Annual Report 2017

Competition Agency of Georgia

Annual Report 2017

Tbilisi, 2018

Fair Competitive Environment for Business Development

2017 turned out to be a very significant year in terms of establishing competitive environment in Georgia. Although the Competition Agency started functioning just three years ago, during this period, especially in 2017, successful events led us to increase awareness of the Agency and trust towards it.

Our small, however, highly professional team works daily to achieve our core goal – establishment of one of the main factors for development of business and economy in the country, free, fair, and healthy business environment, where the success can be achieved only through hard work and fair competition.

During last year, our activities encompassed all directions of competition policy, confirmed by the following report.

We proceeded 2017 with working on improvements in our organizational structure and procedures, capacity building of the staff, increasing awareness of the Agency, and deepening international cooperation.

The European Union support to the Agency is vital to improve our future activities.

Project “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency,” launched in 2017, contemplates increase of our capacity that includes improving legislative framework, refining procedures, capacity building of the Agency and its partner organizations, and increasing public awareness of competition related issues.

It must be noted that in 2017 we held first international scholarly and practical conference, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of establishing the Georgian competition policy. In process of organizing the conference, priceless contribution was dedicated from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), IOS Partners, and N(N)LP Competition Institute of Georgia.

The importance and scope of the event is shown by the fact that the representatives of competition authorities of Austria, Belarus, Estonia, Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Armenia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and the heads of Georgian executive, legislative, and judicial authorities participated in it. We hope that organizing similar events will become a tradition.

Obviously, lots of wishes were unfulfilled in a very interesting and tense year of 2017; however, our desire, support of the partners, cooperation with the European Union and leading international organizations in the sphere of competition, increased confidence of business guarantee the future success.

Nodar Khaduri

Chairman of the Competition Agency

Introduction

Role and importance of competition is acknowledged by the supreme law of the country, the Constitution, obliging the state to support the development of free trade and competition.

Notably, in 2017, 25th anniversary of establishment and practical realization of competition policy was celebrated in Georgia. 25 years has passed since the country established the first bylaw regulating competition in Georgia. However, Competition Agency of Georgia, as first independent Legal Entity of Public Law was established less than 4 years ago.

The Competition Agency is accountable to the Prime-Minister and the Society of Georgia. The principal objective of the Agency is to implement competition policy, establish and preserve competitive environment in Georgia, and therefore, detect and eliminate all types of anti-competitive conduct.

Our Main goals and messages:

. To guarantee open, efficient and result-oriented activities; . To raise public awareness of the Agency and issues related to competition; . Capacity building of the Agency staff to ensure high quality and result-oriented work; . To implement new projects oriented to the development; . To increase trust in society and business.

According to the statute approved by the Government of Georgia, the Agency consists of 4 structural units:

 Economic Competition Protection Department;  Market Monitoring and Analysis Department;  Legal Department;  Administrative Department;

As of 31 December of 2017, there were 42 employees in the agency.

Parallel to the daily work and activities to ensure fair competition in the country, we devote our efforts to become a worthy member of worldwide competition family. Active participation in international activities and close cooperation with competition authorities of various countries as effective tool to obtain information and exchange experience, are among the priorities of the Agency’s performance.

The below report presents the key activities of Competition Agency of Georgia conducted in 2017: investigations and market monitoring, concentrations and state aid, recommendations issued to improve competitive environment, ongoing international projects in the Agency, raising public awareness on competition issues, signed Memorandums of Understanding, implementation of international obligations and other directions.

We want to thank any person, authority or donor organization for their contribution in the activities conducted by Competition Agency of Georgia in 2017. Hopefully in 2018 we will be more enthusiastic in enforcing efficient competition policy and establishing healthy competitive environment.

1. General Statistics of the Agency's activities

In 2017, in the frames of the legislation, Competition Agency of Georgia received 1107 and sent 1712 letters, administered 504 internal correspondences, and issued 364 orders.

Volume of Business Corespondence in 2017

1800 1712 1600 1400 1200 1107 1000 800 600 504 364 400 200 0 Internal Orders შემოსულიReceived გასულიSent შიდა კორესპონდენცია ბრძანებები Corespondence კორესპონდენციაCorespondence კორესპონდენციაCorespondence

During the same year, the Agency conducted investigations of 6 commodity/service markets, 5 of which were completed in 2017.

The Agency issued 10 recommendations to the state authorities and undertakings in order to improve competitive environment of relevant markets.

In 2017, the Agency was monitoring 5 commodity/service markets;

During 2017, the Agency reviewed 2 concentration notifications and 1 state aid application;

3 of applications/complaints submitted to the Agency were dismissed due to failure to meet legal requirements of application form and/or to correct the application gaps.

Also, following activities were held in 2017:

. 23 advisory council meetings of the Chairman were held with over 50 issues discussed; . 12 seminars/conferences were held to raise awareness of competition related issues among state authorities, business representatives and public sector; . Up to 30 capacity building events (study tours, trainings, and etc.) were held for the staff of the Agency; . 2 of the applications regards possible violation of competition law submitted in the Agency were redirected to the sector regulators due to provisions of law; . The Agency is currently examining admissibility of 1 complaint submitted in 2017.

2. Investigations

2.1. Completed Investigations

In 2017, Competition Agency of Georgia completed 5 commodity/service market investigations. Out of mentioned investigations 1 was conducted on the basis of the Agency’s initiative, 4 were conducted on the basis of the submitted Application/complaint.

Base of Investigation

20%

სააგენტოსBased on the ინიციატივაAgency's Initiative

სააგენტოშიBased on the წარდგენილი Complaint საჩივარი

80%

2 investigations concerned the alleged violation of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition, 1 case concerned alleged violation of the Article 6, 1 was on alleged violation of Articles 7 and 113, 1 investigation concerned alleged violation of the Articles 7 and 10.

