Western Balkans – Main developments in Competition Law and Policy by 2024

With the year 2024 behind us, let’s look back on the major competition law developments that occurred in the Western Balkans. This includes both the new legislation and how it was applied. The focus on food and agricultural products seems to be another common thread. Price hikes in that area after the Covid scandal seem to have triggered the attention of local national competition authorities (NCAs). Another common thread seems to be the focus on food and agricultural products – post-Covid price hikes in that area seem to have triggered the focus of the local national competition authorities (NCAs).

Serbia: Coffee and food retail in the spotlight

Antitrust: Collusion of coffee producers penalized, leading food retailers investigated

In Serbia, 2024 brought new antitrust investigations, as well as conclusion of some pending ones.

When it comes to concluded investigations, the highlight case involved collusion between two leading coffee producers in Serbia. The Serbian NCA issued a infringement decision following an antitrust investigation which started in 2021. It found that the two largest Serbian producers of coffee had colluded against the law. The NCA found that Atlantic Group and Strauss Adriatic agreed to harmonize their business strategy through the exchange of information about the price policy of ground coffee and future wholesale prices in Serbia. The NCA fined both companies a total of approximately EUR 2 million. The most notable of the new investigations is the one involving the food retail sector. In 2024, the Serbian NCA began an antitrust investigation of the four largest food retailers

in Serbia – Delhaize Serbia Mercator-S Univerexport and DIS. The antitrust watchdog suspects that the four retailers had been coordinating their pricing for a long time. The case was heavily publicized by the media because it affects a large population. This may have put pressure on the NCA’s investigation to end sooner than later. In the first case, the Serbian NCA began an antitrust investigation against two companies: Metabo Center, from Serbia, and Kapro Industries Ltd., from Israel regarding an alleged restrictive contract. The NCA suspects Metabo Center, a Kapro-manufactured importer of measuring instruments, including lasers, and Kapro that they have pressured foreign suppliers to stop supplying Kapro brand tools. In the second case, the NCA began investigating the Serbian representative for tachograph manufacturer Continental VDO in Serbia

. The investigation was preceded by a complaint, in which it was alleged that the investigated company was abusing its dominant position by requesting various payments from its partners without basis and in other ways (the company’s alleged market share exceeds 90%).Finally, in the antitrust sphere, the Serbian NCA published a report on its sectoral inquiry into the market for the sale of pellets. The NCA became interested in this market because of market disruptions that were reflected in price increases and shortages. In a Phase II proceeding, the NCA examined the proposed takeover by Atlantic Group of Strauss Adriatic. The NCA cleared the transaction with conditions, simultaneously with the antitrust decision described above. The conditions included a divestment from a coffee-producing plant, as well as some behavioral and reporting requirements. In a Phase II process, the Serbian NCA reviewed a proposed merger between two major shopping malls in Novi Sad

, Serbia’s 2nd largest city. The NCA eventually allowed this combination to go through.There were also two new gun-jumping investigations. The first investigation is against Villager doo

in relation to the takeover by another Slovenian firm, Semenarna doo. In the second case, the NCA investigates the Serbian company Agromarket doo regarding the takeover of AM Hotel doo by Slovenia

. According to the NCA both Villager and Agromarket seem to have the same ultimate owner. Legislation: New Competition Act not imminent, but four new block exemptions are on the cards

Legislation – New Competition Act is still not imminent and four new blocks exemptions are on the cards The project to enact a new Competition Act appears to be on hold. The project of enacting a new Competition Act in Serbia seems to be on hold. The Serbian NCA published a draft for four new block exemption regulation

: agreements on vertical agreements, technology transfers, agreements on repair and maintenance of motor vehicle, and agreements regarding rail and road transportation. The draft regulations are intended to align Serbian law with the EU model. To become legislation, the regulations will need to be adopted by the Government of Serbia in the form of a decree. Montenegro

Antitrust

In 2024, the Montenegrin NCA was one of the most active competition authorities in the Western Balkans, with landmark cases across its enforcement spectrum.

