Annual Report 2006

HIGHLIGHTS OF
2006
JANUARY FEBRUARY
January 5 The Competition Council
passed the Resolution whereby AB
Lietuvos paštas was recognised having
infringed the requirements of Article 9
of the Law on Competition by its actions
whereby it established discriminatory
tariffs upon undertaking operating under
identical terms as another undertaking
thus. A fine of LTL 80,000 was imposed
upon AB Lietuvos paštas for abuse of its
dominant position.
JUNE
June 22 A fine of LTL 45,634 imposed
upon undertakings for the prohibited
agreement concluded when participating
in the consulting service tender for
obtaining the support from the EU
structural funds.
SEPTEMBER
September 7 Authorisation granted
to implement the concentration by
establishing UAB Jungtinis tiekimas –
logistics-construction materials
distribution centre joining the small and
medium-sized traders in construction
materials.
September 13 The Competition
Council hosted the Third Baltic
Countries Competition Conference in
Vilnius.
September 21 Authorisation granted to
UAB Kautra to implement concentration
by acquiring the 100 percent holding in
UAB Tolimojo keleivinio transporto
kompanija (TOKS).
February 8 Rimantas Stanikūnas,
Chairman of the Competition Council
participated in the Sixth Global Forum on
Competition hosted by the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) in Paris.
February 13 Seeking to more
efficiently and expediently perform
the investigations of prohibited
agreements between competitors –
cartel investigations, and perform other
investigation-related functions a new
Cartel Division was established within
the administration of the Competition
Council.
JULY
July 7 Rimantas Stanikūnas, Chairman
of the Competition Council, the
only representative from the Eastern
and Central European competition
authorities participated in the closing
discussion of the Sixth Annual Trans-
Atlantic Antitrust Dialogue hosted by
the British Institute of International and
Comparative Law.
OCTOBER
October 5 A fine of LTL 3,110,000
imposed upon AB TEO LT for the
infringement of Article 9 of the Law
on Competition. The Company has
not in essence contested the evidence
of abuse of the dominant position and
acknowledged to have committed an
infringement.
October 26 Having detected the cartel
agreement in the wholesale paper market
the Competition Council concluded
that the companies participating in the
cartel infringed not only the provisions
of the Law on Competition, but also
the requirements of Article 81 of the
EC Treaty. The total amount of the fines
imposed upon the companies for the
prohibited agreement is in excess of LTL
680,000.
MAY
May 3 Rimantas Stanikūnas, Chairman
of the Competition Council participated
in the Fifth Annual ICN conference.
May 8 The Supreme Administrative
Court of Lithuania passed the final
and unappealable ruling upholding
Resolution of 3 February 2005 of the
Competition Council on the prohibited
agreement between undertakings
operating in the taxi market in Vilnius.
AUGUST
August 1 The Competition Council
started using its new logo registered in
the State Patent Bureau of the Republic
of Lithuania.
NOVEMBER
November 22 The Government of
the Republic of Lithuania passed the
Resolution approving the regional aid
map of the Republic of Lithuania. The
map was developed in accordance with
the provisions of the EC Treaty providing
for a possibility to grant certain State
aid.
November 30 The Competition
Council initiated an investigation
concerning the actions of Rautakirja
Oy potentially circumventing the
conditions and obligations attached to
the concentration authorisation seeking
to avoid the creation or strengthening
of a dominant position in connection
to the authorisation for the Company to
acquire the Vilnius agency UAB Lietuvos
spauda.
GENERAL
ACTIVITY
OVERVIEW
The statistical data on the scope of the tasks and activities performed by the Competition Council (hereinafter – CC) in 2006 and the average
duration of the performance thereof are presented in the Tables below:
Total resolutions by the CC in 2006 131
Of which:
Concerning completed investigations
Of which:
-ex officio investigations
-upon complaints
Refused investigations 16
Extended investigations 26
Terminated investigations 8
Other resolutions 9
Positions on the EU legal acts submitted via the LINESIS system* of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania
Agreed positions on the EU legal acts prepared by other authorities via the LINESIS system 18
Comments on draft laws and resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania 63
Comments on draft regulations of other authorities 54
Written inquiry responses 237
Approved prices and tariffs 43
Approved procedures for price and tariff setting 2
* Information system on Lithuania’s membership in the EU
Average duration of investigations completed in 2006 Months
Concerning infringements of the Law on Competition
Of which:
- prohibited agreements 9
-abuse of a dominant position 7
-infringement of the requirements of Article 4 5
Concentration control 19 weekdays
Infringements of the Law on Advertising 5
State aid notification approvals with the aid providers 1
The activity of the CC related to the enforcement of the Law on Competition (hereinafter – LC) is clearly demonstrated by the number of
the resolutions taken in this respect and illustrated by the Table below.
Resolutions under the requirements of the LC
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Resolutions 69 73 70 73 79 81 85
6 ANNUAL REPORT 2006 ANNUAL REPORT 2006 7
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