კანონისAlleged მეVaiolation-6 მუხლის of Article შესაძლო6 დარღვევა

კანონისAlleged მეVaiolation-7 მუხლის of Article შესაძლო7 დარღვევა

კანონის მე-10 მუხლის შესაძლო Alleged Vaiolation of Article 10 დარღვევა კანონის მე-11³ მუხლის შესაძლო Alleged Vaiolation of Article 11³ დარღვევა



Investigation of Poti Port Case

Investigation on alleged violation of the Article 6 (abuse of a dominant position) of Georgian Law on Competition by JSC “Corporation Poti Sea Port” (hereafter Poti Port) was started on the basis of complaint jointly submitted by 14 terminal companies. During the investigation process, the number of complainants was increased and additional information was submitted by six maritime companies.

The complaint referred to the order, considered to come in force from April 1st, 2016, issued by Poti Port, indicating an integrated tariff set by Poti Port on the services of unloading the cargos, transportation on the territory of Poti Port territory, and warehousing. On the basis of the Agency intercede, on June 24, 2016, Tbilisi Civil Court suspended the order of Poti Port temporarily, till the end of the investigation.

During investigation process, the Agency requested all necessary information from the state authorities and relevant undertakings, held meetings with the representatives of complainant companies, Poti Port, maritime and cargo transportation companies; consultations were received from the relevant state authorities. For on sight examinations, the investigation group members visited Poti Port and the terminal companies.

On the basis of analysis, the Agency concluded that a new tariff plan of Poti Port would have limited competition in cargo transportation and terminal service markets and harmfully affect the consumers’ interests.

Although the Agency analyzed Poti Port opinion regards security and efficiency improvements, distortion of competition could not be justified with existing circumstances.

Accordingly, by the order of 21 April 2017 of the Chairman of the Agency, it was concluded that activation of a new tariff scheme would have violated sub-paragraphs “b” and “d” of Paragraph 2 of the Article 6 of Georgian Law on Competition. However, the abuse of a dominant position by Poti Port was not established, as long as, a new pricing scheme has not been set in motion yet.

In order to improve the competitive environment and increase the security and efficiency of the port, the Agency issued recommendations to Poti Port, maritime companies, and Poti Municipality Hall.



Investigation of Public School Pupil Transportation Service Market

On the basis of alleged violation of the Article 7 (Agreements Limiting Competition, Decision and Collusive Actions) of Georgian Law on Competition by LTD “V-com,” LTD “Time Service,” and LTD “Mygps,” the Competition Agency started the investigation of Public School Pupil Transportation Service Market on own initiative. The investigation also concerned the alleged violation of the Article 10 (Inadmissibility of distortion of competition by the State Authorities, Authorities of the Autonomous Republic and Local Self-government authorities) of Georgian Law on Competition by the Ministry of Education and Health of Georgia. The investigation was based on the report and submitted information by the State Audit Office of Georgia.

In the frames of the administrative proceedings, during the investigation, the Agency requested all necessary information from undertakings and the state authorities, interviewed the parties, and held consulting meetings with the potential suppliers of the market and various state authorities.

On the basis of information obtained and analyzed during the investigation, by the order of 23 June 2017, the fact of anti-competitive agreements among the companies was not detected, accordingly, the Agency did not establish violation of the Article 7 by the accused parties. Also, it was concluded that LTD “Mygps” was constrained possibility to participate in a state tender, conforming the violation of subparagraph “c” of the Article 10.

As a result, in order to improve competitive environment of Public School Pupil Transportation Service Market in the State Procurement, the recommendations, mandatory to consider, were issued to the Ministry of Education and Health of Georgia.



Investigation Conducted on the Basis of Complaint of “iTechnic”

On July 19, 2017, the Agency made a decision on the complaint of “iTechnic.” The investigation concerned the alleged violation of the Articles 7 (Agreements Limiting Competition, Decision and Collusive Actions) and 113 (Prohibition of Unfair Actions of Economic Agents) of Georgian Law on Competition by 3 suppliers of products of “Apple Inc.” (Cell-phones – iPhone, MacBook, and their accessories) - LTD “iPlus, LTD “Apple City,” and “LTD “iSTYLE.

In case of alleged violation of the Article 7, the Agency examined whether the existing evidence was sufficient to conclude that the accused parties fixed the prices.

To define the relevant market, the Agency inquired with special questionaries’ the consumers and suppliers of cell phones and portable computers.

On the basis of information obtained and analyzed, as long as a parallel conduct of the companies could be economically explained and in absence of any direct evidence of collusive action, the Agency did not establish the violation of the Article 7 of Georgian Law on Competition. In case of alleged violation of the Article 113, three following episodes were examined to detect whether LTD “iPlus” violated the law:

 Reporting and banning Facebook page owned by LTD “iTechnic;”  Signing up and administering Facebook pages – “a liar iTechnic” and “iTechnics Georgia;”  Establishing and administering a webpage – www.itechnics.ge.

Referring to the Article 11³, the agency concluded that in episode regards administering a webpage www.itechnics.ge, conduct of “iPlus” was an unfair competition action, as long as, content provided on www.itechnics.ge insulted the reputation of LTD “iTechnic” and could misled the consumers.

In order to uproot the violation, the company was obliged to place a banner on the upper part of the webpage, indicating that the webpage did not have any relation with LTD “iTechnic.”

LTD “iPlus” uprooted the violation immediately.

 Investigation Conducted on the Basis of Complaint submitted by JSC “Insurance Company Unison”

On September 5, 2017, Competition Agency of Georgia made a decision on alleged violation of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition based on the complaint of JSC “Insurance Company Unison.” The complaint concerned that in electronic public tenders announced through state procurement, the requirement to submit only bank issued warranty on fulfilling the contract was irrelevant to the obligations of competition law.

The representatives of LEPL State Procurement Agency and LEPL Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia were involved in the investigation processed by Competition Agency of Georgia.

The needed information was requested and obtained from market players, licensed banks, and insurance companies.

In the decision, the Agency concluded that, according to the Georgian civil law, the bank warranties can be issued by banks as well as insurance companies.

Accordingly, any tender requiring a participant company to submit only bank issued warranty distorts competition and violates the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition. The Agency admitted that despite the bank and insurance sectors differ from each other, the mentioned violation by LEPL Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia cannot be excused; the act of the purchaser companies requiring only bank issued warranties is in preference to banks, compared to insurance companies.

