Mergers and Acquisitions - Competitions Law Aspects

I GENERAL

1. Background

1.1 Recent developments in Finnish competition law

Competition law has undergone significant changes in Finland during the last few years. A new Act on Competition Restrictions came into force on September 1, 1992. The act was a major step in the sense of harmonizing Finnish competition law with that of the European Communities. Moreover, the Finnish membership in the European Union as of January 1, 1995 enhanced the importance of the competition rules of the EC.

Although the Finnish law is based on the rules of the EC and it is stated in the preparatory works of the law that the precedents of the EC-authorities also should be regarded as guidelines in interpreting the national legislation, there are some noteworthy deviations. These will be discussed below in section I 4.