Bulgaria's competition authority, the Commission on Protection of Competition (KZK), has found no direct evidence of a cartel agreement on the fuel market in the country.

KZK was forced to conduct a fast-track cartel probe in the sector after high fuel prices in Bulgaria sparked several protest rallies and a heated exchange of accusations and arguments between Energy Minister Traicho Traikov and Valentin Zlatev, executive director of the biggest fuel retailer in the country, Lukoil Bulgaria CEO.

Cartels are often based on verbal agreements, which makes them difficult to prove, announced Petko Nikolov, KZK Chairman.

Nikolov participated in a seminar on information exchange between competitors within associations, organized by the Regional Centre for Competition in Budapest in collaboration with KZK, BGNES reported.

"Carriers claim that there is indirect evidence for a cartel agreement on the fuel market, but nothing indicates that, for instance Lukoil is abusing its dominant position on the market. If this were the case, the company's customers should have expressed their discontent. There is no clear sign of a cartel on the fuel market at this stage, there is no tension among the other players on the retail market or among fuel importers", Nikolov explained.

In his words, the institutions should make it clear to the participants on the market that the state is on the lookout for potential cartel agreements.

According to the the KZK Chairman, the working group that has been tasked with preparing Bulgaria's new Penal Code has accepted the call of the competition watchdog for opening discussions on the introduction of criminal liability for such infringements.

Nikolov also pointed out that, in 2010 KZK approved guidelines on countering tender rigging and cartel agreements in the sphere of public procurement, which will be reflected in the proposed legal amendments.

At the seminar, there will be presentations of landmark cases in the field of competition, with separate anti-trust watchdogs presenting the legal framework in their countries, as well as their individual contribution to the fight against cartel agreements.

The lecturers are experts from the regional network of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), from the Bulgarian Commission on Protection of Competition and similar organizations from Germany, France, etc.

The cases that will be presented involve the milk and oil markets, the so-called Parisian luxury hotels, and the exchange of sensitive information between competitors in the framework of associations.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!