In order to improve competitive environment of the market, the agency issued recommendations to the purchaser organizations, the Government of Georgia and LEPL Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia.

 Investigation of Outdoor Advertising Service in Batumi

By the decision of October 6, 2017, the Competition Agency finished investigation, processed on the basis of a complaint submitted by LTD “Libo” that concerned alleged violation of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition by Batumi Hall.

The Complainant indicated that Batumi City Hall violated competition legislation by extending the permission on outside advertising in Batumi to its competitor without holding any auction.

During the investigation, the Competition Agency requested all needed information from the parties, state authorities, relevant undertakings, and held interviews. The opinion on regulation was expressed by the Legal Department of Government Administration of Georgia that operates a legal Division which supervise the activities of municipal bodies.

On the basis of processed data and analyzed legislation, the Agency concluded that the existing legislation did not provide grounds for extension of permit validity by making amendments in the same permit. Therefore, the mentioned conduct, nonexempt of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition, limited competition in the market and violated the subparagraph “e” of Article 10.

2.2. Decisions on refusal of commencing investigation

During 2017, the agency adopted 6, 4 applications and 2 complaints, negative decisions on admissibility of applications/complaints.

4 Applications

6 Decisions on refusal of commencing investigation

2 Complaints

2 cases concerned alleged violation of the Article 10, 2 cases concerned alleged violation of the Article 113, 1 case concerned alleged violation of the Article 7, and 1 – alleged violation of the Articles 6 and 113.

Articles 6 and 113

Article 10

Article 7

Article 113

1) By the decision of January 9, 2017, the Agency refused to commence investigation on the basis of the application submitted by the N(N)LP “Center of Competition Law and Consumer Protection” regarding the alleged violation of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition by a hotel online reservation platform – booking.com; In particular, including the “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) clauses in the contracts was not in accordance to competition legislation of Georgia.

During administrative proceedings, the agency notified the hotels (operating companies) regarding the application and requested the information from them. Out of the surveyed hotels, none complained against Booking.com; moreover, most of them consider booking.com to be a very effective tool of offering and selling their services and indicated the importance of this platform for the development of Georgian tourism business.

In order to conduct a comprehensive research, the Agency analyzed international practice and relevant decisions towards Booking.com adopted by member states of the European Union. The accused party expressed readiness to voluntarily implement the same obligatory conditions on the territory of Georgia as approved in the European Union member states. To be specific, in Georgia, Booking.com will operate according to the conditions adopted by the competition authorities of the European Union member states. The agency is empowered to monitor the process of implementing the rules in Georgian market. According to the above mentioned, there was no reason to launch an investigation.

2) By the order of February 6, 2017, the Agency refused to commence investigation on the basis of the application submitted on December 7 by N(N)LP “Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia” (CSRDG). The organization indicated that the quality of the products sold at toys market was not in accordance to CE marking of these products. The applicant concerned the alleged violation of subparagraph “a” of paragraph 2 of the Article 113 of Georgian Law on Competition by LTD “Toy Land”, LTD “Cerodena”, LTD “Bana Toys”, LTD “Ocnebis Samkaro”, LTD “Hobby Master”, JSC “Goodwill,” and indicated to the conduct of unfair competition of these companies against LTD “Anvoli.”

During the administrative proceedings, in order to define the factual circumstances, the meetings were held with the parties. The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, LEPL Technical and Construction Supervision Agency, Revenue Service of Georgia and Georgian National Agency for Standards and Metrology participated in the meetings.

As detected, in 2019, it is planned to bring the Georgian legislation in compliance with Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EN), newly adopted by the European Union. Currently, Georgia does not have a market supervisory body responsible to ensure and authorized to monitor quality of products sold at toy market of the country; also, the Georgian legislation does not define any special regulation related to CE marking obligations.

Considering above mentioned, the Agency defined that, in absence of relevant regulations, it is not appropriate, not even possible, to evaluate a conduct to be unfair. Therefore, the application submitted by the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia has been declined.

3) By the Order of 1 March 2017 of the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, the Agency refused to commence investigation on the basis of the application submitted by LTD “iPlus” concerning that, by using Apple trademark, LTD “iTechnic” misled the consumers and conducted the false campaign against “iPlus.” According to the complainant, the mentioned act violated the Article 113 of Georgian Law on Competition (unfair competition).

In frames of administrative proceedings, on the basis of the information submitted by LEPL National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia, Sakpatenti, the Agency defined that among the trademarks protected in Georgia, neither complainant nor defendant held an “Apple Inc.” trademark, neither of them refused that they are not official representatives of Apple in Georgia. Accordingly, in terms of using a trademark, these companies could not be considered as competitor undertakings. In addition, on the basis of the information, it was impossible to define in what manner the complainant was damaged by the defendant. Therefore, the Agency could not find the complaint reasonably suspicious to commence an investigation.

4) By the Order of 28 March 2017 of the Chairman of Competition agency of Georgia, the Agency refused to commence investigation on the basis of the application submitted by 11 companies operating in Taxi Service Market of Gori, concerning the alleged violation of the Articles 6 and 113 of Georgian Law on Competition by LTD “Katena.”

According to the applicants, by entering Gori Taxi Service market, Katena would have abused a dominant position, as long as, the similar circumstances had been occurred in Kutaisi and Batumi.

However, the applicants did not submit any information indicating that “Katena” abused a dominant position in the market.

The applicants considered that the act of offering low prices to the clients and paying additional fees to the drivers by “Katena” was a conduct of unfair competition, as long as, the company enticed other companies’ clients and drivers. The companies supposed that in short period LTD “Katena” could drive the competitors out of the market and increase prices accordingly; however, after meeting with the applicants it was defined that similar action had not been yet occurred in Gori.

Therefore, by considering standard of reasonable doubt, the Agency could not find the complaint reasonably suspicious to commence an investigation.

5) By the decision of October 20, 2017, the Agency refused to commence investigation on the basis of the application submitted by JSC “Condotte d'Acqua” concerning the alleged violation of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition by Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia.

