Gessel has represented MS Galleon AG in proceedings before the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection on granting consent to a concentration consisting in it taking over control over Rafako SA and its subsidiaries.

Although it would appear that no fewer than 10 000 online platforms operate in the EU, the digital market seems to be moulded by just a handful of them. This raised concerns among the Authorities in terms of, among others, transparency and fair competition. The Digital Markets Act (DMA), together with the upcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), forms a central part of the package proposed by the Commission to address such concerns, setting up specific obligations for the digital giants, the so-called gatekeepers.

On the 17th of May 2022, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection published information that an administrative fine of over PLN 5.3 million has been imposed on the Lithuanian company Vinted UAB, the operator of a popular platform for buying and selling second-hand clothes.

On March 14, 2022, the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) published its much anticipated E-Commerce Platforms Sector Inquiry Final Report (“Report”). The Report is extensive in scope and it aims to present a snapshot of the market and provide policy recommendations to address the market failures detected by the Authority. In this article, however, the section on the most favored nation (“MFN”) clauses will be focused on and more particularly it will be discussed whether MFN clauses can be employed by digital platforms in the light of findings of the Report. Decisional practice of the Turkish Competition Board (“Board”) will also be under the spotlight to provide further colour.

Zlatan Balta has joined Legal Partners, in cooperation with Deloitte Legal, as the leader of its legal practice in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Wolf Theiss and Yavuz & Uyanik & Akalin have advised 4iG Nyrt on the acquisition of an 80.27% stake in AlbTelecom from a subsidiary of Turkey's Calik Holding. Tashko Pustina reportedly advised the sellers. The deal was cleared by the Albanian Competition Authority on March 4, 2022.