Competition watchdog to focus on sectors affecting everyday life

By Dimitra Manifava

The Competition Commission will be focusing its efforts on the energy sector, food and basic household commodities in the coming months, targeting these sectors specifically because they have the biggest direct impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.

This initiative does not signal a change in direction as the Commission has already started examining obstacles to competition in these sectors following complaints, as well as through regulatory interventions, particularly in the case in the fuel market.

Emphasis will also be placed on the product and services markets ? considered to be crucial for Greek consumers ? as well as on markets where prices are higher and quality lower in Greece than in other European Union member states. In the latter case, the Greek watchdog has set two targets: First to uncover practices that thwart competition such as price-fixing and abuse of dominant positions. And second, to identify any structural problems in specific markets that are responsible for the inflexibility of prices.

Kathimerini understands that the sectors of financial services and public procurements, as well as various categories of self-employed professionals, will also be examined by the Competition Commission. Public procurements will be subject to particular scrutiny as it is an area that is prone to manipulation and tender adulteration, where contracts are often granted to influential market players.

As far as self-employed professionals are concerned, watchdog sources say that representative bodies such as unions and federations often exceeded their mandates, imposing specific prices and rates on their members. In other words, a number of unions in Greece are seen to operate as cartels of sorts. A recent...