The mentioned complaint concerned the violation of competition legislation in a tender announced by Roads Department and financed by a donor organization, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Namely, by placing a company in an advantageous position, the state authority acted in preference to a particular undertaking and limited competition. On the basis of analyzed factual and legal circumstances, the agency concluded that the tender conditions were established under the provisions of guideline rules and conditions of the donor organization. The violation of tender conditions by the department would have caused the refusal to grant a loan by the donor organization that had never happened.

This condition is evaluated as an exemption, as long as, the tender conditions are defined by donor, which is not a state authority. Therefore, by considering a standard of reasonable doubt, the Agency could not find the complaint reasonably suspicious to commence an investigation.

6) By the order of November 13, 2017, the Agency refused to commence investigation on the basis of the application submitted by JSC “Insurance Group of Georgia” concerning the alleged violation of the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition by LTD “Georgian Post” and LTD “Tbilisi Transport Company.” In the process of preliminary administrative proceedings, the Agency reviewed the opinions and arguments of the applicant and defendants.

As long as both defendants represent legal entities of private law, not state authorities, the Article 10 of Georgian Law on Competition cannot be exercised to regulate this particular condition. Therefore, the Agency could not find the complaint reasonably suspicious to commence an investigation.

3. Concentration

In 2017, Competition Agency of Georgia reviewed compliance of 2 notifications with competitive environment on expected concentrations.



Concentration between “Cement Invest BV” and “Heidelberg Cement Central Europe East Holding”

By the order of October 6, 2017, the Competition Agency approved the concentration between “Cement Invest BV” and “Heidelberg Cement Central Europe East Holding.”

On the basis of obtained information, analysis of international practice, consultations with experts and undertakings, the Agency defined a relevant market, number of undertakings, and their market shares. According to the market shares, the Agency calculated the concentration level of relevant market. The agency requested necessary information from the parties and undertakings operating on cement commodity market.

On the basis of received information, it was defined that the expected concentration would neither affect the concentration level nor distort competition.

Therefore, the Agency decided to validate the expected concentration of undertakings.



Concentration between LTD “Alta” and LTD “Metromart”

On December 4, 2017, Competition Agency of Georgia approved the concentration between LTD “Alta” and LTD “Metromart.” The concentration expected LTD “Alta” to acquire 50% of shares of LTD “Metromart.”

The decision of Agency was based on the analysis of obtained information, international practice, and relevant market conditions. In the notification on concentration, the market was subdivided in two parts “black” and “white” electronic goods. The information on importing goods was submitted accordingly.

On the basis of information and data received from Revenue Service of Georgia, the Agency calculated the market shares of the undertakings and concentration level on wholesale and retail levels of the market.

The Agency concluded that the merger would neither have changed the concentration level significantly nor limit the competition. Therefore, the Agency decided that concentration was in accordance to the competitive environment and approved the expected concentration.

4. State Aid

In 2017, the agency received one state aid application.



Application of Ozurgeti Municipality

According to Georgian Law on Competition and the Regulation №529 of 1 September 2014 of the Government of Georgia, the competition agency regulates the state aids granted by the state authorities, authorities of autonomous republics and by the local self-government bodies.

Therefore, the Agency reviewed the application submitted by Ozurgeti Municipality on state aid, amounted 90 000 GEL, granted to N(N)LP “Farming Development Center.”

The state aid, granted by Ozurgeti Municipality from its budget of 2017, would have been spent for the following operations:

1) winery – seeking and popularizing Guria endemic species of grapes 2) developing land for fruit demonstration 3) setting up a greenhouse 4) modelling new species of evergreens 5) popularizing/re- establishing tea culture, also, providing consultations and seminar type meetings for the interested people.

On the basis of obtained information, the Agency concluded that the state aid, amounted 90 000 GEL, granted by Ozurgeti Municipality by N(N)LP “Farming Development Center,” would not have limited competition. Accordingly, the Agency approved the state aid application submitted by Ozurgeti Municipality.

5. Recommendations

Competition Agency of Georgia issued 10 recommendations in 2017:

 5 recommendations issued to the undertakings;  1 recommendation issued to the Government of Georgia;  2 recommendations issued to the state authorities;  2 recommendations issued to local self-governmental bodies.

6. Cooperation with International Organizations

Participating in the events organized by the international organizations and establishing cooperation with competition authorities of other countries are among key priorities of Competition Agency of Georgia. These contacts are efficient tools to obtain information and exchange knowledge, share bilateral experience.

In terms of deepening cooperation with international organizations and competition authorities, 2017 was especially fruitful for Competition Agency of Georgia. By the support of donor organizations, the staff of the agency had opportunities to participate in various international forums and conferences, and obtain information about the best international practices in specific directions.

As a result of events and meetings, the awareness of the agency increased significantly, the contacts were established, and foreign colleagues received information about Competition Agency of Georgia.



Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Since establishment, the Competition Agency actively and fruitfully cooperates with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the frames of Economic Cooperation and Development, representatives of the Agency get opportunities to participate in various seminars held by European experts that raises capacity and efficiency of the staff. In 2017, the representatives of the competition Agency attended the following events:

. OECD Eurasia week – Held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. At the meetings, led by OECD competition experts and heads of the competition authorities, the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, discussed the perspectives of cooperation and underlined the importance of sharing experience. The parties discussed the process of improving and implementing competition legislation in Georgia. In the frames of the event, Nodar Khaduri held meetings with Ukrainian and Moldavian colleagues, Yuri Terentiev and Victoria Karare.

. 16th edition of the Competition Global Forum of OECD – held on December 7-8, in Paris, France. In frames of the forum, the meetings were held with the Head of the OECD Competition Division, Antonio Gomes, and the Heads of competition authorities of the friendly countries – Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Hungary, and Peru. The forum was attended by the representatives of competition authorities and experts. The Competition Agency representative delivered a presentation at the forum.

. During two weeks, a representative of the Competition Agency of Georgia was interned in OECD. In frames of the course, the representative of the Agency attended the meetings of OECD Competition Committee, was involved in daily activities of the organization, and had a great

opportunity to get knowledge about the best practices and achievements of international competition authorities.