When it comes to antitrust, the most eye-catching case was the one in which the NCA established the existence of a restrictive agreement between three telecom operators in Montenegro – Montenegrin Telekom, One, and M-tel. The NCA found that three telecom operators in Montenegro (

) – Montenegrin Telekom, One, and M-tel – had entered into a restricted agreement regarding a simultaneous increase in mobile phone service prices. The NCA did not specify what type of collusion it found in the operative part. The NCA of Montenegro has launched an antitrust investigation not only against the three mobile operators but also the operator of Montenegrin’s sea port, Bar. The NCA began its investigation based on the NCA’s complaint that the operator refused to deal with a logistics company. These numbers are likely to remain high as long as Montenegro has merger filing thresholds that can be triggered even if the target has no presence in Montenegro

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The event of the year in Montenegrin merger control was a large gun-jumping fine imposed for an unnotified transaction

. A misdemeanor Court in Montenegro has imposed a fine of nearly EUR 1 million for gun-jumping. This is the largest gun jumping fine ever imposed in the history of merger controls in the Balkans. The fine was imposed on a transaction between a Serbian acquirer, and a Slovenian targeted. The new Montenegrin Competition Act is in the pipeline.

At a press conference where the infringement decision regarding the telecom operators was announced a representative from the NCA hinted at the possibility of a new competition act.

At he press conference in which the infringement decisions concerning the telecom operators were announced, shad hints that the NCA would have the power to fine for competition law violations directly, without having to go to misdemeanor courts. This would be a major change in the Montenegrin competition landscape since the country adopted modern competition law. Bosnia and Herzegovina – New Competition Council Members, Bid Rigging in Focus

In the year 2024, Bosnia’s competition authority, The Competition Council, will have a new leadership

. Following the appointment of new members, this body now includes the following individuals: Ms. Adisa Begic, Mr. Ivo Jerkic, Mr. Vanja Malidzan, Ms. Ankica Gudeljevic, Mr. Davor Savic, and Mr. Ninela Salihbasic.

The Council has six members, appointed for a period of six years. Each year, the Council is presided over by a new member. In 2024 the Council was headed by Mr. Ivo Jerikic. According to Bosnian law, each year the central government appoints a new head of the NCA based on a recommendation from the NCA. In this position, Ms. Adisa Bebic, who continued to serve as a member of NCA’s governing board, was replaced by Mr. Jerkic. In the first instance, bid rigging involved the public procurement of computer hardware. In the second instance, bid rigging was related to the public procurement of road repairs. In both cases, the NCA imposed fines between 100,000 and 200,000 Euros. The production of light commercial vehicle in France is the subject of this case. The parties failed to submit their merger notification in the 15-day period following the signing of the binding transaction document. As a result, the Bosnian NCA fined them BAM 50,000 () (approx. The fine was approximately EUR 25,000. In another case, the Bosnian NCA imposed a fine on Bingo doo, a Bosnian company, for gun jumping.

. The NCA found that Bingo had acquired a majority share in Sani Grand City which is active in the market for renting and managing real estate, or leased property – shopping centres in the Sarajevo Canton. The fine was BAM 450,000 (approx. North Macedonia: Merger Control dominates, New Leadership of the Competition Authority In 2024 the North Macedonian NCA was still occupied with merger controls. In total, 103 notifications were filed for mergers in North Macedonia, down from the 122 that had been filed the previous year. This decrease in the number of filings seems only transitory as there have been no changes to the country’s merger filing thresholds – they still catch even transactions where the target has no presence whatsoever in North Macedonia

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While the merger filing thresholds have remained the same, the North Macedonian Competition Act was amended in other respects. The changes to the law were minor, with the amendments relating to procedural issues, such as the appointment and dismissal of NCA functionaries.

When it comes to legislative changes, another highlight for North Macedonia is that in 2024 the country adopted a law prohibiting unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food products supply chain

. The law is based on Directive (EU) 2018/633 of European Parliament and Council of 17 April 2019. It prohibits unfair trading practices between businesses in the agricultural and food chain. This is because the North Macedonian NCA is the body that is responsible for enforcing the new law. The North Macedonian Parliament has appointed new NCA members. The new head of the NCA is Ms. Malinka Siljanovska Nikolic, while new members of the NCA’s governing body are Mr. Borce Razmoski, Mr. Aleksandar Trgacevski and Mr. Nikola Trajcevski.

Albania: Merger control and focus on food productsFinally, we take a quick look at what were the main competition developments in Albania.

If we look at the number of decisions of the Albanian NCA in 2024, its focus was once again on merger control. In the last year, the NCA handled 29 merger notifications, down from 50 the year before. The drop in notifications is probably only a blip since the thresholds for filing mergers in Albania have not changed. These enforcement efforts were mainly centered on basic food products as the prices of these products seem to be the focus in Albania. The NCA suspected that the companies, which had substantial market shares in the relevant market, might have violated the Albanian Competition Act. The NCA is also investigating the market for fruits and vegetables in various Albanian districts

, and is monitoring prices of “food basket products”, the basic food products that consumers purchase every day. In the coming year, we can expect to see more enforcement in the food sector as inflation continues to bite in the Western Balkans and around the world.

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