Naslov
Lessons from Competition Law Enforcement in Central and Eastern Europe - Trade Associations

Autori
Pecotić Kaufman, Jasminka ; Bernatt, Maciej

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
18th ASCOLA Conference

Mjesto i datum
Atena, Grčka, 29.06.2023. - 01.07.2023

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
competition law ; enforcement ; Central and Eastern Europe ; trade associations ; post-transition economies

Sažetak
Thirty years of modern competition law systems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) invite the reflection on the lessons the region can offer to the world. Competition laws in the CEE countries were adopted in the 1990s as part of legal reforms accompanying the transition from a central-command economy to a market economy. The first decade has its own particular characteristics as competition law enforcement aimed not so much at the protection of competition but rather at the development of competition in the sectors of the economy that were monopolized by (former) state enterprises, a heritage of the communist past. This early experience has been documented relatively well. By contrast, there is more limited knowledge of the patterns of competition law enforcement in the region after competitive markets have been established and competition has made advances. The paper aims to fill-in this gap by focusing on enforcing the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements with a focus on collusion involving trade associations. After providing the reader with a general overview with regards to enforcement in the region, the paper focuses on the enforcement against the trade associations. This is the area of enforcement in which the experiences of CEE countries can offer lessons beyond the region, in particular for countries in which the organization of important sectors is based on informal coordination of competitors’ actions around trade associations, i.e. countries in which competition culture is a relatively new concept. The paper will aim to show the negative role of trade associations on competitive relationships in various markets as they provide a focal point for collusion. Taking the legacy of the socialist economy as a contextual factor, we will show that trade associations act as a vehicle for perpetuating doing business the old way, i.e. according to the cooperation (rather than competitive) paradigm. The enforcement against trade associations in the region is also useful to understand what values other than just protection of competition play a role in the enforcement of competition law ; a topic broadly discussed today. Trade associations, as such, are legal and their activity could serve valid goals such as ethical conduct within the industry or public interest goals such as protection of public health rather than serve as a platform for limiting competition on the market. The paper analyzes the enforcement of competition law in six countries of the region, which are the EU Member States: the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. The period from 2010 to 2020 is taken into account. The paper’s primary research material consists of decisions of competition authorities and their annual reports.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Pravo

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