dr Marcin Kulesza | In Principle

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has published new guidelines on the methodology for calculating fines for anticompetitive practices. The main objective is to bring the regulator’s practice into line with the recent amendments to the Competition and Consumer Protection Act, e.g. regarding fines for parent companies and consideration of the adequacy of the fine. But there are other changes as well, and some of them raise concerns.

Since 1 June 2022, a new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation from the European Commission has been in force, setting out the rules for application of EU competition principles to cooperation between suppliers and buyers, in particular distribution. Some forms of vertical collaboration that were previously allowed are now banned. Others have been brought under the protection of the block exemption, meaning that they are now allowed. Some changes can be considered revolutionary.

Telenor, a Norwegian telecom, abused its dominant position. This was the ruling pronounced by the EFTA Surveillance Authority under the rules in force in the European Economic Area. The case is worth examining, as the powers of this body also cover the European Union and may apply to the activities of Polish companies.

In light of the difficulties associated with the coronavirus epidemic, and joining the global trend under the hashtag #flattenthecurve, competition authorities around the world, including Poland, are introducing, more or less officially, extraordinary operating procedures to avoid spreading the coronavirus. This can have a major impact on proceedings before these authorities, including filing and consideration of applications seeking approval of concentrations.

An interesting ruling has been handed down in Italy in a case involving Facebook’s violation of the collective interests of consumers and data protection. The court held, contrary to common opinion and the social media site itself, that Facebook is not free.

For the first time, the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is conducting antimonopoly proceedings concerning competition-restricting agreements not only concerning businesses, but also persons managing them. This is a milestone in the history of enforcement of competition law in Poland. An outline of the rules regarding liability of persons managing a business and business enterprise in the context of prohibited agreements follows.

An act seeking to strengthen the position of private claimants seeking damages for violation of competition law entered into force in Poland on 27 June 2017. A wave of articles have washed through the legal and business press with nearly identical titles stressing that it will be easier to win damages for losses caused by anticompetitive arrangements. But is that really the case? It will certainly be easier to try.

The idea of using whistleblowers to uncover and combat anticompetitive arrangements is spreading ever wider. Recently the European Commission announced introduction of such a tool.

The Polish competition authority openly admits that its resources, particularly its people, are inadequate to achieve satisfactory results at uncovering cartels, and the leniency programme has not generated the hoped-for effects. The proposed solution is to reward whistleblowers.

In the EU system of antitrust law, the European Commission and the member states are autonomous in their application of leniency programmes. The soft harmonisation via the European Competition Network’s Model Leniency Programme is not binding on national competition authorities.

An amendment to the Competition and Consumer Protection Act went into force on 18 January 2015. The changes are sweeping.

A communiqué from the European Commission on de minimis agreements exempt from TFEU Art. 101 has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.