From Mergers to Cartels: An Overview of the Rapidly Evolving Turkish Competition Law in Light of the European Model

Abstract

With its more than a decade-long enforcement practice, Turkish competition law has undergone significant changes that could indicate a move towards converging with the European jurisdiction in many respects. In particular, the Turkish merger control regime has been introduced to a new communiqué and a draft guideline to interpret ex ante merger review in light of especially the new, only-turnover-based notifiability thresholds. Additionally, abuse of dominance, cartel cases, concerted practices and exchange of sensitive competitive information under Turkish competition law bear significant resemblance to their comparable European counterparts, while retaining their Turkey-specific features.