Estonia/EU, 2006
Score = 27
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.[1]
| Category | Subcategory | Score | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Extraterritoriality | 1 | Scope extends to foreign corporations.[2] §1(2) of the Estonian Competition Act says that the act applies to activity outside of Estonia that restricts competition in Estonia. |
| Remedies | Fines | 1 | Articles 13 and 19 of CR 1/2003 allow for fines for serious violations of the EU Competition Act. Section 62(3) of the Estonian Competition Act allows the national Competition Board to impose fines for un-remedied competition violations. |
| Prison Sentences | 1 | §79 of Estonia’s amended 2004 Competition Act allows prison sentences for criminal violations. | |
| Divestitures | 1 | Article 7 of CR 1/2003 allows for structural remedies. | |
| 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 63 of the Estonian Competition Act (2004 amendment) lists the procedure for filing an application with the national Competition Board. |
| Remedies Available to 3rd Parties | 1 | CR 1/2003, Article 33, allows 3rd parties to file a civil suit for damages. Section 78 of the Estonian Competition Act says that compensation for damages caused by competition violations could be dealt with through civil procedure. | |
| 3rd Party Rights in Proceedings | 1 | Article 27(3) of CR 1/2003 affords evidentiary rights to 3rd parties. Section 67 of the 2001 Estonian Competition Act gave interested 3rd parties rights in proceedings; however, these were repealed in a 2002 amendment (RT I 2002, 82, 480). | |
| Merger Notification[3] | Voluntary | 0 | |
| Mandatory | 3 | Section 25 of the Estonian Competition Act requires notification of concentrations. | |
| Pre-merger | 2 | Section 25 of the Estonian Competition Act requires that the notification come within one week of one of the enumerated decisive acts. | |
| Post-merger | 0 | ||
| Merger Assessment | Dominance | 1 | Section 22(2) says that the national Competition Board may prohibits a merger if it would strengthen a dominant position. |
| Restriction of Competition | 1 | Section 22(1) of the Estonian Competition Act lists several factors for consideration of a merger application including many related to restriction of competition (for example, barriers to entry and the resultant market position of the concentration). | |
| 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.[4] | |
| Obstacles to Entry | 1 | Article 82 of the EU Treaty prohibits anti-competitive pricing schemes.[5] | |
| 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.[6] | |
| 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. |
References
- ↑ EU statutes and regulations available online from the European Competition Network, at http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/ecn/documents.html
- ↑ Goyder, D. G., EC Competition Law, 4th ed. 2003, at 99.
- ↑ The National Competition Authority will assess mergers under the National Competition Act. If the concentration affects trade between the Member States, the European Commission will assess the merger under Regulation 139/2004. See the coding for the European Commission for those provisions.
- ↑ EC Competition Law, at 97.
- ↑ Id, at 283.
- ↑ Id, at 97.