ANALYSIS
Macedonia’s State Commission for
Interview with Blagoj Churlinov, President
EM: Please tell us more about Commission’s main
activities and areas of operation. How does your
organization affect other State institutions regarding the protection of
competition?
Churlinov: The protection of the competition in the Republic of Macedonia,
started in 1999 when the Monopoly
Authority was established as part of the
Ministry of Economy. With the Protection of Competition Law adopted
in 2005, the Monopoly Authority was
transformed into the Commission for
protection of competition as an independent body.
The Commission for Protection of
Competition monitors and analyzes
market conditions to ensure the development of free and efficient competition. We continuously adopt
measures and rules necessary to maintain this primary goal. Our work centers around administrative procedures
(anti-competitive agreements, abuse of
a dominant position and evaluation of
concentrations) and misdemeanor procedures, but we also issue opinions on
laws drafted by other State institutions
that could affect the free market and
endanger competition. Signing Memorandums of Understanding with several State agencies was another step
forward in our cooperation. We also
issue expert opinions on the award
of State aid from a market distortion
perspective.
EM: How many cases does the Commission review annually? Can you tell us
something about recent trends?
Churlinov: In 2014, the Commission
issued decisions in 41 administrative
procedures, 30 regarding market concentration and 11 on State aid; we also
issued decisions in 10 misdemeanor
cases. Further, the Commission issued
14 Spring 2015
Issue 45
4 opinions in line with the Law on Protection of Competition and 19 opinions connected with State Aid Law.