The Regualtion Service exercises supervision and regulates prices in the areas of electricity, natural gas, district heating and water. The focus of the service is the supervision over energy and water sectors, as well as railway and postal services. In addition, the Competition Authority resolves disputes related to airport and port charges.
RAGN-SELLS AS is a waste management undertaking whose principal activity is the collection and transport of municipal waste. RAGN-SELLS AS also had a holding in the undertaking OÜ AMESTOP engaged in the management of the landfill in Torma, Jõgeva County. AS Väätsa Prügila operates the landfill located near Väätsa, Järva County (Väätsa landfill).
On 5 October 2022, the Competition Authority issued a decision prohibiting the concentration of AS Eesti Post and its sole competitor AS EXPRESS POST. This is the second time the concentration was prohibited. The same undertakings also wanted to concentrate in 2011, but the Competition Authority did not permit the transaction.
Control of concentrations as ex ante regulation plays an essential role in the functioning of competition. By controlling concentrations, it is possible to prevent anti-competitive concentrations and acquisitions, which in turn prevents the creation of a dominant (monopolistic) position.
In 2022, a court case involving the activities of postal undertakings was concluded in the Supreme Court of Estonia. AS Eesti Post filed a complaint with the Competition Authority, claiming that the undertaking had wanted to buy an early morning postal delivery service from AS Express Post to resell it to publishers. AS Express Post is engaged in the early morning postal delivery of periodicals in larger cities and the surrounding areas, primarily providing the service to its parent undertakings, ie publishing undertakings AS Ekspress Grupp and AS Postimees Grupp.
The Competition Authority found that the large-scale joint tender submitted by OÜ Prenton in the public procurement for the road transport of round logs organised by the Estonian State Forest Management Centre (RMK) was anti-competitive. Consequently, the Authority issued a precept to the representative of the joint tenderers OÜ Prenton to cease co-operation between them at the request of the manager of the state forest.
Last year, one of the largest cartel cases handled by the Competition Authority was concluded. It involved criminal proceedings commenced against undertakings engaged in the sale of grain dryers, as part of which suspicions were filed against AS Tatoli, OÜ Agriland, AS Agribalt, OÜ Werneco, OÜ Baltic Agro Machinery (renamed OÜ BAM2), and OÜ Dotnuva Baltic.
As the economic situation deteriorates and the revenues of undertakings decrease, the desire of undertakings to act together to defend their interests increases. This, however, could put businesses into conflict with competition law. It could happen even if co-operation takes place through a professional organisation. The Authority finds that, in addition to the defending of interests, such cases usually also involve a warning to cease the supply of goods upon non-compliance with wishes. This leads to a situation where undertakings decide together how they behave on the market.
At the end of 2021, the Act on Combating Unfair Trading Practices in the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain entered into force, which transposed into Estonian law Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. In September 2022, the 12-month transitional period for the application of the law expired, which meant that all contracts for the sale of agricultural and food products had to be in accordance with the law from that time on.