The Competition Council has adopted a new Regulation that clarifies procedures related to economic concentrations, ensuring uniform and transparent application of the provisions of Chapter IV of the Competition Law No. 183/2012.
📌 What’s new in this Regulation?
🔸 Scope of Application
The Regulation explicitly applies not only to companies registered in the Republic of Moldova but also to companies registered in other countries, as well as to individuals and central and local public administration authorities.
🔸 Newly Introduced Definitions:
✔️ Conglomerate Concentrations – Concentrations between enterprises that are neither horizontal (competitors in the same relevant market) nor vertical (supplier-client relationships).
✔️ Exclusive Negative Control – A situation where a shareholder has a veto right over strategic decisions of the company but does not have the authority to make such decisions independently.
🔸 Pre-notification Consultation Procedure:
🕚 Previously, parties intending to submit a notification could request preliminary consultations with the Competition Council to discuss key legal and practical aspects of the concentration.
✔️ Now, it is recommended to request such consultations at least two weeks before submitting the notification to clarify important legal and practical issues.
🔸 More detailed conditions for the simplified procedure, applicable to certain categories of economic concentrations.
🔸 Updated Notification Form, which is more detailed and places a stronger emphasis on defining the relevant market.
📌 Recommendations
To avoid uncertainty and ensure compliance with the new requirements, we recommend that businesses and other interested parties analyze the impact of these changes and, if necessary, initiate competition law consultations.
