Lithuanian Competition Authority Follows the Path to Prioritization

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Dina Lurje (Lithuanian Competition Authority) describes how the Lithuanian Competition Authority Follows the Path to Prioritization

ABSTRACT: The Lithuanian Competition Authority (“Competition Council”), having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, has joined other competition enforcers around the world and, in July 2012, released its Notice on Agency’s Enforcement Priorities (“Enforcement Priorities Notice”).

The reasoning behind the adoption of the Enforcement Priorities Notice was the intent to solve a conundrum faced by the Competition Council. Because of the ever-increasing number of investigations within the authority, some strategically important investigations were not carried out or were not allocated enough resources. Such a conundrum stems from a combination of factors, including the nearly 1200 complaints alleging anti-competitive practices in breach of the Law on Competition received by the authority in 2011, combined with both a statutory duty to reply to any complaint within a 30-day period and limited human resources. The Enforcement Priorities were, therefore, adopted to allow for an effective and rational allocation of resources on matters having the greatest public interest, rather than minor investigations unlikely to bring benefits to consumers.