Bulgaria/EU, 2005

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Governed by:

• EU law:

• Articles 81 and 82 of the EC treaty
• Regulation 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 and

• Bulgarian Law:

• Law on Competition Protection of 1998, last amended by SC no. 107/2003 (“the Competition Act”).

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	Article 21 of the Competition Act provides for fines for EC treaty violations.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	1	Article 13 of of the Competition Act allows the commission to force structural remedies on a firm. Article 8(3) of the Merger Reg permits divestment of improperly merged companies.
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	Article 12(1) of the Competition Act says that investigations can be initiated by a reasonable allegation in writing by a 3rd party.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	1	Private enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC treaty is mandated and encouraged by the European Commission.
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	1	Article 8 of the Rules of Procedure for the Commission for Fair Trading allow in camera hearings, provided that the initiating party and defendant have the right to be heard in the proceedings.
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	Article 5(1) of the Merger Reg says that notification must occur prior to implementation.
	Pre-merger	2	Article 5(1) of the Merger Reg says that notification must occur prior to implementation.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	Article 4(2)(d) of the Merger Reg lists the market positions of the undertakings as a factor in merger assessment.
	Restriction of Competition	1	Article 4 of the Merger Reg generally prohibits mergers that substantially lessen competition.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	0
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	1	Article 4(2)(b) of the Merger Reg requires the Commissioner to consider whether a party to the merger is in danger of failing.
	Efficiency	1	Article 4(4) of the Merger Reg allows a defense for mergers that are likely to bring about gains in efficiency.
Dominance	Limits Access	1	Article 82(b) of the EC treaty prohibits limiting production.
	Abusive Acts	1	Article 82 of the EC treaty prohibits abuse of a dominant position.
	Price Setting	1	Article 82(a) of the EC treaty prohibits price setting.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Article 82(c) of the EC treaty prohibits discriminatory conditions.
	Resale Price Maintenance	1	Article 82(a) of the EC treaty prohibits resale price maintenance.
	Obstacles to Entry	1	Article 82 of the EC treaty prohibits using predatory pricing to drive competitors from the market
	Efficiency Defense	0
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Article 81(1)(a) of the EC treaty prohibits price fixing.
	Tying	1	Article 81(1)(e) of the EC treaty prohibits tying.
	Market Division	1	Article 81 of the EC treaty prohibits market division
	Output Restraint	1	Article 81(1)(b)of the EC treaty prohibits limiting production.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 81(1)(c)of the EC treaty prohibits market sharing.
	Eliminating Competitors	1	Article 81(1) of the EC treaty prohibits agreements that have the purpose or effect of eliminating competition.
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	1	Article 81 of the EC treaty prohibits bid-rigging.
	Supply Refusal	0
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 81(3)of the EC treaty allows an efficiency defense.