GREECE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Victoria Mertikopoulou, Ifigeneia Argyri and Maria Paziotopoulou, Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm
tion scheme and determine the lowest bidder for each project with regard to the individual 28 cadastral survey projects in the context of the tender launched on 4 October 2013 by the HELLENIC CADASTRE for the integration of the remaining areas of the country in the National Cadaster (horizontal bid-rigging/market-shar - ing agreement). Through the above-mentioned conduct, assessed as a whole, the undertakings involved proactively reduced the uncertainty entailed by autonomous competitive behaviour. Despite the limited success of the leniency pro - gramme in Greece, this was a leniency case. One company concerned and the applicant natural person received full immunity from fines under the Greek leniency programme, whereas the others received reduced fines under the set - tlement procedure. In determining the amount of fines, the HCC applied the highest rate yet in similar cases of bid rigging in public tenders. However, for all the companies involved in the infringement, the amount of the fine was limited to the maximum amount laid down by law in this regard ‒ name - ly, 10% of each undertaking’s total turnover in the financial year preceding the issuance of the decision or the year of cessation of the infringe - ment. This horizontal agreement was of a single and continuous nature (with individual differen - tiations for each company) and extended from September 2013 to December 2020. ii) Settlement Decision 853/2024 – provision of banking services (horizontal concerted practice) Τhe HCC unanimously imposed a reduced fine of EUR21,375.94 on a banking institution for infringing Article 1 of Law 3959/2011 and Article 101 of the TFEU. The decision was part of two joined cases concerning an ex officio investiga -
tion into the broader market for the provision of banking services and an ex officio investigation following a complaint concerning (inter alia) the payment services market (see also HCC Deci - sion 838/2023). The banking institution con - cerned was found to have participated in a prohibited concerted practice with other bank - ing institutions regarding the adoption of a new pricing model (ie, zero fees applicable to bilateral agreements between banking institutions only after switching to a Direct Access Fee (DAF) for ATM cash withdrawal transactions using cards issued by domestic payment service providers (PSPs) participating in the DIASATM network. Despite its passive role in the cartel and the lim - ited number of ATMs that it possessed in the Greek territory, the banking institution under scrutiny was deemed liable for the infringement because it did not publicly distance itself from the practice in such a way that other cartelists would view the banking institution as ending its participation therein or report it to the HCC. However, the above-mentioned facts were taken into consideration as mitigating circumstances for imposition of a reduced fine. iii) Settlement Decision 852/2024 ‒ retail market of supermarket products (market allocation) The HCC unanimously imposed a total fine of EUR172.424 on a supermarket association for market allocation among its members infringing Article 1 of Law 3959/2011 and Article 101 of the TFEU. According to the evidence available, the supermarket association has received a series of written complaints from some of its members demanding that retail stores should not operate in the same geographical area as other mem - bers of the association. The complaints invoked a general principle of the association set out in a decision of its General Assembly ‒ according to which, its members should refrain from the
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