The diploma thesis addresses the issue of the effect of the introduction of leniency program and its reforms on the European competition policy and above all of its effect on investigation of forbidden cartel agreements. Leniency program is currently one of the main tools being implemented in fighting cartels. It works by providing immunity to the first company that provides relevant proof of the cartels existence. This work has three main goals. Firstly it aims to analyse the effectiveness of the leniency program and its reforms when it comes to uncovering cartels. The second goal is to unveil the European Commissions strategy concerning granting leniency and its development over the time. The last goal is to provide a quality analysis of all three forms of leniency and their mutual comparison. This diploma thesis is divided into four chapters: two theoretical and two practical chapters. The first one explains the issue of cartel agreements, individual types of cartels, investigation and its methods and the principals of imposing fines. The analysis of the leniency program itself, its introduction in 1996 and the following reforms in 2002 and 2006 will be the main topics of the second chapter. The third chapter contains the analysis of all Commissions decisions against cartels from 1993 till April 2016. It contains data relating to the development of number of decisions, the amount of fines, the size of the cartels and the percentage of the leniency granted in this period. The forth and the last chapter will focus on a case study of the LCD cartel and on the basis of theoretical findings contained in the first two chapters it will uncover the principles of this particular cartel and the investigation procedures.

Šiame darbe teoriniame ir praktiniame lygmenyse analizuojami karteliniai susitarimai. Teorinėje darbo dalyje analizuojami kartelio veikimo modeliai bei kartelių sukeliama žala ekonomikai, taip pat aptariami tyrimo metodai, kuriais gali būti nustatytas dėl kartelinių susitarimų atsiradęs antkainis. Praktiniu kartelinių susitarimų pavyzdžiu pasirinktas Lietuvos pieno bendrovių atvejis. Darbe tiriama, ar 2007 m. įvykęs staigus pieno kainos pakilimas buvo susijęs su karteliniais susitarimais, ar objektyviomis ekonominėmis priežastimis. Taigi pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas – įvertinti galimą kartelinių susitarimų įtaką Lietuvos pieno perdirbimo bendrovių produkcijos kainų kilimui. Šiam tikslui pasiekti atliekamas antkainio nustatymo tyrimas, naudojant keturis skirtingus metodus: prieš ir po, liniuotės (abu paremti palyginamąja kainų analize); kaštų / pelno (kaštų ir pelno duomenų analizė) bei ekonometrinius – fiktyvaus kintamojo ir prognozavimo (regresinė analizė). Atlikus tyrimą nustatyta, kad staigus pieno kainos kilimas buvo iš dalies pagrįstas objektyviu ekonominiu veiksniu – pagrindinės žaliavos (natūralaus pieno) brangimu. Tačiau šia situacija pieno perdirbimo bendrovės pasinaudojo, ir, sudariusios kartelinius susitarimus, ekonomiškai nepagrįstai pakėlė kainas. Regresinė analizė atskleidė, kad įtariamu laikotarpiu (2007 m. rugsėjo – 2008 m. vasario mėn.) dėl kartelinių susitarimų atsirado vidutinis 21,9 proc. pieno pakelio antkainis, t.y. kaina pakilo beveik penktadaliu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This paper investigates cartel agreements on theoretical and practical levels. In the theoretical part of the paper the models of cartels and economic damage caused by cartels have been analyzed. Besides, research methods which help to determine cartel overcharge have been reviewed. The recent case of Lithuanian dairy industry is the basis for the practical analysis. In this paper it has been investigated, whether the sudden increase of dairy product prices in 2007 was related to cartel agreements or it was based on objective economic reasons. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the supposed influence of cartel agreements on the prices of Lithuanian dairy products. A research based on four different methods is used to estimate the overcharge. Those methods are as follows: before-and-after, yardstick (both of these are based on comparative analysis of prices); cost / profit based (cost and profit data analysis) and econometric modeling: dummy variable approach and forecasting approach (based on regression analysis). As a result it was estimated that a sudden increase on the price of milk was partly based on an objective economic factor – the increase of price of the basic raw material – raw milk. However, this situation has been used for dishonest purposes of the manufacturers of milk and the price was raised economically unreasonably. Regression analysis has revealed that during the suspected period (from September 2007 to February 2008) the average cartel... [to full text]

This thesis deals with the competition law of the European Union, namely with the private consequences of cartel agreements (as defined in Article 101, paragraph 1, TFEU) and with their enforcement. It understands its subject widely and therefore it is not concerned only with private consequences and their enforcement but it also analyses the nature of prohibition and voidness of such agreements on the basis of a causal relationship between these legal concepts and respective consequences. Furthermore, it describes the private enforcement of EU competition law (which is legal instrument to enforce claims that emerge from private law consequences) not only from the perspective of its topic but also in terms of its relationship to the public enforcement. It also deals with the interaction between these enforcement systems. Chapter 2 of the thesis provides a basic introduction to the topic of cartel agreements governed by the EU law. It describes prohibition of these agreements under Article 101 paragraph 1 TFEU and deals with their voidness under paragraph 2 ibid. It concentrates on the later because of the considerable uncertainties about its nature in terms of interpretation of its legislation, absoluteness and possibility to severe void provisions from the rest. Chapter 3 covers the consequences of...