MONTENEGRO Law and Practice Contributed by: Bisera Andrijasevic and Marija Ksenija Popović, BDK Advokati
outside of the joint venture, and any potential co- ordination issues between the parents would be examined under the rules on restrictive agree - ments. 5. Decision: Prohibitions and Remedies 5.1 Authorities’ Ability to Prohibit or Interfere With Transactions The Agency may prohibit a transaction if, based on the assessment criteria outlined in 4.4 Com- petition Concerns , it determines that the con - centration would significantly restrict, distort or prevent effective market competition in the rel - evant market, particularly through the creation of a dominant position or the strengthening of an existing one. The Agency may also issue a conditional approv - al of a concentration. If it determines that the concentration would prevent, restrict or distort competition, it will issue a statement of objec - tions to inform the parties about the established facts, circumstances and conclusions reached during the investigation. The notifying party may propose measures to address the concerns raised by the Agency. The Agency may accept or amend the proposed measures, ordering their implementation, setting deadlines, and defining monitoring methods. If the parties fail to com - ply with the imposed remedies, the Agency will revoke the conditional approval of the concen - tration. Additionally, if a concentration is implemented without, or in violation of, the Agency’s decision, the Agency may require the parties to dissolve the concentration to restore market conditions to their state prior to implementation. To achieve this, the Agency may order the divestment of
shares, the limitation or prohibition of voting rights, or the termination of control over the acquired target by other means. 5.2 Parties’ Ability to Negotiate Remedies The parties may propose and negotiate reme - dies to address any competition concerns raised by the transaction (see 5.1 Authorities’ Ability to Prohibit or Interfere With Transactions ). Rem - edies can be proposed in response to the state - ment of objections but may also be submitted earlier in the process if the parties anticipate specific competition concerns that could be raised by the Agency. In practice, the Agency typically imposes soft behavioural measures, such as reporting obli - gations (eg, notifying the Agency of changes in processes, commercial conditions, concluded contracts or offers), obligations to conclude contracts with suppliers and/or customers, and similar measures. The Agency does not consider non-competition concerns and, as a result, has not imposed any measures related to such concerns. 5.3 Legal Standard There is no strict legal standard for acceptable remedies under the Competition Act. However, based on the Agency’s practice, remedies must be proportionate and directly address the iden - tified competition concerns. Remedies should aim to resolve antitrust issues without exceeding what is necessary. Measures may be aimed at correcting or pre - venting competition violations, and can be either behavioural (requiring or prohibiting spe - cific actions) or structural (such as the divest - ment of assets or the termination of joint ven -
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