ACI Partners Legal Manager Carolina Parcalab talks about competition in Moldova in 2025.
CEELM: Do you expect the competition authority to be more or less active in 2025 compared to 2024? Why?
Parcalab: We expect the Competition Council to be more active, mostly because of Moldova’s EU accession plans and the high expectations placed on the council. Right now, it has a twinning project ongoing with three authorities from the EU – Romania, Poland, and Lithuania – all working together to enhance the institutional capacity of our council. This means that, in the near future, we can expect an increase in the quality of enforcement techniques, more investigations, and more market studies.
We can also see how the Competition Council is already active in pursuing enforcement – just in the first two months of 2025, a couple of significant investigations were closed, resulting in high fines. One concerning price-fixing in the sunflower oil sector ended with a total fine of up to EUR 10 million for both entities involved. Another significant case was a bid-rigging cartel for public procurement, resulting in fines for four companies that coordinated their conduct.
Undoubtedly, enforcement actions are intensifying, and companies operating in Moldova must prioritize competition compliance.
CEELM: What is in the pipeline in terms of legislation that you believe will have the most impact on competition in Moldova?
Parcalab: We expect activity to be high in this regard as well – again, due to the EU accession process and ongoing harmonization plans. According to the most recent plan, we have more than 120 EU acts that require transposition into Moldovan legislation in the next two years.
The most important one of these additions on the horizon is focusing on merger controls. Stronger rules are expected and the Competition Council has already produced the required regulatory changes, with the economic concentration framework expected to be tightened up soon. With fewer interventions, as a result of higher thresholds, we expect to see activities that carry more significant market impact.
Also, we expect stricter oversight when it comes to state aid – legislative updates are likely to occur in this regard too. We anticipate that the Competition Council will enhance its enforcement technique by implementing digital solutions and forensic technology, meaning that it will be better poised to screen anti-competitive behavior.
CEELM: What trends do you expect to impact competition practices across Moldova the most in 2025?
Parcalab: The most significant one is related to the accession to the EU. This is, by far, the biggest trend that will influence the markets. Moldovan legislation will be aligned with the EU acquis, and we will definitely see more stringent enforcement.
Moreover, increasing the institutional capacity of the Competition Council will become more evident. Experts involved in the ongoing overhaul of the council are engaged in actively training the council staff, and the ripple effect will be felt in all facets of its activities. Additionally, the council will engage in increased cooperation with its international counterparts, which will improve its efficiency.
Crucially, the council will likely continue to prioritize investigations in the agricultural market, putting a stronger focus on it as well as on the retail industry. These industries have, so far, been highlighted as being of high interest, not just by the council but also by other public authorities as these are often faced with more nuanced issues that require immediate action.
CEELM: What would you identify as the main challenges faced by companies in terms of competition matters at the moment in Moldova, and how likely is it in your view that these challenges will be addressed in 2025?
Parcalab: Uncertainty in enforcement. I don’t think it will be possible to tackle this in 2025, especially with the new rules that will first need to be interpreted and then subsequently applied. This might cause some hiccups, especially seeing how the hitherto competition practice has been, at times, inconsistent. Having said that, the dealings of the council will offer much-needed clarity.
Another challenge is symbolic investigations – even the ones that end with high-profile decisions. Some businesses argue that actual structural issues continue to persist and remain unresolved. It isn’t clear if 2025 will be the year when this changes, but there is a demand for better transparency and stronger enforcement tools, all of which means that businesses will need to stay more alert in order to ensure compliance.
This article was originally published in Issue 12.1 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
