• Has Polska Press enforced a conditional decision from 2013 concerning Regionalne Media company takeover?
• The Office has initiated a proceeding and carried out control.
• The nonperformance of a decision will be punished with 10.000 Euro per each day of a delay.

In October 2013 the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) approved of the takeover of an exclusive control over Media Regionalne company by Polska Press (formerly: Polskapresse), after fulfilling by the latter particular conditions.

The Office ordered the German publisher to sell to an independent body Dziennik Wschodni and the domains: dziennikwschodni.pl and e-dziennikwschodni.pl. It was particularly related do the property rights concerning the title, webpages and trademarks.

In the initiated verifying procedure, UOKiK controls whether Polska Press has fulfilled an enforced condition and does not remain in mutually dependent trade relations with an issuer of the sold title.

- We are analysing the material collected during the verifying procedure which we made in the headquarters of Polska Press. We are verifying whether the company has really obeyed our instructions from four years back – says Marek Niechciał, the President of the UOKiK.

In accordance with regulations, a maximal fine for the nonperfromance of a decision can amount to 10.000 Euro per each day of a delay. Moreover, it is possible to order a division of an undertaking which has arisen based on an agreement issued as a result of a proven traders’ deception.

Having issued a decision on the merger of a few bodies, UOKiK always assesses whether the competitiors remaining on the market after the completion of the transaction will be strong enough to impede the use of consumers or contractors by the merger company.
In the present-day legal system, UOKiK cannot verify if the merger violates other regulations i.e. safety regulations.

In view of the UOKiK, mergers on the markets important for the national economy should, from the perspective of economy, be assessed not only by the Anti-Trust Authority but also by other qualified bodies. In the case of media it is within the scope
of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), as has been established in the Constitution.

- We want to protect our national economy, hence new legal solutions are required especially in the key-sectors such as : media, safety, power industry – says Marek Niechciał, the President of the UOKiK.

The scope of duties which may be assigned to particular bodies requires detailed consultations. UOKiK expects a close cooperation at the solutions proceeded.

More information for the media:

Press Office:  UOKiK
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone.: 48 22 55 60 111
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL