Kocian Solc Balastik has successfully represented REMA before the European Commission regarding a complaint to investigate whether the Czech Republic, acting through the Ministry of the Environment, violated its obligations under EU law by creating an anti-competitive environment in the packaging sector in favor of EKO-KOM.
According to KSB, "REMA AOS, like a number of other unsuccessful applicants, attempted to break EKO-KOM's 20-year de facto monopoly and become the next authorized packaging company to provide take-back and recovery of packaging waste on the Czech market. However, in the authorization procedure conducted by the Ministry of the Environment, it encountered insurmountable obstacles, which were an indication that the measures taken by the Czech Republic in favor of EKO-KOM were causing very serious distortions of competition on the market and were completely preventing undertakings from emerging and efficiently competing with EKO-KOM."
Furthermore, according to KSB, the European Commission issued a statement saying that "the conditions required for obtaining authorization, including the financial and contractual requirements, together with EKO-KOM's ability to influence the authorization process, created significant barriers to the entry of new competitors into the market."
"The Czech market for packaging waste collection and recovery has been dominated by the incumbent operator for more than two decades," added the EC's Executive Vice-President responsible for competition Margrethe Vestager. "We are concerned that Czech measures have prevented [the] entry of rival companies, with a consequent negative impact on prices, quality, innovation and choice. Therefore, we have sent a letter of Formal Notice to Czechia. Ensuring effective competition is essential for achieving a sustainable and circular economy, one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal."
Last year, in 2023, KSB helped REMA obtain electrical equipment collection system authorization (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 3, 2023).
The KSB team included Managing Partner Pavel Dejl, Partner Tomas Sequens, Counsel Petra Mirovska, and Lawyer Martin Vrab.
