The highlight of the month is that the Serbian NCA has started an abuse of dominance probe against Serbia Broadband, the largest Serbian cable operator. The operator is part of the United Group and is ultimately controlled by KKR.
Elsewhere,
the first ever app for the calculation of merger filing thresholds in the Balkans has been launched,
a new decree for attracting foreign investments was cleared under Serbian State aid rules, and amendments to the Montenegrin Competition Act have entered into force.
Serbia
Antitrust
- The Serbian NCA has launched an abuse of dominance investigation against Serbia Broadband (SBB), the largest Serbian cable operator. The operator is part of the United Group and is ultimately controlled by KKR. The NCA is investigating whether SBB imposed unfair prices on consumers by a recent hike in cable subscription.
Merger control
Seven new merger decisions
During the previous month, the Serbian NCA issued seven new merger decisions, all unconditional Phase I clearances.
State aid
New decree for attracting foreign investments cleared under State aid rules
The highlight of the practice of the State aid Commission in the previous month was the decision to clear a new scheme for attracting foreign investments. The total amount of approved aid is approx. EUR 100 million for 2018. Individual aid to investors covered by the scheme does not need to be notified separately.
Other developments
Competition Day to be held on April 20
Each April, the Serbian NCA celebrates the anniversary of its establishment by organizing an event called the Competition Day. As part of the event, the NCA always organizes a conference - this year the title is 'New Competition Agenda'. The honorable guest of this year's conference will be Japan.
Montenegro
Merger control
Five new merger decisions
During the previous month, the Montenegrin NCA issued five new merger decisions, all unconditional Phase I clearances.
State aid
Amended Competition Act enters into force
As reported earlier, the Montenegrin Parliament recently amended the country's Competition Act. The amendments have now entered into force and all of the changes envisaged by the amendments will kick in over the coming months. Most notably, the Montenegrin NCA will take over State aid powers from the current special State aid watchdog (the Commission for State Aid Control).
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Antitrust
Antitrust
The Bosnian NCA was quite active in the field of antitrust, rendering the following decisions
Antitrust
Terms concerning the provision of heating service found to be in contravention of the competition rules
A peculiarity of the practice of the Bosnian NCA is that it considers public authorities as potential infringers of competition regulations. Along that line, in a newly rendered decision the NCA found that the city of Zenica had concluded a restrictive agreement concerning the provision of heating in the city. The NCA also found that some of the terms concerning the provision of this service amounted to abuse of dominance.
Antitrust
An in-depth investigation concerning an individual exemption request
Bosnia and Herzegovina still has a system of individual exemption of restrictive agreements based on prior notification to the competition authority. In the previous month, the Bosnian NCA opened an in-depth investigation concerning one such exemption request (concerning an agreement between Coca-Cola HBC Serbia and MB Impeks doo (a Bosnian company).
Antitrust
A restrictive agreement case terminated
The Bosnian NCA closed one of its restrictive agreements cases finding on the merits that there was no restrictive agreement between Bosnian companies Babić doo and BH Telecom dd. The complaint in that case had been submitted by Telemach, a Bosnian telecom operator.
Merger control
One merger clearance issued
During the previous month, the Bosnian NCA issued one merger decision: an unconditional clearance of a concentration on the market for the construction of roads in Republika Srpska (one of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Macedonia (FYROM)
Merger control
During March, the Macedonian NCA announced the notification of six new merger filings
- PUBLIC POWER CORPORATION SOCIETE ANONYME – PPC S.A. (Greece) - Energy Delivery Solutions doo (Macedonia)
- KKCG AG (Switzerland) - SAZKA Group a.s. (Czech Republic)
- Nelt Co. doo (Serbia) - Tako Lako Shop doo (Serbia)
- Neregelia Trading Limited (Cyprus) - Nelo Energy doo (Serbia)
- Neregelia Trading Limited (Cyprus) & Beta Grup SH.P.K. (Kosovo) - All Balkans Corporation SHA (Albania)
- VLET Holdings S.à.r.l. (Luxembourg) - Velvet Care sp. z o.o. (Poland)
General
Merger Filing in the Balkans: The App
An innovative way of checking merger filing thresholds in the Balkans – an app covering Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia (FYROM).
Merger Filing in the Balkans: The Basics
The basic rules governing merger filing in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia (FYROM) in five short questions and answers.
Originally sent by e-mail. Original issue (mailchi.mp) · gajin.rs