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.
CCA representatives participated in the traditional St. Martin Conference in Brno
The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition organized the traditional annual St. Martin Conference with the aim of exchanging experience in competition law and policy and the prohibition of unfair trade practices in the supply chain of agricultural and food products.
The conference took place in Brno on 8-9 November 2023, on the premises of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition and was attended by the representatives of the enforcement authorities of Member States, a representative of the European Commission – Directorate-General for Competition, the representatives of the academic community, judges, and lawyers.
As the representatives of the CCA, Marijana Mutavdžić, LLM, a senior advisor in the Legal Issues Department, and Nikolina Radanović, MEcon, a junior advisor in the Economic Issues Department, participated in the conference.
The first day of the conference was dedicated to current topics in competition law and policy, and after the opening speech by Petr Mlsna, the head of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, three panels were organized: “Latest News in Competition Law and Policy,” “Competition and Sport,” and “Merger Review,” with the representatives from the Czech competition authority, as well as the representatives from Slovakia, Latvia, Poland, and Hungary, along with the representatives from the European Commission, courts, and universities.
On the second day of the conference, a panel on “First Year of Experience with the Second Extensive Amendment to Act on Significant Market Power” was organized. The panel was moderated by Petr Solsky, Deputy Chairman of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, and the panellists included Marijana Mutavdžić and Nikolina Radanović, along with Jiri Brož from the law office Becker and Poliakoff and Pavel Dejl from the law office Kocian Šolc Balaštik.
As part of their presentation, the representatives of the CCA presented the legislative framework regulating the unfair trade practices in the food supply chain in Croatia. They provided statistical data on the work of the Unfair Trading Practices Division, the positive effects of the application of the Act on the prohibition of unfair trading practices in the business-to-business food supply chain (UTPs Act), and challenges in its implementation. They also presented two cases resulting from the application of the law after the transposition of the EU Directive into Croatian legislation, in which unfair trade practices were identified, and fines were imposed on buyers (traders).
After the panel, two parallel workshops were organized: “Amendment to the Act on Protection of Competition – Alternative Solution to Competition Issues (commitments, prioritization, competition advocacy), settlement, compliance, sanctions” and “Services in the Food Supply Chain – Practical Issues.”