. The Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, attended the meeting organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Regional Centre for Competition in Hungary (OECD-GVH RCC). The event was attended by the heads of over 20 competition authorities. To enhance cooperation negotiations were held among participants and various activities/events were planned in the frames of the visit. The meeting was held between the Chairman of the Agency and President of Competition Authority of Hungary, Miklos Juhasz.

. Throughout the year, the representatives of the agency attended 3 seminars organized by OECD-GVH RCC in Budapest, Hungary: „Definition of relevant market,“ „Best practices to deal with cartels,“ and „Competition rules in pharmaceutical sector”.

. The article regards market monitoring of Passenger Air Transportation Market, delivered by Lasha Bikashvili from Market Monitoring and Analysis Department of Competition Agency of Georgia was published in the newsletter of July, 2017 of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).



Sofia Competition Forum

Since September 2, 2014, Competition Agency of Georgia is a member of Sofia Competition Forum (SFC) and actively participates in the events of the organization. In October 2017, two representatives of the agency participated in the 10th Meeting of Sofia Competition Forum in Sofia, Bulgaria. The representatives delivered at the forum presentation on the activities of Competition Agency of Georgia. Several articles on Competition Agency of Georgia were published in the 3rd addition of the Sofia Competition Forum Newsletter. (Please visit the following link - http://competition.ge/ge/page4.php?b=682)



International Competition Network

International Competition Network (ICN) which is the only international organization that works exclusively on competition law enforcement issues, was joined by Competition Agency of Georgia in October 29, 2014. Five representatives of the Competition Agency attended the International Competition Network’s 2017 Annual Conference in Porto, Portugal. The Conference was attended by over 500 participants. In the frames of the conference, meetings were held with Andreas Mundt, the Chairman of the International Competition Network, and the Head of the OECD Competition Division, Antonio Gomes. Parallel to the conference, the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, held a meeting with the Director of the Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank Group, Mr. Klaus Tilmes, and Competition Policy Leading Specialist, Martha Martinez Licetti.



United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

The Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, with the representatives of the Agency, attended the second session of Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy meeting, held in the headquarters of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The meeting was attended by the representatives of Consumer Protection and Competition Authorities of various countries. In frames of the visit in Switzerland, the delegation of Competition Agency of Georgia attended the 16th intergovernmental group of experts meeting. Meeting were held with the Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch of UNCTAD, Teresa Moreira.



American Bar Association

The Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, participated in the 65th ABA Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting held in Washington DC, the United States of America. The following topics were discussed at the meeting: Antitrust enforcement priorities; the tools of promoting and developing competition; the tools of implementing and enhancing international practice.

Parallel to the meeting, Nodar Khaduri held a meeting with the the Executive Director of the World Bank, Frank Heemskerk, World Bank’s Senior Director of Governance Global Practice, Debora L. Wetzel, and the Global Lead on Regulatory Policy and Management for the Governance Global Practice, Peter Ladegaard.



Meetings with Donor Organizations

In order to support the activities of the agency and improve its facilities, several meetings were held with the donor organizations:

 Meeting with the Director of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the South Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus - Bruno Balvanera;  Meeting with the Regional Director of the World Bank for the South Caucasus, Europe and Central Asia - Mercy Tembon;  Meeting with the representative of Asian Development Bank in Georgia - Yesim Elhan-Kayalar;  Meeting with the Regional Director of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) - Mary Schäfer;  Meeting with the president representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Georgia - Yukihiko Ejiri;  Meeting with the World Bank Groups' Leading Economists - Wolfgang Fengler and John Gabriel Goddard;  Video-conference with Martha Martinez Licetti, who leads the Competition Policy Team for the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank Group and Chief Economist - Graciela Miralles Murciego;  Meeting with the Director of B&S Europe executing EU project "Support to the Georgian Competition Agency" - Rafael Comenge and Deputy Director - Mihaela Dascultu;

 Meeting with the Director-General for Competition, European Commission - Johannes Laitenberger;  Meeting with the Chairman of the OECD Competition Committee - Frederic Jenny and Head of OECD Competition Division - Antonio Gomez;  Meeting with the Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch Division for International Trade on Goods and Services, and Commodities at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) - Teresa Moreira;  Meeting with the Head of European Business Association in Georgia - David Lee.



Meetings with the Representatives of Diplomatic Sector

For the future cooperation, the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia held meetings with the representatives of diplomatic sector of various countries:

 Meeting was held with the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Georgia, Dursun Hasanov. During the meeting, parties discussed important competition issues and bilateral cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan. Attention has been driven to the necessity of deepening the corporation ties.  Meeting with the Ambassador of Belarus to Georgia - Mikhail Miatlikov. In the frames of the meeting, parties discussed issues of future cooperation, improvement of competition policy, and deepening the cooperation between the countries.

 Meeting with the Head of Commercial and Economic Office Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Georgia - Krasen Balev.

7. Compliance with the International Obligations of the Agency

 Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement

The trade-related provisions of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement form the basis of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement. One of the recitals of the preamble of the Association Agreement as well as its Competition Chapter (Articles 203-209) emphasize the importance of effective enforcement of competition legislation.

The European Union Association agreement agenda specifies the competition related priorities, whereas, the specific obligations are defined in details in EU-Georgia Association Agreement and its action plan of 2017.

According to the action plan, Competition Agency of Georgia had to fulfill its obligations by conducting following activities:

 Conducting trainings on competition policy issues for the representatives of public and private sector;  Organizing trainings and arranging study tours on competition policy issues for the staff members of the Competition Agency and ensuring their participation in international conferences.

Stated obligations were utterly fulfilled by the Competition Agency. In order to enhance the awareness of public and private sector on competition policy, 12 seminars were organized for the representatives of the state authorities, business sector, and civil society. Up to 30 activities were held (study tours, trainings, and etc.) for capacity building of the Agency staff.

