GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Manda and Maria Kallidopoulou, Karatzas & Partners
3.11 Accelerated Procedure A short notification form may be submitted, if one the following conditions is met: • none of the parties to the concentration is engaged in business activities in the same relevant product and geographic market (no horizontal overlap), or in a market that is upstream or downstream of a market in which another party to the concentration is engaged (no vertical relationship); • two or more of the parties to the concentra - tion are engaged in business activities in the same product and geographical market (horizontal relationships), provided that their combined market shares shall not exceed 15%; • one or more of the parties to the concentra - tion are engaged in business activities in a product market, which is upstream or down - stream of a product market in which any other party to the concentration is engaged (vertical relationships), provided that their individual or combined market shares at either level shall not exceed 25%; or • when a party to the concentration is to acquire sole control of an undertaking over which it already has joint control. When following the receipt of the short notifica - tion form, the HCC considers that the long noti - fication form is required, the filing will be deemed incomplete, and the HCC will request all or part of the long form notification information through RFIs.
decision within 90 calendar days following the initiation of the Phase II review process. In case the deadline of 90 days lapses unused, it is assumed that the HCC has approved the concentration. The timeframe within which the HCC shall issue its decision under the Phase I and Phase II review process may be extended subject to the parties’ consent. In terms of an overall estimated timeline, it is estimated that the HCC would issue its deci - sion approximately 75 days after the submission of the notification in Phase I proceedings, and approximately 165 days after the submission of the notification in Phase II proceedings. 3.9 Pre-Notification Discussions With Authorities The Greek Competition Act does not provide for pre-notification discussions with the HCC. Nonetheless, since July 2024, the HCC unof - ficially encourages undertakings to engage in pre-notification discussions with respect to, inter alia, the relevant markets, and any potential sub - stantive issues that may arise. 3.10 Requests for Information During the Review Process It is fairly common for the HCC to request addi - tional information from the parties. In particular, once the notification is filed, the HCC has seven working days in order to assess whether the data provided by the parties is sufficient. If the HCC finds that further data is needed, it shall notify the parties and the “clock will stop tick - ing”. Namely, the deadline within which the HCC must reach a decision in Phase I or Phase II will not start running until the HCC has deemed that it has at its disposal all the data that it requires.
4. Substance of the Review 4.1 Substantive Test
The key substantive test employed by the HCC in its assessment of a concentration is that a
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