In the first six months of 2025, the Latvian Competition Authority (KP) has taken significant steps to enhance competition oversight, including initiating its first infringement case regarding a potential prohibited agreement. This case was prompted by signals from a newly developed data monitoring tool, marking a proactive approach to identifying anti-competitive practices.

During this period, KP issued three decisions in investigation cases, imposing fines totaling over 100,000 EUR. One notable case involved the abuse of dominance by SIA 'Mārupes komunālie pakalpojumi,' where customers were overcharged for sewage services that were not provided, leading to a fine of over 78,000 EUR and a legal obligation to rectify the violation.

In another instance, although KP closed an investigation into AS 'RĪGAS SILTUMS,' the market for heating network construction and repair has seen positive changes, with increased competition and more bidders participating in tenders.

KP also penalized SIA 'SILTUMTEHSERVISS' for obstructing an inspection by deleting necessary information, resulting in a fine of over 26,000 EUR. This serves as a deterrent to other market participants against similar violations.

Additionally, KP has conducted four preventive procedures, warning 17 legal entities about potential prohibited agreements without formal case initiation, thus promoting responsible business practices.

For the first time, KP conducted simultaneous inspections across all three Baltic states, enhancing international cooperation in competition enforcement. The authority plans to continue using digital tools for proactive market monitoring to identify signs of potential competition hindrance.

KP has also seen a significant increase in merger cases requiring in-depth investigations, with four such cases in the first half of 2025 compared to only two in all of 2024. The authority has provided pre-merger consultations, which have increased by over 30%.

In its efforts to evaluate potentially anti-competitive actions by public entities, KP has engaged in discussions with municipalities and provided 13 opinions on the appropriateness of public participation in business activities. The authority plans to publish these opinions to enhance public understanding of competition neutrality requirements.

KP has actively monitored markets in various sectors, including food retail, finance, health, and IT procurement, with eight ongoing market studies expected to conclude in the next half-year.

To facilitate public procurement evaluations, KP has compiled information on market participants involved in prohibited agreements and has issued nine opinions regarding candidate exclusions from tenders due to potential competition violations.

KP has also focused on raising awareness about competition law, producing informative materials and hosting free seminars for approximately 700 participants on various competition law topics.

Internationally, KP has participated in over 25 events and strengthened cooperation with other European countries to improve competition conditions in digital markets. The authority is preparing for significant international events in the upcoming months, including an evaluation by OECD experts.

During this period, KP has contributed to over 20 regulatory alignments and proposed amendments to competition laws, reinforcing its commitment to effective competition law enforcement.

In terms of legal outcomes, KP has achieved six favorable or partially favorable court rulings, with only one unfavorable ruling resulting in the annulment of a KP decision. The authority continues to work on seven cases related to the enforcement of fines, with a total of 746,529 EUR collected in fines.