The Lithuanian Competition Council has identified that its activities not only provide direct benefits to consumers but also create a substantial deterrent effect that discourages illegal actions by companies. This effect is crucial as it leads to a reduction in potential violations, with surveys indicating that nearly half a hundred potential infringements are deterred by a single decision from the Council.

Since 2011, the Competition Council has been evaluating the direct benefits it generates for consumers annually, using a methodology from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The findings reveal that for every Euro spent from the national budget on the Council's activities, consumers can expect 5.7 Euros in direct benefits, amounting to an average annual benefit of 17.5 million Euros.

However, the assessment of direct benefits does not encompass all the Council's activities due to data limitations. It excludes benefits from enforcing the Law on the Prohibition of Unfair Practices by Retailers and other educational initiatives aimed at promoting competition culture. Notably, fines imposed by the Council, which totaled 3.12 million Euros last year, are also not included in this assessment.

Jolanta Ivanauskienė, Chairwoman of the Competition Council, emphasized the importance of the deterrent effect, stating that it encourages companies to avoid illegal practices altogether. She noted that while this effect may not be classified as a direct economic benefit, it is a significant outcome of competition enforcement, as it leads to a change in business behavior that ultimately protects consumers.

To quantify the deterrent effect, the Council conducted surveys among businesses and lawyers in late 2024. Results indicated that between 2021 and 2024, a concentration that was either prohibited or authorized with commitments deterred an average of 2.6 potentially problematic transactions. The deterrence rate for prohibited agreements was found to be 46.4, suggesting that the Council's decisions have a profound impact on preventing anti-competitive behavior.

Utilizing insights from the European Commission and the UK Competition Authority, the Competition Council developed a methodology to assess the deterrent effect, estimating that the total expected benefits (both direct and indirect) could reach up to 204.7 million Euros from 2022 to 2024. This indicates that every Euro allocated to the Council's activities could generate up to 66 Euros in consumer benefits.