CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

MICHAL PETR

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY Michal Petr *

Abstract: In early 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was often a call for significantly limiting the enforcement of competition law, similarly to what had been done in the area of State Aid. Despite this, the reaction from competition authorities was mostly limited and they continued in their enforcement activities in almost the same manner, even though in some countries, specific legislative amendments were adopted. In this article, we will explore the measures adopted on the EU level and in several countries in Central Europe, analyse their impact in practice, and in particular assess, whether, and in what form, these should be maintained for the future. Resumé: Počátkem roku 2020 se po vypuknutí pandemie COVID-19 nezřídka objevily hlasy, že uplatňování soutěžního práva by mělo být zásadně omezeno, obdobně, jako k tomu došlo v oblasti veřejné podpory. Reakce soutěžních úřadů přesto byla velmi omezená, po kračovaly v prosazování soutěžního práva prakticky beze změny, i když v některých zemích byly přijaty specifické legislativní změny. V tomto článku se zaměříme na změny, ke kterým došlo na úrovni EU a v několika vybraných zemích Střední Evropy, vyhodnotíme jejich dopad na praxi a zamyslíme se, zda a v jaké formě by taková opatření měla být zachována i do budoucna. Key words: Competition Law; COVID-19; Response to Crisis About the Author: doc. JUDr. Michal Petr, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and the Head of the Centre of Competition Law at that university. He specializes in economic aspects of EU integration, in particular competition law, sectoral regulation, and public procurement. Before his academic career, he worked at the Czech Competition Authority as its Vice Chairman. 1. Introduction In several critical moments of history, it was thought that extensive cooperation of market players is necessary in order to deliver a sufficient output. Thus, the antitrust rules were significantly relaxed in the United States during the first and second world war or during the great depression. 1 At the same time, less antitrust enforcement during the time of crises has led to overall economic problems; for example, the legalised cooperation of competitors during the great depression had reportedly amounted to investments decreased by 60% and overall output decreased by 13%. 2 The most recent such a global crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in spring 2020. The economic consequences of this public health disaster were comprehensively summarised * This article was drafted with the support of the grant of the Palacky University in Olomouc „Changes in Competition Law due to COVID-19 Pandemic and their Future”, grant no. IGA_PF_2022_025. 1 In detail, see e.g. BANKS, N. Competition Policy During Pandemics: How to Urgently Produce Healthcare Goods and Services While Avoiding Economic Disaster. Journal of Antitrust Enforcement , 2021, vol. 9, p. 413. 2 Ibid , p. 429.

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