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Proos, Aini --- "Competition Policy in Estonia" [2006] ELECD 463; in Cseres, J. Katalin; Schinkel, Pieter Maarten; Vogelaar, O.W. Floris (eds), "Criminalization of Competition Law Enforcement" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Criminalization of Competition Law Enforcement

Editor(s): Cseres, J. Katalin; Schinkel, Pieter Maarten; Vogelaar, O.W. Floris

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845426088

Section: Chapter 17

Section Title: Competition Policy in Estonia

Author(s): Proos, Aini

Number of pages: 5

Extract:

17. Competition policy in Estonia
Aini Proos

The year 2004 has been very important to Estonia: we joined the European
Union, as did the other nine accession countries. It has caused changes
on the legislative and on the supervisory level in competition policy. We
established competition policy and applied supervision of competition in
practice in 1993, when the first Competition Act was enforced and the
Estonian Competition Board (ECB) was formed. The second Competition
Act entered into force in 1998. In 2001 the current Competition Act took
effect and some changes have been made even later, with the latest changes
having come into force on 1 August 2004. The ECB falls under the remit
of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The number
of personnel employed currently is 47.
The ECB has the responsibility to carry out supervisory tasks over all
sectors of the economy. The main tasks of the ECB are:

· to investigate agreements restricting competition;
· to process cases involving abuse of a dominant position by
undertakings;
· to exercise control in respect of concentrations;
· to examine the competitive situation in the relevant markets and to
make proposals for fostering increased competition.

There are three different procedures the ECB can use in the process of
handling of competition cases: administrative, misdemeanour and criminal.
In examining competitive situations in relevant markets, the ECB uses an
administrative procedure, if the examination does not involve a criminal
or misdemeanour case.
On 1 September 2002 the Penal Code was changed in principle, that ...