Europese Commissie wil herziening Tsjechische mededingingswet (en)

The European Commission has formally requested the Czech Republic to amend a provision of the Czech Competition Act that limits the Czech Competition Authority's power to apply Articles 81 (prohibiting cartels and other restrictive business practices) and 82 (prohibiting abuses of dominant position) of the EC Treaty to anticompetitive behaviour in the electronic communications sector.

The request takes the form of a reasoned opinion, the second step of EC Treaty infringement procedures (Article 226). Unless the Czech Republic brings its legislation into compliance within two months of receipt of the reasoned opinion, the Commission may decide to refer this case to the European Court of Justice.

Commissioner Neelie Kroes i commented: 'It is important that the Czech authorities act quickly to change their legislation to ensure that the Czech Competition Authority can apply EC competition rules in the electronic communications sector. Empowering national competition authorities to apply EC competition rules was an important part of our anti-trust reform, and it is vital that these authorities are allowed to get on with the job.'

The Commission considers that the Czech Competition Act limits the ability of the Czech Competition Authority to effectively apply Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty to anticompetitive behaviour in the electronic communications sector. In particular, the contested law excludes the applicability of the Competition Act to behaviour that is in breach of the regulatory framework for electronic communications. This is contrary to Community law, which foresees a parallel application of competition law and ex ante regulation. Therefore, the Commission considers that the Czech Republic has not met its obligations to take all appropriate measures to fulfil its obligations arising from the EC Treaty (Article 10 of the EC Treaty), in combination with its obligations to designate a competition authority or authorities with the power to apply Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty in individual cases and so ensure that these articles of the Treaty are effectively complied with (Articles 35 and 5 of Regulation 1/2003).

The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the Czech Republic on 10 July 2006, requesting information about the situation. In its reply the Czech Republic did not contest the Commission's concerns but informed the Commission that a draft amendment to the Competition Act was being prepared. However, as of March 2007 the Competition Act has still not been amended to bring it into conformity with EU law.