Competition

Rules of Information Exchange Revisited by Turkish Competition Board in Retail and Wholesale FMCG Sector: A Step Forward for Hub & Spoke Case Law

On January 19, 2022, Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) has published a highly anticipated decision of the Competition Board (“Board”) regarding the investigation against retail grocery chains and suppliers of such chains, active in the fields of retail food and cleaning products (“Investigation”). The Investigation involved leading global suppliers of food and cleaning products such as Henkel, Unilever, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Nivea as well as almost all retailers active in fast moving consumer goods (“FMCG”) business in Turkey including but not limited to the major players such as BİM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. (“BİM”), CarrefourSA Carrefour Sabancı Ticaret Merkezi A.Ş. (“Carrefour”), Migros Ticaret A.Ş. (“Migros”) and Yeni Mağazacılık A.Ş. (“A101”).

Digital Market in the Crosshairs

The Hungarian Competition Authority ordered online shop Alza to compensate consumers for a total amount 11 times as much as the fine to be paid to the HCA.

What to Expect from the Hungarian Competition Authority in 2022?

The Hungarian Competition Authority ("HCA") has published a summary report of its 2021 activities. The HCA opened 51 competition proceedings against 124 undertakings, almost 25% more than in the previous year, and 42 cases were closed in 2021.

Merger Control Trends in Turkey

Despite uncertainty due to the pandemic, the pace of merger activity in Turkey has not decreased and merger control is still one of the Turkish Competition Authority’s (TCA) key enforcement areas. The Law on Protection of Competition (Competition Law) amendment in June 2020 was a milestone for merger control in Turkey as it changed the substantive test for assessment of mergers. Below are some observations regarding the adoption of the new test and the TCA’s recent approach to merger control and remedies.

The Kuria Agrees: Facebook’s Service is “Free and Always Will Be”

On December 7, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Lakatos, Koves and Partners had successfully represented Facebook Ireland in a dispute with the Hungarian Competition Authority before the Kuria – the Hungarian supreme court. CEELM spoke with LKT Partner and Co-Head of Competition Eszter Ritter, who led the team, to learn more about the case.

Musat & Asociatii Announces Paul Buta as Managing Partner and Makes Three New Partners

Paul Buta has been appointed to Managing Partner, while Alexandru Terta, Iuliana Iacob, and Andrei Ormenean made Partner at Musat & Asociatii.

Revised UTPs Act in Croatia Becomes Fully Applicable in March. Have You Aligned Your Agreements with Suppliers?

Back in September 2021, the revised Act on the prohibition of unfair trading practices in the business-to-business food supply chain (the "UTPs Act") entered into force. As in all other EU Member States, the Croatian UTPs Act was revised to bring Croatia's legal framework in the area of unfair trading practices in business-to-business relations in the agricultural and food supply chain into compliance with the UTPs Directive.