ABSTRACT
The collapse of the Soviet Empire and the end of the Cold War opened the door for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (traditionally known as the Baltic countries) to regain their independence and return to their European roots. Membership in the European Union (EU) was seen as the best option to achieve this. The integration process into the EU has been a big challenge for the Baltic countries, requiring major political, economic and legal reforms, but the magnetism of being a part of a united Europe has driven such change. The Baltic countries also had to implement modern EU compliant competition laws and establish attendant institutions as part of the harmonisation of their legal framework with the acquis communautaire – an essential pre-condition for admittance. Considering that competition itself was non-existent whilst these countries were components of the Soviet Union, competition law presents a new and challenging branch of law in the Baltic countries. Although all Baltic countries introduced competition laws, including merger control rules, in their jurisdictions some time before their accession to the EU, their history in comparison with other member states is a short, but intense, one. Latvia was the first to implement its Competition and Restriction of Monopolies Law in 1991, followed by Lithuania, which enacted its first Law on Competition in 1992 and, finally, the first Estonian Competition Act was passed in 1993. Rules on abuse of a dominant position, prohibition of restrictive agreements or concerted practices as well as other unfair competition practices were included in all of these acts. However, different approaches were taken towards establishing merger control regimes in the Baltic countries, which will be explored in this chapter. Latvia and Lithuania were the first to introduce merger control rules in their jurisdictions, whereas merger control regime in Estonia was employed through progressive stages. The commitments to the EU to design and implement merger control mechanisms have been a demanding task for the Baltic countries requiring the pulling together of sufficient resources and expertise to deal with complex merger issues. The first part of this chapter will focus on the general historical development of the Baltic countries together with the requirements of membership for the EU. The second part will discuss the approach taken in each Baltic
country towards the introduction of merger control regimes, critically evaluating the development and further improvement of merger control rules. It will also explore the extent to which the Baltic countries have followed the European Community Merger Regulation (ECMR)1 model and what challenges they have faced whilst dealing with merger transactions. Although the analysis will cover jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues, further emphasis will be placed on substantive issues.
