The Directorate-General for Competition consists of the following Organizational Units:
Sectoral Directorates:
- Directorate for Industrial and Consumer Products (Directorate A),
- Directorate for Health Products and Services and Other Services (Directorate B),
- Directorate for Food (Directorate C),
- Directorate for Financial Services, Insurance and Liberal Professions (Directorate D),
- Directorate for Energy and Transport (Directorate E),
- Directorate for Media, Internet and E- Infrastructure (Directorate F).
Other Organizational Units:
- Chief Legal Officer Directorate,
- Directorate for Administrative and Financial Support,
- Information Technology Systems and Forensics Directorate,
- Department for the Promotion of Competition Policies / Advocacy,
- Department for Market Mapping and Research.
The DGC operates a Secretarial Support Office, under the direct supervision of the Director-General, with the object of the DGC’s secretarial support.
BRANCH – SECTORAL DIRECTORATES
The strategic objective of the Branch - Sectoral Directorates is to identify and document the practices of undertakings that restrict or distort competition and ensure the removal of entry barriers to the market, ensuring that it is free and open to all undertakings. The Branch – Sectoral Directorates are responsible for the control and legal documentation of business practices and concentrations of undertakings, which fall within the scope of application of the provisions of Law 3959/2011, Articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU and related secondary law, as well as for the review of cases referred to the HCC by the European Commission in the context of the application of the provisions of Union law, following complaints and notifications or ex-officio investigations. For this purpose, they collect the information provided for in article 38 and conduct the investigations provided for in article 39 of Law 3959/2011.
i. The DIRECTORATE FOR INDUSTRIAL AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS (DIRECTORATE A) is mainly responsible for the business sectors of chemical products, mining and quarrying products, industrial (intermediate) products, construction and construction materials, electrical materials, automobiles, clothing, footwear and other consumer goods.
It consists of the Departments:
a) Department A for Economic Analysis and Market Impact Analysis, and
b) Department A for Legal Documentation.
ii. The DIRECTORATE FOR HEALTH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AND OTHER SERVICES (DIRECTORATE B) is principally responsible for the business sectors of health, pharmaceuticals, tourism, sports, culture, leisure and recreational activities, technology and intellectual property transfer rights services and related activities and other related services.
It consists of the Departments:
a) Department B for Economic Analysis and Market Impact Analysis, and
b) Department B for Legal Documentation.
iii. The DIRECTORATE FOR FOOD (DIRECTORATE C) is responsible, mainly, for the business sectors of food and beverages, agriculture, livestock farming and fisheries, as well as catering establishments.
It consists of the Departments:
a) Department C for Economic Analysis and Market Impact Analysis, and
b) Department C for Legal Documentation.
iv. The DIRECTORATE FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES, INSURANCE AND LIBERAL PROFESSIONS (DIRECTORATE D) is responsible, primarily, for the business sectors of banking, insurance and other financial institutions, as well as liberal professions.
It consists of the Departments:
a) Department D for Economic Analysis and Market Impact Analysis, and
b) Department D for Legal Documentation.
v. The DIRECTORATE FOR ENERGY AND TRANSPORT (DIRECTORATE E) is responsible, principally, for the business sectors of energy, water supply and sewerage, transport and related activities.
It consists of the Departments:
a) Department E for Economic Analysis and Market Impact Analysis, and
b) Department E for Legal Documentation.
vi. The DIRECTORATE FOR MEDIA, INTERNET AND E- INFRASTRUCTURE (DIRECORATE F) is responsible, mainly, for cases that fall within the scope of the application of Law 3592/2007, as well as for the business sectors of publishing and advertising, electronics and e- infrastructure in general, IT, Internet.
It consists of the Departments:
a) Department F for Economic Analysis and Market Impact Analysis, and
b) Department F for Legal Documentation.
Other Organizational Units:
i. CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER DIRECTORATE
The Chief Legal Officer is responsible for overseeing the legal documentation of draft acts and proposals for legal acts, and assisting the President and the DGC in legal matters.
It consists of the Departments:
a) the Chief Legal Officer Department, and
b) the Office for the Protection of Personal Data.
