This year, the Competition Council (KP) has concluded seven infringement investigations, imposing a total of more than 2.5 million euros in fines, KP Chairwoman Ieva Šmite said on Monday at the opening of Competition Law Week.
She stated that one of the most significant violations uncovered was a cartel involving five companies that participated in public procurement tenders for engineering network repair and construction projects across Latvia.
Šmite explained that the illegal agreements distorted competition in more than 30 procurements, and the KP imposed fines exceeding 500,000 euros.
In another case, SIA “Mārupes komunālie pakalpojumi” was found to have abused its dominant position in the market for installing and replacing additional water consumption meters in Mārupe Municipality (except in Spilve village). The company was fined 78,055 euros.
Additionally,
SIA “Maxima Latvija” was fined more than 1.8 million euros for breaching the prohibition of unfair trading practices
by exploiting its market power to unilaterally influence purchasing prices for food and agricultural suppliers. The company was also given legally binding obligations to remedy the situation.
Šmite emphasized that cartels in public procurement remain the most serious competition problem in Latvia. Over the past ten years, the KP has uncovered more than 30 cartels and imposed fines totaling 40 million euros. In the past five years alone, the value of affected contracts has exceeded 1 billion euros.
She also highlighted concerns about the oversight of public entities. This year, the KP received 400 submissions, one-third of which concern the conduct of public bodies in procurement processes.
According to Šmite,
public authorities most often distort competition by setting unreasonably short deadlines
for submitting bids, imposing disproportionate qualification requirements, and manipulating evaluation criteria to favor specific companies.
Currently, the KP is investigating three active cases: SIA “Tiesu namu aģentūra”, for its participation in IT procurements; AS “Latvijas valsts meži”, regarding long-term contract practices; and Dienvidkurzeme Municipality, for its conduct in public procurements.
Šmite noted that the KP evaluates about 20 merger applications annually. This year, five in-depth investigations were conducted, one of which is still ongoing.
This year’s market research has focused on food retail, finance, the environmental sector, healthcare, and IT procurements, Šmite said.
The KP has also initiated legislative improvements
. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved amendments to the Competition Law, and further work is underway to streamline merger control regulations—aimed at reducing administrative burdens and making the process faster and clearer for market participants.
Šmite added that international cooperation is also ongoing. Latvia is currently involved in two active legal projects with OECD member states and other countries, focusing on digital market oversight and training in identifying cartel behavior.
A joint Baltic enforcement case on a vertically restricted agreement in the coffee machine distribution market is also underway, expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2026.
In 2026,
the KP will continue working on eight ongoing investigations and market monitoring activities.
The Competition Law Week, officially opened on Monday, includes several events for lawyers, entrepreneurs, representatives of public institutions, and industry associations.
The goal of the events is to raise awareness of fair competition, and to promote professional dialogue on effective competition policy implementation in Latvia.
At the opening event, KP presented its performance indicators and future outlook, as well as insights into the ongoing development of Latvia’s first Sectoral Competition Report.
The program also featured a presentation of a public survey on consumer mobility in the banking sector, followed by a panel discussion “Is there competition in the banking sector?”, where
experts discussed the findings and competitive challenges.
From the 11th to the 12th of November, the Baltic Competition Conference will take place, bringing together the leadership, experts, and legal professionals from the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian competition authorities. Over two days, participants will share experiences and explore more effective solutions for strengthening competition enforcement in the Baltic region.
On the 13th of November, the conference “Competition Neutrality in Latvia: Experience, Challenges, and Future Outlook” will be held, presenting a five-year review of the regulatory framework, analysis of its implementation, and identification of key issues. The event will conclude with a panel discussion on the effectiveness and future development of competition neutrality regulation.
The KP Lawyers’ Forum will take place on the 14th of November, offering an opportunity for KP representatives and legal professionals to exchange experience and discuss current issues in competition law application and interpretation.
This year’s discussions will focus on topics such as leniency programs, competition violations in the labor market, the legality of boycotts, damage recovery in competition cases, and the use of artificial intelligence to improve the analysis of KP decisions.
All events will be available both in person and online.
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