A race to the bottom is a socio-economic phrase used to describe a situation in which countries or companies try to compete in order to attract and retain economic activity and the latest data from the Center for Economic Analysis (CEA) in Macedonia suggests that the country is pushing the envelope on its regional counterparts. CEA recently published that seven companies doing business within Macedonian technological industrial development zones have have been granted a total of 56 million euros in state aid. In certain cases, the state aid granted amounted up to 47% of overall value of the investment. Vesna Garvanlieva, CEA […]
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On 1 February 2016 the European Free Trade Organization (“EFTA”) Surveillance Authority has sent a Statement of Objections to Telenor over the possible breach of EEA competition rules in Norway. Telenor now has until 11 April to claim its position regarding the received antitrust charge sheet. Namely, the EFTA Surveillance Authority suspects that Telenor may have abused its dominant position in Norway, by obstructing competitors in three markets related to the provision of mobile communications services to Norwegian users: the market for wholesale mobile access and origination services, the market for mobile broadband services to residential customers, and the market for […]
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On 23 January 2016 the Serbian Government adopted the new Regulation on the Content and Method of Submittal of Request for Issuing of Approval for Proposed Concentration (Official Gazette of RS no. 5/2016 – the “Regulation”) that will be effective as of 2 February 2016. The importance of the new Regulation lies in the fact that it introduces a simplified method for notification of the proposed concentration, harmonizing in that regards the national procedure with the existing EU procedure for notification of concentration. The simplified procedure allows merging undertakings to use a shorter notification form for concentration that are unlikely […]
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On January 22, 2016, Yuriy Terentyev, chairman of the Ukrainian competition watchdog, the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), took to Facebook to announce that Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas enterprise and the exclusive supplier of gas through Ukraine’s transit pipeline, will be fined for the abuse of dominant position in the Ukrainian gas transit market. According to Mr. Terentyev, the AMCU issued a fine of 85 billion hryvnias, or 3.4 billion dollars. No other details were disclosed. Whether or not Gazprom ends up paying said amount, this case is particularly interesting as it represents the first time that a fine was actually levied […]
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ACUNS is a global professional association of educational and research institutions, individual scholars, and practitioners active in the work and study of the United Nations, multilateral relations, global governance, and international cooperation. The organization promotes learning on those topics, as well as dialogue and mutual understanding across and between academics, practitioners, civil society and students. The ACUNS Annual Meeting is a global conference that provides participants with a unique opportunity to discuss UN and global governance related research and policy. Marija Momić, associate at Gecić Law, together with her colleague Darjana Macanović, co-authored a research paper on the topic “Evaluation of Political Financing […]
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On 29 December 2015 Serbian Parliament amendments to the Agricultural Land Act (the “Act”) and with the changes effective as of 7 January 2016. The amendments primarily focus on introducing new ways in which to manage and dispose of state-owned agricultural land. The key changes are: revision of the conditions for exercising the right of first refusal, establishment of the right of priority lease of agricultural land, modifications regarding lease and use rights, use without reimbursement, and disposal of state-owned agricultural land. 1. The right of first refusal can be exercised as part of the specific procedure, which local self […]
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On 12 December 2015, the Serbian Parliament enacted the amendments to the Act on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development. The law was promulgated on 22 December and will be enforced as of 1 January 2016. Before we review the changes the Act on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development introduces, we will address the burning issue that all beneficiaries of agricultural subsidies might feel threatened by – whether these subsidies are currently caught by state aid rules (the “State Aid Act”) leaving beneficiaries open to potential recovery claims from the State Aid Authority? Тhe purpose of the Act on Incentives in […]
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The new Enforcement and Security Act was adopted on 18 December 2015, and will be effective as of 1 July 2016. The most prominent changes under the new act are: the introduction of certain legal institutes which were, in an effort to promote expediency and efficacy, omitted in the current version of the act; a redefinition of the competence of the courts and public enforcers; the status/role of public enforcers, and their increased disciplinary accountability. Most importantly, the new Act introduces the possibility to lodge an appeal against both the decisions of the court and of the enforcer, except in cases […]
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In a trilogue meeting held on 15 December 2015 the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council reached a political agreement to reform EU Data Protection policy. The new policy has been in the works since 2011, but only now have the European Council and the European Parliament managed to reach an agreement on key issues. The final text is expected to be formally adopted in early 2016, and its rules applicable two years thereafter. During this period, 28 member states will be required to amend their existing data protection legislation, or to pass new legislation, whereas the […]
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We are very pleased to announce that Gecić Law contributed the first-ever Serbia chapter for The International Comparative Legal Guides to Cartels & Leniency. The publication comes at a defining moment in terms of antitrust enforcement in Serbia as the Commission for Protection of Competition (the “Competition Commission”) conducted a number of dawn raids in two ongoing investigations in 2015. This was the first time the Competition Commission invoked such investigative powers since it was established in 2006. We have already published a short guide on dawn raids, available here, in the light of the aforementioned developments, and a standalone piece on […]
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