The Competition Council has received a written opinion from the European Commission indicating that the proposed amendments to the national Competition Law currently under consideration may be incompatible with European Union law requirements.
The European Commission expressed particular concern regarding a provision in the draft amendments that would reduce the basic amount of fines calculated at the first stage to 50 percent of the statutory maximum fine applicable to a given infringement. According to the Commission’s assessment, such a limitation would prevent the Competition Council from properly applying the criteria for fine calculation mandated by the ECN+ Directive, notably the seriousness and duration of the infringement. The automatic reduction of fines at an early stage of the calculation process would undermine the authority’s ability to impose sanctions that are proportionate to the nature and impact of the infringement.
The Competition Council has informed members of the Seimas of the European Commission’s position and urged them not to adopt amendments that could place the country at risk of breaching EU law. The authority warned that non-compliant legislation could lead to the initiation of infringement proceedings by the European Commission and the imposition of financial penalties. It further stressed that the proposed changes would weaken the deterrent effect of competition law enforcement, to the detriment of consumers and the national economy.
While the government’s official conclusion on the draft legislation recommended aligning the fine calculation framework with EU law by allowing the base fine after the first stage to reach up to 100 percent of the maximum statutory fine, the Seimas Economics Committee nevertheless approved proposals put forward by business associations to introduce a 50 percent cap on fines.