The competitive landscape in Romania is marked by rigorous enforcement and alignment with EU regulations, making it a challenging, dynamic environment for businesses. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii Partner Andreea Oprisan discusses recent legislative developments and the Romanian Competition Council’s proactive measures in an effort to shed light on this complex legal framework.

As of 1 August 2024, the maximum amount of the fine that can be imposed by the Hungarian Competition Authority (“HCA”) will increase from 13% to 15% during the state of war emergency.

Schoenherr has advised Austrotherm GmbH on the merger control filings for the acquisition of the EPS insulation business unit of the Austrian insulation manufacturer Brucha.

Following the implementation of the first stage of the Competition Law reform, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) unveiled a new Draft Law on 24 July 2024, marking the second stage of the reform. This draft aims to further align Ukrainian competition legislation with EU standards and refine certain previous changes.

On 26 June 2024, the Romanian Competition Council (the "RCC") announced that it had conducted a dawn raid as part of an investigation concerning the possible abuse of a superior bargaining position by a company active in the supply of liquid medicinal oxygen against a public hospital. The investigation has been launched ex officio as a result of information received from public sources. The case is noteworthy as it marks the first time the RCC has launched a review regarding an alleged abuse of superior bargaining position, a relatively new type of infringement under Romanian competition rules.

Gessel has advised Grupa Kety on obtaining competition clearance for its takeover of Selt.