Competition Commission

The announcements by the Competition Commission and the study by Finnish company Rewheel regarding the high charges and "closed oligopoly" conditions in the Greek telecommunications market have generated major reactions both in the market and on a political level.

The Competition Commission last week sent a letter to three government ministers calling for oversight of telecoms and postal services to be taken away from the National Commission for Telecommunications and Posts (EETT). The letter, signed by the competition watchdog's president, Yiannis Lianos, was sent a day before it published a study on the Greek telecoms market.

Athens-listed SIDMA SA has completed the absorption of Bitros Steel, the metallurgy subsidiary of fellow listed firm Bitros Holding SA, the two companies announced on Thursday, with the Bitros group entering the share capital of SIDMA.

The Development Ministry has issued fines of 113,500 euros in total over the period from March 16 to 24 following 266 inspections for profiteering in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The price of surgical masks and other commodities that have come in high demand as a result of the coronavirus outbreak will be put under the scrutiny by the Competition Commission to prevent profiteering.
Apart from masks, the products being monitored, according to the watchdog, include disinfectants, long-life milk, rice and pasta.

Greece's competition watchdog confirmed on Friday that it had raided all the country's major banks a day earlier as part of an investigation into collaboration between lenders.
Inspectors raided the head offices of National, Piraeus, Alpha, Attica and Eurobank, along with the offices of the Greek bank association, bankers said on Thursday.

Greece's competition watchdog says raids at the headquarters of the country's four systemic banks as well as the Hellenic Bank Association (EET) and DIAS Interbank Systems on Thursday and Friday was an "initial step" in its inquiry into possible cartel practices regarding customer charges.

Competition Commission officials launched extensive inspections without prior warning at the headquarters of the country's four systemic banks as well as the Hellenic Bank Association (EET) and DIAS Interbank Systems on Thursday, in a bid to probe possible cartel practices regarding customer charges.

Greek banks have caved in to government pressure, freezing customer charges for a series of banking services, at least until the end of the year.

Greece's Competition Commission has unveiled a new proposal for the way it prioritizes its caseload, whether for cases initiated by the Commission or following outside reports.