Quarterly and Annual reports on compliance on obligations were delivered to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, a state authority, responsible of coordination in frames of DCFTA. In addition, a representative of the Competition Agency participated in Associating Committee meeting on trading held in Tbilisi, on December 6, 2017. During discussion of the Competition Chapter, progress of Georgia in compliance of obligation was positively evaluated.

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Budget Support Programme “Support to EU-Georgia DCFTA and SMEs”

Implementation Report on the Capacity Building Training Plan

The Competition Chapter of EU-Georgia Association Agreement emphasizes the efficient competition policy and existence of comprehensive competition legislation in the country, implemented and enforced by a relevant authorized body.

In order to strengthen a newly established competition agency institutionally, the order №199 of December 22, 2017 of the Chairman of the Agency, “On Approval of the 2016-2018 Training Plan for LEPL Competition Agency” (hereafter – “Training Plan”) was issued.

Training Plan is a normative bases for capacity building activities issued for three years and implemented by international and local donors.

In 2017, according to the training plan, the competition agency was obliged to hold 5 trainings:

2017

Number of N Name of the Training Target Group Participants

Exceptions from prohibition of competition 1 Competition agency 10 – 15 restricting agreements

Competition agency, representatives 2 Leniency program 15-20 of private sector

Definition of relevant market, defining the 3 Competition agency 10 – 15 product market

Uncovering cartels in the process of bidding Competition agency, 4 15-20 (state procurement) State procurement agency

5 Horizontal and vertical agreements Competition agency 10 – 15

The topics were selected according to their relevance for the daily activities of the Agency and efficient enforcement of competition legislation. Definition of a relevant market and product boundaries is a key aspect in competition cases. One of the priorities is to expertise the staff in modern analytical approach and practical methods of competition legislation enforcement. Anti-competitive agreements in public procurement, a global challenge for international organizations (OECD, ICN), is the most serious violation of competition law. Accordingly, it was considered necessary to train the staff of the Competition Agency and the State Procurement Agency and improve the enforcement tools of eliminating cartels in state procurement. Effective legislation enforcement supports free and fair competition in state procurement process.

Trainings on horizontal and vertical agreements and exempts assist the Agency staff members to enforce one of the most important aspects of competition legislation according to the international standards.

Training on Leniency Program, attended by a broad target group (including not only the Agency but Georgian business sector representatives), is an attempt to encourage cooperation between the Competition Agency and business sector. Plan of the training is to increase awareness of Leniency Program resulted in increase of cooperation applications submitted by the undertakings.

Above mentioned trainings were succesfully implemented in 2017.

On June 5, 2017, 17 members of the Agency staff attended the training on market definition, held in Tbilisi. On June 6, 2017, up to 25 representatives of the Competition Agency and the State Procurement Agency attended the training on detection of cartel in public procurement, held in Tbilisi. Both trainings, led by competition law experts, were held in frames of the European Union project, “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency.”

The third training on Leniency Program, supported by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, was held on September 22. The training was led by local and international experts. Besides 10 staff members of the Agency, the training was attended by 40 representatives of business sector.

Remaining two Trainings on horizontal and vertical agreements and its exemptions were held on October 23-25, in frame of the European Union project “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency.” Trainings were led by the representatives of Lithuanian Competition Council, who shared experience of their country and international practice to 25 staff members of Competition Agency of Georgia.

Institutional strengthening activities of 2017 represent a cornerstone in the process of fulfilling obligations taken under the Association Agreement. Mentioned trainings contributed in capacity building of the Agency and supported it to approach the European practice. Besides sharing knowledge, the trainings resulted in establishing contacts between the staff members of the Agency and competition law and economics professors and experts. Via trainings, the Agency staff acquired important theoretical knowledge that will practically result in the decisions of the agency and improved local and international cooperation.

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Compliance with the Obligations taken under OGP

In the frames of Open Government Partnership 2016-2017 action plan of Georgia, an obligation of Competition Agency of Georgia was to establish a guideline that would have informed the market players and the undertakings regarding their obligations under Georgian competition legislation. The obligation included the preparation of the guidelines and sharing its digital and printed versions.

The agency started preparation of the guidelines in December 2016 using the judicial practices of the European Union competition enforcer authorities, the European Commission and the European Court, considering that Georgian competition legislation was created on the base of the European Union competition legislation.

On May 1, 2017, by the order of the Chairman of the Agency, the guidelines, “The Main Obligations of Undertakings under the Georgian Competition Law,” was established. The guidelines focused on three main categories regulated by the Georgian competition law - anticompetitive agreements, abuse of a dominant position, and concentrations.

Text of the guidelines was translated in English and delivered to the team fully based in the agency in frames of the European Union Project. The translation was also delivered to the European Union Officials in Georgia. After the experts evaluated and positively commented on the guidelines, the document was officially approved and uploaded on the agency webpage - http://competition.ge/images/upload/გზამკვლევი%20დოკუმენტი.pdf. In the frames of European Union Project “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency,” the guidelines were printed and actively prompted by the agency at the awareness raising meetings.

Throughout the year, six events took place where the document and its content was promoted and hard copies were delivered to the representatives of business sector.

8. Ongoing Projects in the Agency

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The European Union Project “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency”

a) General overview of the project

In January 2017, the European Union funded project, “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency,” was launched. A two-year-long project is implemented by the International Consortium and managed by “Business and Strategies Europe.” Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania is one of the members of the project.

Official opening ceremony of the project was held on March 24, 2017. The event was opened by the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Victor Dolidze, the Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Georgia, Carlo Natale, the Chairman of Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania, Šarūnas Keserauskas, Team Leader Aurelio La Torre, and the Key Expert of the Project, Francois Souty. The event was attended by the representatives of the Government, members of the Parliament, Ambassadors, diplomats, and representatives of business, non-governmental, and public sectors.

The main goal of the project is to strengthen the Agency institutionally, support the economic progress and consumer welfare, according to the best practice of the European Union and provisions of DCFTA.

The project aims to support the efficient enforcement of competition law by capacity building of the Agency staff. Three main objectives of the project:

. To improve efficiency of legal, economic, and technical capabilities of the Competition Agency that will result in effective enforcement of competition policy in accordance to the EU best practice and DCFTA provision (Component 1);

. To enhance cooperation between the Competition Agency and the sector regulators (Component 2);

. To support the establishment of competition culture in the Georgian society (Component 3).

