News
Competition Law Developments in Turkey in 2020
The year 2020 brought along significant developments in the field of competition law, both in Turkey and worldwide.
BOYANOV & Co. Contributes the Bulgarian Chapter on Lexology Getting The Deal Through: Merger Control 2021
BOYANOV & Co.’s Competition and Antitrust team has authored the Bulgarian chapter in the prestige legal publication of Lexology Getting the Deal Through: Merger Control 2021, published in August 2020 by Law Business Research Ltd.
Turkish Competition Authority Launches Sector Inquiry on E-Commerce Platforms
On 16 July 2020, the Turkish Competition Authority announced that the Competition Board launched a sector inquiry on e-commerce platforms.
Significant Amendments to Turkish Competition Law
The Law Amending the Law on Protection of Competition was published in the Official Gazette dated 24 June 2020 and entered into force on the same day. The Amendment Law introduced many significant changes in Turkish competition law.
Serbian Competition Authority Interprets Merger Filing Requirements
The Serbian Competition Commission has been laying low since the outbreak of coronavirus, with the activities at the minimum. There has not been much news on its website either, except that on 1 June 2020, it clarified who is considered to be a party to a concentration and how merger filing thresholds are calculated.
KDK Law Firm's First Competition Quarterly Bulletin
Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli Law Firm is publishing its first quarterly bulletin, where the developments in the area of Competition Law in Turkey will be summarised and recent notable decisions of the Competition Board will be highlighted on a quarterly basis.
Competition Board's Google Shopping Investigation Concluded
The Competition Board, with its decision dated 13 February 2020, has ruled that Google, the economic entity including Google Reklamcilik ve Pazarlama Ltd. Sti., Google International LLC, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited and Alphabet Inc., is in a dominant position in general search services and online shopping comparison services markets, and has abused its dominant position by placing its rivals in the shopping comparison services into a competitive disadvantage and obstruct their activities. The decision, along with the implementation of an administrative fine of TRY 100 million, determined various obligations in order to “cease the infringement and re-establish the competition in the market”.
Qualification of WhatsApp Communication as Evidence under the Competition Law
Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli Attorneys at Law’s Competition Law Counsel, Neyzar Unubol analyses the recent decision of the Turkish Competition Board in relation to whether WhatsApp correspondence could be considered as evidence of anticompetitive conduct.
COVID-19
EU Relaxes the Rules on Horizontal Cooperation during COVID-19 Crisis
Following the joint statement of 23 March 2020 by the European Competition Network, consisting of the European Commission, the European Surveillance Authority and the national competition authorities of each EU/EEA Member States on the joint approach to the application of competition law during the coronavirus crisis, the European Commission issued on 8 April 2020 a Temporary Framework Communication, providing a more comprehensive antitrust guidance to companies cooperating in response to the crisis.
Enforcement of Competition Law during COVID-19 Crisis
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, several national competition authorities have already opened investigations into potential infringements of competition laws
Covid-19 and EU State Aid Developments: The European Commission Shows Quick Reflexes in its Effort to Alleviate the Economic Impact of the Pandemic th...
When the effects of the pandemic first became apparent, it also became clear that the European Commission would need to put forward all available tools to support the EU’s economy. In this context, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated on 10 March 2020, amongst others, that the Commission would “make sure that state aid can flow to companies that need it”.
How did COVID-19 Affect Competition Law?
This new type of virus has adversely affected the daily lives and commercial activities of individuals and legal entities. Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli observes that the pandemic, along with its effects on fulfilment of contractual obligations and other areas of law, has certain consequences on the processes of competition authorities.
