Law 5255/2025 – Greece Establishes New Independent Market Control & Consumer Protection Authority – Amendments to the Greek Competition Act

Introduction

In a decisive move to reshape the market’s regulatory landscape, Greek government has unveiled a new institutional framework designed to modernize market control, enhance transparency and address the cost of living of citizens. On 28 November 2025, the Greek Parliament passed Law 5255/2025 (GG A 219/28.11.2025, henceforth the “Law”), a landmark reform by the Ministry of Development, introducing a new Independent Authority for Market Control and Consumer Protection (“Authority”). The new framework consolidates market surveillance, consumer protection and dispute resolution functions -previously dispersed among several Authorities and administrative bodies- into one single authority. The reform also introduces important amendments concerning the Hellenic Competition Commission and Law 3959/2011, as well as provisions expanding market measures.

Creation of a Unified Market Control and Consumer Protection Independent Authority (Part A’)

The Law establishes the new Authority as the primary national body for market oversight and enforcement of consumer protection legislation. The following entities are abolished, with all rights and obligations transferred to the Authority:

1. The Interagency Market Control Unit of the Ministry of Development (DI.M.E.A.) (excluding the Department of Chemical Analyses),
2. The Directorate for Consumer Protection of the Directorate General of Market and Consumer Protection of the General Secretariat for Commerce of the Ministry of Development,
3. Unit C – Communication and Outreach, of the Directorate of Consumer Policy and Information of the Directorate General of Market and Consumer Protection of the General Secretariat for Commerce of the Ministry of Development and
4. The independent authority “Consumer Ombudsman”.

Responsibilities of the Authority

• Supervision and assurance of the proper and transparent functioning of the market.
• Monitoring and enforcement of the implementation of consumer protection legislation.
• Out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes & equal treatment compliance monitoring.
• Consumer legal support. The Authority will provide legal assistance to consumers, including filing representative actions to protect collective consumer interests and participating in relevant court proceedings.

In particular, the Authority will be responsible for market supervision and tackling illegal trade in products and services and for ensuring smooth market operation.

• It will conduct inspections on its own or together with other Authorities.
• It will monitor compliance with:
  • Law 2251/1994 (A’ 191) and impose administrative sanctions and measures on infringers of consumer protection law.
  • Law 4177/2013 (A’ 173) on market regulation of products and services.
  • Law 4849/2021 (A’ 207) on outdoor trade reform, Article 65 and paragraph 1 of Article 66 of Law 4446/2016 (A’ 240) regarding card payment acceptance and consumer information obligations.
  • Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 and Law 4753/2020 (Α’ 227) regarding compliance by online platforms and search engines.
• It will combat deceptive practices toward consumers in all stages of product circulation and service provision.
• It will examine complaints and reports from consumers and consumer associations concerning violations of consumer protection laws and regulations on debtor protection against unfair practices.
• It will conduct inspections of e-commerce sites (sweeps), for violations of consumer protection rules.
• It will maintain electronic registers of Administrative Sanctions and Debt Information Companies.
• It will be responsible regarding out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes.
• It will monitor private sector compliance with the principle of equal treatment between men and women in access to and provision of goods and services, as per Article 4 of Law 3769/2009 (A’ 105).

Administrative Structure

Within the Authority, 500 positions are established, of which at least 300 shall be occupied by Inspectors.
Governance includes:

• Board of Directors (President and 4 members, 5-year term)
• Governor (5-year term)
• Three Deputy Governors, responsible respectively for:
  1. Market Control, Electronic Commerce & Consumer Protection
  2. Consumer Ombudsman & Equal Treatment
  3. Administrative and Financial Services & Digital Governance.

Provisions Concerning the Hellenic Competition Commission – Amendment of Law 3959/2011 (Part B’)

The Law also introduces a series of provisions which modernize the Hellenic Competition Commission’s (“HCC”) enforcement framework:

• Addressing a long-standing request of the business community, the 30-day period for the prior notification of the concentrations is abolished, thereby aligning Greek merger control regime with the EU merger review procedure. Under the amended Article 6 of Law 3959/2011, any concentration of undertakings must now be notified to the HCC before its implementation and after the conclusion of the agreement.
• Suspension of review deadlines for merger control by the HCC when the notification is incomplete or inaccurate. Within seven (7) working days from notification, the HCC may ask the notifying undertakings to correct or complete their initial filing. The same deadline applies to any subsequent submissions made to supplement or correct the notification until it is fully completed.
• Regarding the levy of 1‰ (one per thousand) on the share capital of newly incorporated public limited companies (S.A.s) or on capital increases, payable in favor of the HCC, the Law clarifies that ‘Share capital’ also includes any amounts resulting from the issuance of shares above par, and further specifies that any tax exemptions fees, contributions, duties or other charges in favor of the State, public-law entities or third parties as provided under development laws or other preferential provisions, do not affect the calculation of this levy.
• Paid internships for students and traineeships for lawyers at the HCC.
• Imposition of fines of up to 1% of global turnover on undertakings in the event of refusal, obstruction and/or delay in providing information, refusal to provide oral explanations, submission of inaccurate, misleading or incomplete information or obstruction of inspections. This is in addition to the existing possibility of imposing periodic (daily) monetary penalties of up to 3% of global turnover for non-compliance with the above practices (amendment of paragraph 3 of Article 38 and paragraph 5 of Article 39 of Law 3959/2011).
• Use of technological and artificial intelligence tools, such as data mining methods, interconnection with public sector information systems and direct access to the National Electronic Public Procurement System (ESIDIS) and interconnection with information systems, which are managed by third parties, with their consent, aiming at identifying suspicious patterns of collaborations, cartels or concerted practices.

Other Provisions of the Ministry of Development (Part C’)

Provisions on Market Measures

• Mandatory price formation disclosure for fresh products in retail businesses.¹
• Market Regulation Measures are extended:
  1. Extension until 30 June 2026 of the obligation to report product price increases – Article 15 of Law 5055/2023.
  2. Extension until 30 June 2026 of the obligation to report indicative retail prices of fruit and vegetable products – Article 17 of Law 5055/2023.
  3. Extension until 30 June 2026 of the prohibition on promotional offers following price increases – Article 38 of Law 5082/2024.
• The “Household Basket” (Article 55 of Law 5045/2023) is considered no longer in force, given that the applicable legal framework contains no explicit provision for extending its duration.

Other Urgent Provisions

• Provision on the implementation into national law of Article 1 of Directive (EU) 2025/794 (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – CSRD). The obligation to submit sustainability reports for Wave 2 and Wave 3 companies (the so-called “stop the clock”) is suspended for two years.

Key Takeaways

• The adoption of Law 5255/2025 restructures Greece’s market control and consumer protection landscape in recent years. The creation of a unified Authority aims to consolidate enforcement and strengthen surveillance capacities.
• Parallel amendments to competition law enhance the HCC’s investigative powers and modernize merger control procedures. By aligning with the EU Merger Control notification regime and enhancing the HCC’s operational capacity, the reforms collectively strengthen the Authority’s overall effectiveness and ensure a more robust and modernized approach.
• For businesses, reforms in consumer protection signal a shift toward more coordinated oversight and firmer enforcement. For consumers, it aims to offer better protection from unfair practices and direct access to an upgraded system for resolving disputes.

Footnote

¹ A forthcoming Ministerial Decision will define further information (i.e., applicable business categories and timelines, fresh products covered, methodology for tracking and recording prices across the supply chain, etc.)