The project is managed by the steering committee that ensures the project directions, events, and supports the implementation process. Project team, representatives of Competition Agency, EU delegation to Georgia, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Office of the State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic integration are the members of the committee.

b) Activities implemented in the frames of the project

b.a.) Activities to improve competition legislation

In frames of the project, several events were held to improve Georgian competition legislation and its compliance to the European Union legislation and established the guidelines on the principles of competition, namely:

 At the initial stage of the project, the analysis of country’s existing competition legislation framework was conducted;  Gaps were detected through the comparative analysis of the competition and sector regulating legislations;  The draft amendments to the Law of Georgia on Competition were elaborated;  Several guidelines on actual issues of competition policy were elaborated;  Regarding the future legislative amendments, meetings were held between invited highly qualified European experts and the Georgian legislative and executive body officials.

b.b.) Activities for capacity building of the agency staff

 In the frames of the project, three internships were held to give an opportunity to 4 staff members of the Agency to familiarize with ongoing activities of international organizations and competition authorities of the leading European countries on sight. Two week long internships were hosted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Austrian Competition Aauthority;

 1 week study tour was organized in DG Competition attended by seven representatives of the Agency. They had an opportunity to attend the trainings organized by DG Competition and to obtain information on the specific activities of the authority. Important meetings were held in frames of the visit, including a meeting with the Director-General Johannes Laitenberger and establishing necessary international contacts.

 The agency held 12 trainings, led by the leading European experts, on important issues of competition legislation and policy. The staff of the Agency had an opportunity to get information on dealing with the cases and answers on any question they had. The staff members of the Agency attended the “Stata” studying courses in the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) acquiring knowledge about the principles of the software.

 Four important international visits were organized in the frames of the project. The Chairman and representatives of the Agency attended International Competition Network (ICN) Annual Conference held in Porto, OECD Global Competition Forum held in Paris, American Bar Associations Annual Spring Meeting held in Washington, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Intergovernmental Group of Experts Meeting held in Geneva.

b.c.) Activities to increase public awareness of the competition agency and competition related issues

In the frames of the EU support project, 8 meetings were held in 2017. The goal of the meetings was to increase public awareness of the Competition Agency and competition related issues. The targeted participants of the seminars included the representatives of the state authorities, business sector, consulting companies, and public organizations. On December 5, Georgia joined the celebration of Global Competition Day for the first time and held an awareness raising event. Seminars were held about the importance of competition protection in public procurement. Joint event was held with the participation of European Business Association.

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EBRD Funded Project - “Capacity Building and Advocacy Support for the Georgian Competition Agency”

From 2016, Competition Agency of Georgia actively and fruitfully cooperates with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

In 2017, EBRD funded project, “Capacity Building and Advocacy Support for the Georgian Competition Agency,” was implemented. In the frames of the project, the activities were organized by the American company – “IOS Parnters, Inc.“

In the frames of the project, three following activities were implemented:

1) 2 day seminar for journalists – Held on June 29-30, 2017. The event, attended by up to 30 economics journalists from major broadcast channels and news websites, was held in Kachreti, Kakheti. With the Agency representatives and invited experts, the journalists had an opportunity to obtain complete information and responses on any issue interesting for media and get familiar with the principles of Competition Legislation. The goal of the event was to inform the media on Competition tasks, increase their awareness, and establish contacts with them.

2) Seminar on Leniency Program – Held on, September 22, 2017, the event was attended by 40 representatives of the companies operating in Georgia. They had an opportunity to obtain information from Georgian and foreign experts (French and Czech) on benefits of Leniency Program and best international practices of its functioning in different countries.

3) The First International Scholarly and Practical Conference, Competition Policy – Contemporary Trends and Challenges,” held on November 17-18, 2017, was dedicated to 25th anniversary of establishment and practical realization of Competition Policy in Georgia.

In the frames of The Conference, on November 17, the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, signed Memorandums of Understanding with 6 countries’ – Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Czech Republic, and Romania – heads of Competition Authorities.

The conference was attended by the representatives of over 20 friendly countries (Austria, Belarus, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Czech Republic, Romania, Ukraine, and etc.) and up to 200 participants, including representatives from local and international organizations, competition authorities of various countries, the Government of Georgia, Parliament, Supreme Court, Academics, and non- governmental organizations.

The Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, Rector of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Giorgi Sharvashidze, The first Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Dimitri Kumsishvili, Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Nino Gvenetadze, the Operational Manager of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Lorenzo Ciari, European Project “Support to the Georgian Competition Agency,” and the Director of B&S Europe, Rafael Comenge delivered speeches at the conference.

The researches on competition legislation and policy were presented and discussed during the plenary session and four working sections. The competition related key trends currently existing in Georgia – gaps in legislation, overcoming tools of these gaps, and future legislative initiatives – were emphasized during these sessions.

The second day of the conference was organized in Kakheti, where the speech on the importance of fair competition and effective enforcement policy was made by William Kovacic, a professor of Global Competition Law and Policy at George Washington University and the ex-Commissioner of the United States Federal Trade Commission.

The conference was organized in collaboration with Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Competition Institute.

9. Memorandums of Understanding and issues of practical cooperation

During 2017, Competition Agency of Georgia actively worked on negotiations related to signing Memorandums of Understanding. Throughout the year, 13 Memorandums of Understanding were signed with the competition authorities of friendly countries, Georgian Universities, sector regulators and LEPL Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia. In the frame of MoUs intense exchange of information and consultations are taking place within the competence of the parties.

Memorandums of Understanding signed with Friendly Countries

 On November 9, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia. In the frames of the visit in Armenia, a meeting was held between Nodar Khaduri and the Prime- Minister of Armenia - Karen Karapetyan. The parties discussed the importance of cooperating in competition and conducting joint-researches. In the frame of MoU intense exchange of information and correspondence is going on with regards to various service/commodity markets.

