requirements of competition law.

Having examined all the circumstances related to the suspected infringement, the Council’s experts established that not only concern about society’s health lead the brewers.

The Council also evaluated all the explanations provided by the undertakings under investigation. The latter claimed to have informed the Council about the aforementioned agreement and received its feedback. The Council’s experts carefully examined previous communication with the undertakings and confirmed that in 2008 the Council had expressed its opinion on Brewers’ Code of Honour.

Hence, having received such statement, the undertakings could have had reasonable expectations about the lawfulness of their actions. With regard to the aforementioned, the Council decided not to fine the undertakings.

In the meantime, with regard to the practice of the European Commission and other Member States, the Council does not consult undertakings on similar matters. In order to evaluate whether the intended agreement comply with the requirements of competition law it is necessary to carry out a thorough analysis of all the significant circumstances. Such analysis has to be carried out by the undertakings themselves, as only they know best what are the circumstances related to the intended agreement.

The Council has prepared a brief note for the members of associations explaining how to comply with the norms of competition law and simultaneously take advantage of belonging to associations.

Note

The fact that the Council has informed the suspected undertaking about the conclusions of an investigation does not mean that the infringement has already been established. Statement of Objections is a document issued by the authorised officers of the Council and sent to the stakeholders. This document is not announced publicly. Having received the Statement of Objections, a suspected undertaking is given an opportunity to familiarize with the material of an investigation and provide a written explanation. Explanations can also be provided orally during the meeting where both parties to the case are heard. The Council takes into consideration all the explanations before adopting the final decision.