Summary

The Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC), in plenary, unanimously adopted Decision No 767/2022 according to the simplified Settlement Procedure (Article 25a of Law 3959/2011and Decision No 704/2020) following the settlement submissions by the companies: a) POT & PAN SA; b) TZANETOS SA; c) SALAS INTER. GROUP SA; and d) PLEIADES Ltd. 

Following the settlement procedure, the HCC imposed reduced fines amounting to EUR 120,938.45 on POT & PAN SA; EUR 125,253.69 on TZANETOS SA; EUR 56,10.94 on SALAS SA; and EUR 2,131.81 on PLEIADES Ltd (i.e., a total fine for all companies amounting to EUR 304,427.89).

Settlement Procedure

The Settlement Procedure is applicable to cases where undertakings or associations of undertakings voluntarily and unreservedly admit their participation in a cartel, in violation of Article 1 Law 3959/2011 (and/or Article 101 TFEU),and facilitate thereby the establishment of the infringement. In these cases, a reduction of the fine by 15% is granted.

The purpose of the Settlement Procedure is the simplification and acceleration of the HCC decision-making process, as well as the reduction of the number of appeals against its decisions. This enables the HCC to deal with a larger number of cases with less administrative burden, thus increasing the deterrent effect of its action and, at the same time, increasing citizens' awareness.

Facts

The ex officio investigation by the HCC’s Directorate General for Competition was initiated in the summer of 2018 following certain press articles in the Greek press, and it focused on the competitive conditions in the markets for the provision of catering services to migrants/ refugees in the refugee reception centers located in the islands of the North and East Aegean Sea. During the period 2018-2020, the HCC’s Directorate General for Competition carried out several measures in the context of its investigation, including on-site inspections, depositions, and requests for information.

The investigation showed that the aforementioned companies concluded certain agreements which fall within the scope of Article 1(1) of Law 3959/2011 (the Greek Competition Act) and had as their object the restriction of competition between the said companies as regards the provision of catering services in specific islands for future periods. In particular, these agreements concerned:

• the island of Chios, as regards the companies POT & PAN and SALAS (duration of the infringement regarding this island for both companies: from 28.01.2018 to 09.03.2019); and
• the island of Lesvos, for the companies POT & PAN (duration of participation in the infringement regarding this island: from 25.02.2017 to 31.12.2018); SALAS (duration of participation in the infringement regarding this island: from 3.11.2017 to 31.12 .2018); TZANETOS (duration of participation in the infringement: from 25.2.2017 to 31.12.2018) and PLEIADES (duration of participation in the infringement: from 03.11.2017 to 31.12.2018).

The companies under investigation, for which evidence was collected capable of proving a violation of Article 1 of Law 3959/2011, expressed in writing their interest to enter into a Settlement Procedure and submitted a relevant request, pursuant to the applicable provisions of the HCC’s Dispute Settlement Notice (Decision No. 704/2020).

Relevant Market

The relevant markets in the present case are the markets for the provision of catering services to migrants/ refugees in the islands of (a) Chios and (b) Lesvos. 

Assessment 

The obligation of exclusive cooperation contained in the agreements concluded between the aforementioned companies for a future number of tenders resulted in the exclusion of independent participation for each of the participating companies or in association with other companies and the exclusion of competitors. Therefore, the above companies entered into a horizontal agreement with the object of restricting the provision of catering services in the specific islands of Lesvos and Chios, which constitutes a serious restriction of competition caught by Article 1(1) of Law 3959/2011.

It is noted that this is the fifth case where the companies involved in an infringement came forward for a settlement procedure at a pre-Statement of Objection stage, which increases the procedural efficiency of HCC.