A. Introduction into Greek Competition Law

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Greek Competition Law is regulated primarily by the provisions of law no. 3959/2011 «on the protection of competition», which is compatible with the regulations of the TFEU. The above law regulates prohibited agreements, the abuse of a dominant position and the concentration of undertakings, as well as stipulates the powers, competences, internal function and administration carried out by the Greek Competition Commission, that is the competent body entrusted with the enforcement of the foregoing law.

B. Prohibited Agreements

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Art. 1 of law 3959/2011 prohibits all agreements and concerted practices between undertakings and all decisions between trade unions, which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition in Greece. Such instances include in particular the following:

(a) the direct or indirect setting of purchase or sale prices or of other provisions of trade,

(b) the restriction or control of production, distribution, technological development or investment

(c) the allocation of markets or sources of supply

(d) the application of unequal terms in trade in relation to equivalent transactions, especially via the unjustified refusal to sell, purchase or engage in any other transaction

(e) the dependence of awarding contracts on the receipt of additional supplies by the contracting parties, which do not relate to the subject of the contracts according to their nature and commercial habits.

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The abovementioned agreements and decisions of trade unions are deemed to be null and void. Yet, that nullity can be entirely or partially lifted provided that the acts covered by the above circumstances cumulatively meet the following conditions:

(a) contribute to the improvement of manufacture or distribution of products or to the promotion of technical or economic progress,

(b) grant at the same time  the consumers a reasonable amount of the generated profits,

(c) do not impose restrictions on companies besides what is absolutely necessary for the attainment of their goals, and

(d) do not grant to these companies the ability to stifle competition in a significant part of the market.

C. Abuse of Dominant Position

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Law no. 3959/2011 also prohibits the abuse of the dominant position that a company or more companies maintain in the aggregate or part of the Greek market. Such an abuse of a dominant position may be encountered mainly:

(a) in relation to setting directly or indirectly unreasonable prices of sale or purchase or other unreasonable trading conditions

(b) in the restriction of the production, consumption or technological development to the detriment of consumers

(c) in the application of unequal terms on equal provisions, especially in relation to the unjustified refusal to sell, purchase or engage in any other transaction, so as to place certain undertakings at a competitive disadvantage,

(d) when the conclusion of contracts is conditioned upon the receipt of additional supplies by the contracting parties, which do not relate to the subject of the contracts according to their nature and commercial habits.

D. Concentration of Undertakings

I. The legal framework

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Law no. 3959/2011 states that concentration occurs:Although the concept of prohibited agreements and concentrations may be intertwined in practice, the law clearly distinguishes between the two, stipulating that the concentration of undertakings is not considered illegal unless certain criteria are met.

(a) when two or more formerly independent businesses merge in any way whatsoever,

(b) when two or more persons who control one or more businesses, acquire, directly or indirectly, the control of the whole or part of one or more other businesses.

The creation of a joint venture which performs all the functions of an autonomous economic entity on a permanent basis is deemed to amount to a concentration under law no. 3959/2011.

II. Notification

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Each concentration of undertakings must be notified within a month as of the conclusion of the agreement or the publication of the public bid, exchange or acceptance of participation, which secures the control of the business, to the Competition Commission provided that the aggregate turnover of all undertakings participating in the concentration is, in the global market, at least 150.000.000 euros and in the national market, at least 15.000.000 Euros.

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With regard to notification cases, the "market share" is equivalent to the aggregate market share of all the participating undertakings in the national market or in the segment which concerns the concentration in question. The aggregate turnover consists of the amounts generated by the undertakings in question from the sale of their products and the provision of services in the national or global market, during the last fiscal year and is equivalent to their usual activities after the sale discounts, V.A.T. and other taxes relevant to the trade are removed.

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The Competition Commission is authorized to decide whether a concentration is covered by the prohibitive provisions and thus, it can prohibit the above activities by threatening to impose a high penalty on the concentration in question. If the Commission deems the concentration does not cause serious doubts as to its ability to significantly restrict the competition within the markets concerned, the Commission then clears the merger in question.

E. Competent Courts

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The are no special Courts to hear actions for damages caused by infringements of articles 101 and/or 103 TFEU or articles 1 and/or 2 of Law no. 3959/2011, but it is the Civil Courts that have jurisdiction thereof. The Civil Courts are competent to hear both disputes between private parties and actions for damages brought by private parties against State-controlled undertakings, when the latter do not conduct activities in the exercise of public authority.
 
The Magistrates' Courts consider claims for damages for amounts below 20.000 Euros. The single-member Court of First Instance consider claims for damages for amounts of between 20.000 and  250.000 Euros. For claims for damages for amounts in excess 250,000 Euros the competent court is the multimember Court of First Instance.