Competition Newsletter: Q2 2026

Serbian Competition Authority Gets UTP Competencies

Serbia has adopted a new Law on Trading Practices for Certain Agricultural and Food Products, introducing a dedicated framework for combating unfair trading practices (UTPs) in the agri-food supply chain. Under the new regime, the Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition has been designated as the competent authority responsible for enforcing the law. The Commission will be empowered to investigate alleged infringements, conduct proceedings, impose fines, and order the cessation of prohibited practices. The prohibited practices broadly reflect the approach taken under Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain.

Antitrust

Serbian Competition Authority Market-Tests Commitments in Klett Textbook Investigation

The Serbian competition authority has launched a market test concerning proposed commitments offered by the Klett group companies in an ongoing abuse of dominance investigation in the textbook market. The investigation concerns alleged conduct since 2014, including potential barriers to market entry, pricing and rebate practices, and benefits offered to schools in textbook selection processes. The proposed commitments include appointing a market compliance coordinator, introducing standardized contract templates with safeguards for public procurement participation, adopting an internal competition compliance program, organizing annual staff training, and submitting quarterly compliance reports to the authority. The commitments would apply for two years. The Commission is not obliged to accept the proposal.

Merger Control

Serbian Competition Authority Opens In-Depth Review of MK Group / Crvenka Sugar Merger

The Serbian competition authority has opened an in-depth (Phase II) investigation into the proposed acquisition of 100% of Crvenka Fabrika Šećera by MK Group. According to the authority, the transaction raises concerns due to significant horizontal overlaps in the procurement/supply of sugar beet and wholesale sugar markets in Serbia, where the parties are described as the only active sugar producers and where their combined wholesale sugar share was between 90–100% in the observed years. The authority found that the transaction would affect already highly concentrated markets with a pre-transaction duopoly structure, and that the information submitted was insufficient to clear the transaction in summary proceedings.

Montenegrin Competition Authority Becomes Fully Operational Again

Following a public call for the appointment of the President and a member of the Council of the Montenegrin competition authority, the Government of Montenegro has appointed Jasna Vujović as President and Plana Karadžić as a member of the Council. The Government had previously appointed Danilo Medojević as a Council member in March, meaning that the Council has now been completed and is functioning in its full composition. This is a significant institutional development, as prior to these appointments the authority had not been fully operational for several months. Without a complete Council, it was unable to adopt decisions, including merger clearances.

Antitrust

Agreement Between Stada and Opella Exemption Extended

The Competition Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina has approved the extension of an individual exemption for an agreement between Stada Arzneimittel AG, Germany, and Opella Healthcare International SAS, France. By way of reminder, Bosnia and Herzegovina still operates a prior notification system for individual exemptions, similar to the EU regime that existed under Regulation 17/62.

Merger Control

One New Merger Notification Announced

In the second quarter of 2026, the Competition Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina published a notice concerning one new merger notification. The notified transaction relates to the acquisition by ASA MEDICAL d.o.o. Sarajevo of sole control and decisive influence over PZU – Special Hospital “Centar za srce – KM” in Sarajevo. The proposed transaction concerns the market for specialized hospital health services in the fields of cardiology and cardiac surgery in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Merger Control

Competition Authority Issues Gun-Jumping Fines

The North Macedonian competition authority has issued several recent decisions imposing fines for breaches of merger control rules, including failure to notify concentrations before implementation and implementation before clearance. The cases concerned transactions involving Skopski Pazar, Best Way Investment / Delta 2015 Construction, Stenton Gradba / Idaks International, and Stenton Gradba / Energo Sistem and others. In each case, the authority found that the parties had implemented the relevant transaction by registering changes with the Central Register before notifying the authority and/or before obtaining clearance. The decisions confirm that the notification obligation and the standstill obligation are treated as separate duties, and that subsequent clearance of the transaction, absence of competition harm, or cooperation with the authority may mitigate but do not eliminate liability.

Antitrust

Competition Authority Monitors Cable Broadcasters over 2026 FIFA World Cup Rights

The Albanian competition authority has opened a monitoring procedure concerning cable broadcasters and platforms in relation to the broadcasting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The procedure follows complaints from citizens and concerns raised by members of the Albanian Parliament regarding the transmission of World Cup matches. Under the Albanian competition regime, market monitoring is an information-gathering tool used by the Albanian Competition Authority to follow market developments and assess whether there are indications of possible restrictions of competition. If monitoring reveals reasonable suspicions of anti-competitive conduct, the Authority may proceed to a formal investigation.