Juris Gaiķis starts to perform the office duties of the Chairman of the Competition Council
Starting from 14 September of this year, the office duties of the Chairman of the Competition Council of Latvia are assumed by Juris Gaiķis. The candidacy of Juris Gaiķis for the position of the Chairperson of the Competition Council, proposed by the Minister of Economics Jānis Vitenbergs, was examined and approved in a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on 8 September. Jur...
A judgment of the Supreme Court confirms the conclusion of the Competition Council on competition restriction on the cremation market of Riga
Already in 2015 the Competition Council of The Republic of Latvia (the CC), after conducted sector inquiry, raised alarm concerning the disorganised sector of burial services, incl. on monopoly position of the provider of cremation services for almost 20 years. The fight against monopoly...
The CC: the car number plates procurement organised by CSDD is favourable for one company
During the market study, while investigating the procurement of road vehicle number plates production and supply, organised by state owned company “Road Traffic Safety Directorate” (CSDD), the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) detected competition restrictive requirements in the procurement. As a result of such requirements, only one company participated in the procurement, and the offered pri...
The CC develops a self-assessment tool for entrepreneurs for mitigation of cartel risks
The Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) has prepared a self-assessment tool for entrepreneurs, so that they could verify in an easy manner, whether they have not engaged in a prohibited agre...
Termination of the competition for the position of the Chairperson of the Competition Council without a result reflects the insufficient financing
On 14 May, the State Chancellery terminated the competition for the position of the Chairperson of the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) without a result. The CC among other things, relates such outcome of the competition with the insufficiently low remuneration as opposed to the high job responsibilities. The CC has already for years raised alarm regarding the necessity to strengthen the Authority's financial...
The CC develops a self-assessment tool, aimed at facilitating assessment of participation of public administrative bodies in a capital company
In 2020, majority of public administrative bodies pursuant to Section 88 of the State Administration Structure Law (the SASL) are obliged to carry out assessment, whether their involvement in commercial activity through their owned capital companies is legally and economically justified. Since the assessment provides for the necessity to receive a conclusion of the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC), the author...
The court confirms involvement of the local government company SIA “Rīgas satiksme” in the so-called nano water acquisition bid-rigging
On 20 April, the Administrative Regional Court left effective the decision adopted by the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC), according to which last year the authority detected a prohibited agreement concluded by the local government owne...
S. Ābrama leaves the work at the Competition Council of Latvia
Today, on 15 April, is the last working day of Skaidrīte Ābrama, the Chairwoman of the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC). S. Ābrama worked in the Authority for 16 years, and half of this period – as the Head of the Authority. Skaidrīte Ābrama, the Chairwoman of the CC: “When I became the Head of the Authority, basically, I had two main goals. One of them - to seriously address de...
The Competition Council of Latvia publishes the Annual Report 2019
In its latest Annual Report the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) has compiled the most significant achievements of the authority and topicalities of application of the competition law in Latvia in 2019. In the last year, significant resources of the authority w...
Latvian and Lithuanian competition authorities join forces for investigation of cross-border infringements
Taking into consideration the complexity of cross-border infringements of the competition law, competition authorities join their forces for efficient investigation. For example, authorities exchange information on obtained evidence and carry out well-coordinated dawn raids in the countries affected by the respective infringement. Recently, due to lack of evidence the Competition Council of Lithuania terminated 23-month...
The Competition Council detects competition deformation implemented in procurements by a local government and its capital company
The Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) has closed the investigation case regarding activities by two companies – SIA “DAKO” and SIA “RUVAR” – in procurements on supply of construction materials, plumbing products and electric appliances, organised by Rēzekne City Council and SIA “Rēzeknes Namsaimnieks”, owned by the City Council. The CC concluded that these procurements involve deformed competition, facili...
Joint statement by the European Competition Network (ECN) on application of competition law during the Corona crisis
On 23 March 2020, all competition authorities in the European Competition Network (the European Commission, the European Surveillance Authority, and the national competition authorities of the EU/EEA) are issuing a joint statement on how to apply the European competition rules during the crisis.
Authorities for consumer rights and competition in Latvia call entrepreneurs to act in good faith during the emergency situation
The Consumer Rights Protection Centre of Latvia (the CRPC) and the Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) call entrepreneurs to act in good faith during the emergency situation announced in Latvia due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Entrepreneurs must refrain from using this situation for application of excessive prices or committing infringements of the competition law,...
Regarding the Declaration of Emergency Situation
On 7 May, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers has extended the state of emergency up until 9 June, 2020.Please, see more information on restrictions in Latvia in the light of the COVID-19 outbreak
The public benefit exceeds the Competition Council’s of Latvia budget almost 20 times
The Competition Council of Latvia (the CC) has calculated that the average public benefit from implementation of the competition policy in Latvia during the period from 2017 to 2019 exceeds 24.8 million euros a year. Considering the Authority's budget in this period, each euro allocated to the Authority generates average benefit of 19.32 euros. The calculation is based on the as...