Seimas adopted amendments to the Law on Competition and the Law on Local Self-Government initiated by the President of the Republic of Lithuania. From 1 January 2017 public administrative bodies will face fines for competition law breaches and stricter regulation related to economic activities carried out by municipal companies.
The Competition Council‘s Chairman Šarūnas Keserauskas (hereinafter – Chairman) met with Visvaldas Matijošaitis, Mayor of Kaunas City Municipality (hereinafter – Municipality), to discuss competition law issues and suggest solutions to competition problems in the Municipality.
Šarūnas Keserauskas, Chairman of the Competition Council (hereinafter – the Council), presented the authority‘s achievements of 2015 to the members of the Cabinet.
The Competition Council brings real benefits to consumers – after its intervention the Austrian online store www.ecco-verde.com restored the shipping of cosmetic products to Lithuania.
The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (hereinafter – Court) rejected the appeals by MAXIMA LT, UAB (hereinafter – MAXIMA LT ) and UAB Mantinga and upheld the Competition Council‘s decision, according to which, the aforementioned companies concluded an anti-competitive agreement.
On 6 May 2016, the Competition Council (hereinafter – KT) prohibited a merger whereby in 2014 AS Eesti Meedia acquired 100 per cent of AllePAL OÜ shares. KT found that the merger restricted competition in the Lithuanian markets of classified ads for real estate and vehicles.
The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (Supreme Court) upheld Lithuanian Competition Council‘s (KT) decision that 29 travel agencies used online booking system E-TURAS to concert practices when applying discounts to bookings and thus breached competition law.
The World Bank Group and the International Competition Network (ICN) announced Lithuanian Competition Council among the winners of the 2015-2016 Competition Advocacy Contest
Lithuanian Competition Council (the Council) announced that the new Merger Notification and Examination Procedure (the Merger Procedure) had come into force on 1 January 2016. As of that date, all merger notifications must be submitted in line with the new Merger Procedure.
On 15 October, Competition Council (further - the Council) prohibited acquisition of 100 per cent of Maltosa shares by Viking Malt Oy . The Council found that the merger will restrict competition in the market of pilsen malt production.
Competition Council introduced changes to merger notification procedure made following discussions with business and legal communities, EC recommendations and the Council‘s current practice. The new merger notification procedure will come into force on 1 January 2016.
Today Mr. Šarūnas Keserauskas, the Chairman of the Competition Council, met with Mr. Algirdas Butkevičius, the Prime Minister of Lithuania, to discuss competition related issues.