 On November 17, 2017, in the frames of The First International Scholarly and Practical Conference, Competition agency of Georgia signed Memorandums of Understanding with competition Authorities of 6 countries:  Ministry of antimonopoly regulation and trade of the Republic of Belarus;  Estonian Competition Authority;  Competition Council of the Republic of Latvia;  Competition Council of the Republic of Moldova;  Romanian Competition Council;  Office for the Protection of Competition of Czech Republic;

The goal of the Memorandums is to support cooperation between the parties in enforcing the competition legislation and policy, exchange information, and share the experience. In the frames of the Memorandums, it is possible to organize study tours and experts’ trainings, exchange confidential information about legislation enforcement and conducted cases, conduct consultations on specific topics, and etc.

Memorandums of Understanding signed with sector regulators/authorities

 On February 8, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and Georgian National Communications Commission;

 On April 13, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia;

 On November 7, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission.

The goal of the Memorandums of Understanding is to support improvement of cooperation in the process of exercising power in competence, expressed in establishing mutual communications, sharing the information and experience, conducting expert consultations and etc. During the year, enhanced cooperation has been going on between the parties, including consultation and information exchange regards the issues covered by MoU.

Memorandums of Understanding signed with the Universities

 On February 7, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.  On February 14, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and Grigol Robakidze University.  On March 23, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Competition Agency of Georgia and Tbilisi State Medical University.

The goal of Memorandums of Understanding is to deepen the cooperation between the parties, conduct mutual events, support the capacity building of the students, prepare the qualified staff, and implement scientific and/or educational projects mutually.

10. Communicating with Media and awareness raising of the Agency

In terms of awareness raising of Competition Agency of Georgia and establishing multilateral contacts, 2017 was a landmark in the history of the Agency. The projects, conferences, meetings, decisions, initiated by Nodar Khaduri and the professional team, were directed to shape the public interest and increase the awareness of the Agency. The rapid increase of public awareness of the Agency was highly influenced by the high public interest and confidence towards the Chairman of the Agency. The mentioned is supported by the conducted cases and the results, and local and international publications on the Agency.

On the basis of published materials and statistics by the news agencies, without any doubt, 2017 radically differs from the previous years in terms of public interest.

Number of News Spread by the news agencies in 2017

Number of articles published via official webpage of Competition Agency in 2017 - competition.ge

Number of Articles Published via Facebook in 2017

The agency daily cooperates with actual readers and media representatives. The information is exchanged permanently, the issue is fully analyzed. Actions on Facebook Page in 2017:

The official website of Competition Agency of Georgia is in the process of technical, visual, and content reconstruction that will lead to fully operate, serve the users, and inform the public on ongoing competition issues more effectively from 2018. Confidence, interest, critics, and support is always important and considerable for the agency.

11. User-Friendly Guidelines Issued by the Agency

 Leniency Program

By the Order N 04/66 of 13 March 2017 of the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, a guiding document – “Leniency Program” – was approved. The goal of this document is to determine the main principles and rules under which the penalties imposed on the undertakings will fully or partially be remitted in spite of the violation.

Cooperation Program, known as Leinency in the European Union Legislation, is one of the most effective tools to detect and prevent anti-competitive agreements.

Alike the European Union competition legislation rules, the Article 331 of Georgian Law on Competition takes in to account to fully or partially emit the undertakings from the fines defined by the law if the defined premises are fulfilled.

The guidelines combine the provisions of various bylaws, as well as, international practice and describes the procedural norms of implementing Leniency Program. The document emphasis the following issues:

 The goal and meaning of Leniency Program (beneficiaries, classification of remissions);  Terms of using settlement discounts defined by Leniency Program;  Submission of the application defined by Leniency Program;  International practice.

 The Main Obligations of undertakings defined by the Georgian Competition Legislation

By the Order N 04/99 of 01 May 2017 of the Chairman of Competition Agency of Georgia, a guiding document – “The duties of the Economic Agents under the Georgian law on competition”” – was approved. The document aims to provide general information in simplified way regarding the actions that might be considered as anti-competitive in the process of enforcing competition legislation by the Agency.

The Competition Agency established the guideline to fulfill the obligations, regarding the increase of the public awareness, taken under “Open Government Partnership Georgia (OGP).”

The document overviews three categories of the anticompetitive conduct by undertakings

 Anti-competitive agreements;  Abuse of a dominant position;  Anti-competitive concentrations.

The guidelines defines the categories of anti-competitive conduct, prospective infringers, nature of anti-competitive conduct and causality, definition of important terms, specific types of anti- competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant position, types of concentrations, implementation tools, and etc.

On each topic, given are competition regulatory provisions of bylaws, the European Union enforcement and judicial practice – short overviews of the decisions of the European Commission and the European Court of Justice.

12. Future Plans

During 2018, activities of the Agency will be focused on supporting market liberalization and fair competition, increasing public awareness, developing international relations, and improving the organization.

In 2018, working on the law amendments will continue. In particular, the existence of the legislative base with improved enforcement mechanism is necessary for effective functioning of the Agency. Accordingly, by considering the recommendations provided by the European Union support project, in 2018, the Agency will finish working on the law amendments and present it to the Government of Georgia that will make the Georgian legislation closer to the European Union legislation and will increase the efficiency of the Agency.

It is notable that during 2017 one of the main goals was to raise public awareness. For this, various seminars and conferences were held for business sector, non-governmental organizations, and state authorities. Accordingly, to support the continuous studies, the Agency plans in 2018 to deliver the basic information about the competition legislation to the public sector that represents an inevitable activity that supports prevention of violation of the competition law and shapes a society with law- oriented conscious.

In order to increase public awareness, the methodological and recommendation guidelines, documents including theoretical and practical issues of Georgian competition legislation, best international practices, and decisions of the European Court of Justice, will be established.

Throughout 2018, we plan to enhance cooperation with the international organizations and competition authorities of the friendly countries by signing the Memorandums of Understanding and sharing information/experience.

In 2018, we will do our best to hit the main targets – to increase confidence of society and business, achieve highest transparency, and conduct effective and result-oriented activities – that will finally support improvement of fair competitive environment and progress of market participants.