Relevant legislation and statutory standards

Estonian merger control is regulated mainly by Chapter 5 (Articles 19–29) of the Competition Act of 2001 (‘the Act’) and in addition by two regulations issued by the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications: Guidelines for Submission of Notice of Concentration and Guidelines for Calculation of Turnover of Parties to Concentration. The merger control chapter in the Act was substantially reformed in May 2006; the amendments entered into force as of 1 July 2006.

Unofficial English translations of the Act and the above-mentioned regulations are available on the website of the Ministry of Justice. The English translation of the Act is also available on the website of the Estonian Competition Authority.

Decision-making bodies and enforcement authority(ies)

The merger control provisions are enforced mainly by the Estonian Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet, ECA), a governmental agency within the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The ECA investigates merger notifications that have been submitted to it. If a concentration submitted to its review would signiicantly impair effective competition, it may prohibit it or impose conditions on the concentration parties.