The enforcement of competition policy in the candidate countries

Abstract

T he policy of competition development constitutes an important element of the transformation of the economy in the candidate countries, which are constructing their market economies after almost fifty years of central planning. This process requires a new legal system adequate for market economies. That is why all the candidate countries apply competition law or, precisely speaking, a legal system for the promotion and protection of competition consisting of regulations concerning anti-competitive agreements (vertical and horizontal), restrictive business practices, merger and acquisition (M&A) control, unfair competition and state aid. A distinctive feature of the candidate countries in comparison to the mature market economies of the EU Member States is that they not only need to protect competition but first of all to promote it during the economic transformation. This justifies the significance of competition agencies for the economic policies of the governments in the candidate countries. A pro-competitive economic policy is thus a precondition for the effective enforcement of the legal system promoting and protecting competition. Progress by the Candidate Countries Competition law and competition agencies were established in the candidate countries at different times. Poland was the first country to introduce these regulations and establish an Anti-monopoly Office. The experience gained during the first years of competition law enforcement constituted the basis for the adoption of new competition acts or for major amendments in the existing law. There is no doubt that these changes took place in connection with the requirement of the adjustment of competition laws in the candidate countries to the acquis. Although the competition protection systems in the candidate countries are similar in their basic elements, they vary in substantive and institutional details. A comparative analysis of the main features of competition protection systems in the candidate countries is presented in Table 1. In all the candidate countries with the exception of Hungary and Romania competition agencies are independent