Latvia/EU, 2004

Score = 26

Governed by: Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty on European Union [hereafter EU Treaty], and European Commission Regulations 1/2003 [hereafter "CR 1/2003"] and 139/2004 [hereafter “CR 139/2004], as well as national legislation.

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	EU law governs whenever conduct has effects on trade between Member States pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation 1/2003.
Remedies	Fines	1	Articles 13 and 19 of CR 1/2003 allow for fines for serious violations of the EU Competition Act.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	1	Article 7 of CR 1/2003 allows for structural remedies. Under the Latvian Competition Act, divestiture is allowed in the merger context, and §16(3) allows the Council to creating binding conditions on merging firms.
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	CR 1/2003, Article 12, says that any interested party can bring a violation to the attention of the Authority. Section 22 of the Latvian Competition Act says that 3rd parties can initiate proceedings by submitting an application to the Competition Council.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	1	CR 1/2003, Article 33, allows 3rd parties to file a civil suit for damages. Also, §21 of Latvia’s Competition Act of 4.10.2001, as amended May 1, 2004, says that a company that violates a provision shall cover the losses to other market participants.
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	1	Article 27(3) of CR 1/2003 affords evidentiary rights to 3rd parties.
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	§15 of the Latvian Competition Act requires pre-merger notification to the Competition Council.
	Pre-merger	2	§15 of the Latvian Competition Act requires pre-merger notification to the Competition Council.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	§16(3) of the Latvian Competition Act allows the Council to prohibit a merger which will create or strengthen a dominant position.
	Restriction of Competition	1	§16(3) of the Latvian Competition Act allows the Council to prohibit a merger which will hinder or distort competition.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	0
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	0
	Efficiency	0
Dominance	Limits Access	1	Article 82(b) of the EU Treaty prohibits abuse of a dominant position.
	Abusive Acts	1	Article 82 of the EU Treaty prohibits abuse of a dominant position.
	Price Setting	1	Article 82(a) of the EU Treaty prohibits price setting.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Articles 81(1)(d) and 82(c) of the EU Treaty, prohibit discrimatory conditions.
	Resale Price Maintenance	1	Article 81 of the EU Treaty prohibits minimum resale price restrictions.
	Obstacles to Entry	1	Article 82 of the EU Treaty prohibits anti-competitive pricing schemes.
	Efficiency Defense	0
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Articles 81(1)(a) of the EU Treaty prohibits price fixing.
	Tying	1	Articles 81(1)(e) and 82(d) of the EU Treaty prohibit tying.
	Market Division	1	Article 81 of the EU Treaty prohibits customer allocation clauses.
	Output Restraint	1	Article 81(1)(b) of the EU Treaty prohibits limiting production.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 81(1)(c) of the EU Treaty prohibits market sharing.
	Eliminating Competitors	1	Article 81(1) of the EU Treaty prohibits agreements that have the purpose or effect of eliminating competition.
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	1	Article 81 of the EU Treaty prohibits bid-rigging.
	Supply Refusal	1	Article 81(1)(b) of the EU Treaty prohibits supply refusal.
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 81(3) of the EU Treaty allows an efficiency defense.