The Chief Legal Officer Department is responsible for the legal control of draft acts and proposals for legal acts and in particular of draft documents and legal acts in merger control cases as defined in articles 5 through 10 of Law 3959/2011, cases of articles 1, 2 and 11 of Law 3959/2011 and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, which are pending before the DGC and meet the criteria of priority examination and / or the criteria for admittance of an undertaking or natural person in the Leniency Program or the Dispute Settlement Procedure of the HCC, cases assisted by the DGC as provided for in article 15 of Law 3959/2011, the legal control of the draft Statements of Objections on the complaints that fall under the summary procedures of article 37 of Law 3959/2011, the legal control of the draft Statements of Objections addressed to the President of the HCC for the issuance of decisions to reject complaints, which have acquired a low score based on the applicable point system, pursuant to the provisions of case xv, third subsection of paragraph 2 of article 14 of Law 3959/2011, the legal control of the draft proposals which are prepared by the Department for the Promotion of Competition Policies / Advocacy and addressed to the HCC’s Plenary in accordance with the provisions of article 23 of Law 3959/2011, the assistance of the Branch – Sectoral Directorates of article 9 during the investigations conducted according to the provisions of article 39 of Law 3959/2011, the assistance of the President of the HCC and the DGC on issues arising regarding the implementation of the applicable Regulation of Internal Operation and Management of the HCC, as well as the decisions of the HCC on the Dispute Settlement Procedure, the Leniency Program and the Commitments Procedure, the assistance of the Legal Councilor’s Office in the exercise of her/his powers to the extent deemed necessary by the President of the HCC, the assistance of the Vice President of the HCC in monitoring the implementation of HCC decisions and in monitoring the implementation of court decisions issued following an appeal against the relevant HCC decisions, in cooperation with the Directorates of article 9, the provision of legal advice and opinions to the DGC and its organizational units, the monitoring of competition cases under investigation by the European Commission and the National Competition Authorities of the Member States pursuant to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, as well as secondary union law (regulations, directives) relating to competition issues, the editing, organization and continuous updating of the case law file in collaboration with the Legal Councilor’s Office and the Coordination and Secretariat Directorate of the President, Vice-President, Commissioners-Rapporteurs, and Plenary, the creation of an electronic file of thematic entries of case law in reference to the court and HCC decisions as well as their processing for the protection of personal data and sensitive information prior to their posting on the HCC’s website and for the performance of any other competence specified in the applicable Regulation of Internal Operation and Management of the HCC. The Chief Legal Officer assists in the evaluation process of the HCC regarding the Legal Experts of all the Legal Documentation Departments of the Branch – Sectoral Directorates in accordance with the applicable legal framework.
The Office for the Protection of Personal Data, headed by the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the HCC, who is appointed by decision of the President of the HCC following the consent of the HCC’s Plenary, is responsible for monitoring internal compliance with EU and national legislation and other provisions on data protection, through the identification and management of processing activities, staff training, internal audit, processing of personal data and sensitive information prior to posting on the HCC’s website, the participation of a representative of the Office in all matters relating to the protection of personal data, information of the HCC, the DGC and its staff regarding their obligations under European and national data protection legislation, the promotion of actions pertaining to data protection within the Authority, advising the HCC on impact assessment and monitoring its implementation, cooperating with supervisory authorities regarding personal data protection, the protection of personal data and the investigation and drafting of reports addressed to the Director-General and the President of the HCC on the impact assessment of data protection pertaining to the various activities of the HCC (Data Protection Impact Assessment).
ii. DIRECTORATE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The Directorate for Administrative and Financial Support is mainly responsible for planning and supporting the implementation of all financial, management and administrative procedures required for the operation of the HCC.
It consists of the following Departments:
a) Department for Administrative Support and Infrastructure
b) Human Resources Department
c) Financial Support Department
iii. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND FORENSICS DIRECTORATE
Strategic objectives of the Information Technology Systems and Forensics Directorate include the effective operation of the information and telecommunication systems of HCC and the protection of personal data.
It consists of the following Departments:
a) Information Technology & Telecommunication Systems Department
The mission of the Information Technology & Telecommunication Systems Department is mainly to ensure the effective operation of the HCC’s information systems, digital infrastructure, and call center, in relation to equipment, operating and database management systems, infrastructure and networks.
b) Forensics Investigation/ Detection Department
Forensics’ Investigation/ Detection Department mission is principally the investigation for the collection of evidence through the development and management of information systems, which are related to the digital evidence collected by the organizational units of the HCC, as well as the development and operation of platforms / e- infrastructure and databases of the HCC.
iv.DEPARTMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF COMPETITION POLICIES / ADVOCACY
The Department for the Promotion of Competition Policies / Advocacy is an independent Department under the direct supervision of the Director-General. Its mission is to raise awareness on matters relating to the functioning of free competition and the promotion of competition policies in general.
v. DEPARTMENT FOR MARKET MAPPING AND RESEARCH
The Department for Market Mapping and Research is an independent Department under the direct supervision of the Director-General. Its mission is to provide, process and make available the appropriate sources of information and knowledge to support the activities and research work of the HCC.
