Communication

The aim of the protection of market competition is primarily to create benefits for consumers and equal conditions for all entrepreneurs on the market, who, acting in accordance with the existing rules and competing on the market with the quality, price and innovation of their products and services, contribute to the overall development of the economy.

Back to list

Croatian court upholds abuse of dominance decision

A Croatian court has dismissed an appeal by an airport service provider and its catering company against an abuse of dominance ruling.

Croatia’s High Administrative Court upheld the Competition Authority’s decision that Zagreb Airport and its catering subsidiary abused their dominance in the markets for the supply and transportation of food to aircraft at Pleso airport.

Zagreb Airport is the sole provider of ground handling services at Pleso, Croatia’s busiest airport, which serves the country’s capital.

The authority found that, from March to May 2007, the companies restricted services to aircraft owned by Croatia Airlines, including the transportation, loading and unloading of catering supplies. The airline then began to order food from other companies instead, at which point Zagreb Airport allegedly stopped offering food transportation services.

After an inspection by the government’s tourism ministry in September 2007, Zagreb Airport agreed to restart their services, but adopted a new price list with a 300 per cent increase on certain services. It also imposed different prices for the same services.

In December 2008, the authority prohibited any further restrictive activities and ordered the company to adopt a new “clear, transparent and non-discriminatory” price list. A court subsequently fined Zagreb Airport 1.39 million kuna (€185,000), its subsidiary 147,000 kuna (€20,000) while two directors were fined 120,000 kuna (€16,000) each.

The companies argued that the authority had used insufficient evidence and had incorrectly assessed the prices as unfair.

Christoph Haid, at Schoenherr in Vienna, says the decision was expected.

“To our knowledge, over 95 per cent of all authority decisions have been confirmed by the court,” he says. “Therefore, it is no surprise that the court rejected the appeal lawsuit as being ill-founded and affirmed the decision establishing that are no grounds to dismiss the case.”