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LAWIN competition practice group met in Riga on 11 September. Developments in the competition laws and practices of Baltic countries were discussed on the seminar.
Latvia has been most active in changing its competition laws. Merger notification thresholds have been changed several times during the last couple of years and new notion of “dominant position in retail sector” has been added to the Latvian competition law. As a result such retail chains which are not dominant on the basis of classical competition law, are also subject to the control of Latvian Competition Council. Similar amendment has been initiated in Lithuania to control the activities of large retail chains. There have been no amendments of competition laws in Estonia during the last year, however we expect the adoption of new leniency program soon. It was noted that handling the cartel cases by Baltic competition authorities become more active. There is a trend for the authorities to consider similar cases in all or at least two Baltic countries. Currently public tenders, pharmaceutical sector, telecommunication and waste companies are under scrutiny by competition authorities in Baltic states.
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