The Commission for Protection of Competition is responsible for enforcing the Law on Protection of Competition, adopted on 11 January 2005 (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No. 04/05).
The right of competition is established in order to ensure free competition among undertakings on the market. The free competition is important for countries whose economies are based on the principle of free market, where the distribution of goods is a result of the relation between the offer and the request on the market, not a consequence of the measures used by the state to intervene in the relations between undertakings. The application of competition rules has as a purpose establishing a market on which all undertakings are equal under equal conditions and their position on the market is rated according to the quality of the goods and services they offer. In that matter, the task of the right of competition is to prevent certain practices and business activities on the market, which certain undertakings will use to achieve an unjustified advantage compared to other undertakings and to jeopardize the free competition among undertakings.
The basic competencies of the Commission for Protection of Competition are the control of the application of the provisions stipulated in the Law on Protection of Competition, to monitor and analyze the conditions on the market to the extent necessary for the development of free and efficient competition, to conduct procedures and make decisions according to the provisions of the Law.
The Commission is an independent state body with a status of a legal entity, independent in its work and decision making process within the competencies provided by the Law. The Commission consists of President and four members appointed and dismissed for a five-year period by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, with the right to reappointment.
The President and at least two members are professionally engaged in the Commission’s operations. The President of the Commission represents, presents and manages the work of the Commission.
The investigative and other expert activities are performed by the Department of qualified personnel, which is organized in four departments with two units in each department. The Department of qualified personnel is managed by a Secretary General, appointed and dismissed by the Commission.
In accordance with the provisions of the Law on Protection of Competition, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia has adopted the following by-laws: Regulation on block exemption granted to vertical agreements on exclusive right of distribution, selective right of distribution, exclusive right of purchase and franchise; Regulation on block exemption granted to horizontal research and development agreements; Regulation on block exemption granted to horizontal specialization agreements; Regulation on block exemption granted to technology transfer agreements, license or know-now; Regulation on block exemption granted to agreements on distribution and servicing of motor vehicles; Regulation on block exemption granted to agreements in the insurance sector; Regulation on agreements of minor importance and Regulation on the form and the content of the notification and criteria on concentrations’ evaluation. (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 91/05).
By the aforementioned by-laws, the regulation of certain institutes provided for in the Law is ensured. This will enable their implementation in practice, as well as complete harmonization of the relevant competition law related regulations with the EU legislation, especially with regard to the secondary EU legislation.
According to the Law on amendments and supplements to the Law on State-Aid from June 2006, the monitoring and the control of State-aid in the Republic of Macedonia were transferred to the Commission for Protection of Competition.
State aid is any aid, granted by a State aid provider, in any form whatsoever, favoring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods or the delivery of certain services. (Law on State-Aid, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 24/03).
The Law on State Aid, adopted in April 2003, regulates the field of control of State aid in the Republic of Macedonia. It provides a legal framework that regulates the procedure and monitoring of granted State aid with aim of implementing the principles of market economy, maintaining fair competition and implementation of commitments undertaken by international agreements ratified by the Republic of Macedonia, containing State aid provisions. The Law is fully harmonized with the EU legislation.
The Law on State Aid defines the basic concepts used in the implementation of the control of state aid and defines compatible aid. Also, it defines which aid may be compatible and provides the State aid providers with basic obligations for submitting notifications and reports to the Commission. At the same time, the Law regulates the procedure before the Commission for assessment of State aid.In accordance with the Law, and in order to achieve better elaboration in the implementation of the State aid legislation, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in December 2003 has adopted the following by-laws: Regulation on the procedure and forms of notification to the Commission, Regulation on establishing conditions and procedure for granting regional aid and Regulation on establishing conditions and procedure for granting aid for rescue and restructuring of firms in difficulty. (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 81/03).