Irakli Lekvinadze, Chairman of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency, on the invitation of the OECD-GVH RCC, made a speech at a conference of the Heads of Agency Meeting in Budapest, Hungary.
During his address, Irakli Lekvinadze discussed in detail the processes of concentration control in Georgia and the obtained results. "The Agency conducts quarterly monitoring to reveal possible facts of concentrations subject to prior mandatory notification and respond to them in accordance with the legislation. In 2023, 40,597 transactions registered in Georgia were verified. In 2023, we approved 9 concentrations, 5 of which were implemented with prior notification to the Agency as required by law, and 4 were implemented without prior notification to the Agency. In order to effectively control the concentration of companies, based on the data of the business register, the verification of the implemented concentrations is ongoing, and in case of non-notification, the relevant proceedings are initiated", stated Irakli Lekvinadze.
The following are taking part in the conference: Patty Brink Senior Counsel U.S. DOJ; Frédéric Jenny Chairman of the OECD Competition Committee; Paul Csiszár Director at DG Competition European Commission; Csaba Balázs Rigó, President Hungarian Competition Authority; Ori Schwartz, Head of the OECD Competition Division, María Pilar Canedo Academic Director OECD-GVH RCC and others participated in the event.
In the format of a workshop, representatives from various countries - Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, etc. - will review the methods of strengthening competition policy and its effective implementation. Among these, are the ways of defending the Agency's decisions in court and the processes of concentration management.
