Chisinau, October 30 (Infotag). The National Agency for Competition Protection, established in early 2007, abuses its authority, believes the Foreign Investors Association (FIA) of Moldova.

FIA Executive Director Dinu Armasu told a news conference in Infotag today that the Association itself had strongly insisted on founding such an agency in this republic because without it there was no chance of enforcing the Law on Competition Protection passed yet in 2000.

“We were expecting that the National Agency would establish strict order at the market, and that this would improve the investment climate in Moldova. Regretfully, our expectations did not come true. The Agency’s recent actions aimed against foreign and domestic investors were but an arbitrariness that definitely went in excess of the Agency’s authority. Those unlawful actions pertained to control over the company merger procedure, definition of dominating position at the market, imposition of fines on economic agents, etc.”, said Dinu Armasu.

In his words, the recent imposition of a fine for violating the said Law to an amount of 10% of the income received was devoid of a legal ground.

The Foreign Investors Association expressed concern about the Agency’s intention to amend the Law on the Competition Protection in a way advantageous for the Agency, not for economic operators.

Armasu said the Agency is claiming such amendment is necessary in order to bring the national legislation in harmony with European norms. “But these amendments are investing the Agency with boundless powers and stipulate huge penalties on economic agents. All the efforts made by the Government and the Foreign Investors Association to improve the investment climate in Moldova are thus ruined by the National Agency’s illicit actions”, said Dinu Armasu.

According to information available with him, the Sun Communications and the Bomba companies, severely punished by the Agency recently, are going to seek justice in court.