New Competition Law of the Republic of Moldova: Prospects and Concerns

​​I. Introduction

With its entrance into force on 14th September 2012 the new Moldovan Competition Act (MCA)²⁾²⁾Law No. 183 on competition, adopted on 11.7.2012, published on 14.9.2012 in the Official Gazette No. 193–197. English translation is available at http://www.energy-community.org/pls/portal/docs/1846183.PDF became the most modern competition law in Europe. The adoption of the new competition legislation has signaled a complete overhaul of the Moldovan competition law enforcement regime based on the 2000 Law on Protection of Competition,³⁾³⁾Law No. 1103-XIV on protection of competition, adopted on 30.6.2000, published on 31.12.2000 in the Official Gazette No. 166–168. which, although entered into force more than a decade ago, has been effectively applied only from 2007 when the Moldovan Parliament⁴⁾⁴⁾Parlamentul Republicii Moldova, http://www.parlament.md/ has appointed the Director of the competition authority – the former National Agency for the Protection of Competition (ANPC)⁵⁾⁵⁾Agenţia Naţională pentru Protecţia Concurenţei, http://www.anpc.md/ – and instructed the Government⁶⁾⁶⁾Guvernul Republicii Moldova, http://www.gov.md/ to provide the newly established authority with adequate financing and other technical resources.⁷⁾⁷⁾Decision of the Parliament No. 21 on Measures for the Establishment of the National Agency for Protection of Competition, adopted on 16.2.2007, published on 2.3.2007 in the Official Gazette No. 29. Although officially established in February 2007, ANPC did not commence its work until July 2007 due to the fact that it did not have adequate premises, technical equipment or personnel before this time. For the review of the ANPC’s enforcement activities under the old law see A. Svetlicinii, "Enforcement of competition law in the Republic of Moldova: one year on" E.C.L.R. 2008, 29(9), 532–539. As a result of the adoption of the MCA, after five years of effective competition enforcement, the ANPC has been re-organized into the Competition Council (CC)⁸⁾⁸⁾Consiliul Concurenţei, http://competition.md/ Notably, both the name and the official website of the newly established Moldovan competition authority resemble its Romanian counterparts – the Romanian Competition Council (Consiliul Concurenţei), http://competition.ro/ and resumed its activities under the new legislative framework substantially harmonized with the EU’s acquis communautaire.⁹⁾⁹⁾According to the EU Commission’s report, the new competition law is "following EU rules closely". Joint Staff Working Document "Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in Republic of Moldova: Progress in 2012 and recommendations for action" SWD (2013) 80 final, p. 13, http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/docs/2013_enp_pack/2013_progress_report_moldova_en.pdf