The EEC Council has changed the procedure for considering antitrust cases in cross-border markets
According to the new requirements, at the final meeting of the commission, the respondent must now be familiarized with the conclusions of the case. This includes information about the qualification of their actions or inactions, ensuring that the respondent has the opportunity to protect their interests by providing them with information about the alleged violations.
Additionally, the time allocated for preparing a draft decision in cases related to the failure to provide information or non-compliance with "behavioral conditions" has been reduced from 60 to 45 working days.
The reasons for terminating the consideration of cases have been expanded to include the possibility of transferring materials to the relevant authorities of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union if there is no violation, the legal entity has been liquidated, the individual has ceased to exist, or the statute of limitations has expired.
It is also worth noting that in cases of non-compliance with "behavioral conditions," the statute of limitations (1 year) now does not include the period during which the consideration of the case was suspended due to extraordinary circumstances, such as a pandemic or other restrictions in the EAEU member states.