1 TRANSPORT – SHIPS: Research shows that Greece is in the 11th place among the most expensive countries for coastal cruises in Europe. Increases in ferry fares brought complaints and investigations – through the Port Authority – into ferry fares, leading to administrative sanctions.
Areas that need special investigation are the fluctuations recorded in the cost of the coastal ferries, depending on the day and the number of companies operating itineraries, as well as the high prices on intra-island routes.
At the end of June, the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr. Christos Stylianidis, requested, in a letter, from the President of the Competition Commission Irene Evelyn Michela Mary Sharp, that there be cooperation on the issue of ferry tickets and to deal with any incidents of abusive behavior from ferry companies.
The Ministry of Shipping has announced that it will set up a Price Observatory specifically for coastal ferry tickets. The Competition Commission, for now, has not… opened its papers, making any official announcement about conducting an investigation in relation to the matter.
2 BANKS: The maintenance of Greek banks’ deposit interest rates at low levels, compared to the European average, led to the decision of the Competition Commission to initiate a relevant investigation.
According to data from the European Central Bank (ECB), the average interest rate on deposits in Greece for deposits with a duration of up to one year is 1.83% compared to 3.11% in the eurozone.
From July 2022 to September 2023, the ECB proceeded with successive increases in the deposit facility rate. In the period that followed, these increases passed, to some extent, on the interest rates offered by Greek banks to depositors, but this transfer seems to have manifested itself on a limited scale and with a delay, both in relation to other member states and to the past practice of the domestic banking system.
Through the sectoral investigation, the Competition Commission will investigate the conditions of competition in the bank deposit market, in order to identify any distortions and submit proposals to strengthen competition in the market, for the benefit of depositors (households and businesses).
The banking sector had occupied the Competition Commission once more in the last three years. It is recalled that its investigation had led to the imposition of fines, in December 2023, on five banking institutions and the Hellenic Bank Association (EET), totaling 41.7 million euros, for concerted practice in interbank systems and payment and electronic services transactions.
3 PETROLEUM PRODUCTS: On 28.11.2022, the Competition Commission decided, ex officio, to initiate regulatory intervention in the petroleum sector. On 1.8.2024 it published its preliminary views on the conditions of competition in the three stages of production and distribution (refining, marketing and retailing): unleaded petrol 95, motor oil and heating oil. And then, he invited all interested parties to contribute to the public consultation.
In the conclusions of the relevant report, it is pointed out, among other things, that:
- In the refining stage duopoly conditions prevail, with a high degree of concentration. The price determinants for domestic sales of each product (in particular Platts price, tax and other charges and US$/Euro exchange rate) are common to both companies. From the analysis of the refining prices, an identification (with marginal differences in the prices between the two companies in the fourth and fifth decimal places) and a parallel evolution of the prices emerged.
- At the wholesale stage the market is characterized by a moderate to low degree of concentration, where active companies seek to strengthen their competitiveness through the promotion of alternative differentiated products, the provision of services as well as the general exploitation of the brand they market. The customers (retail stations) do not make direct purchases from the refineries or imports, therefore they have no alternative sources of supply. Therefore, the bargaining power belongs to the wholesale companies, which in turn are limited by the lack of alternative sources of supply at the refining stage.
- At the retail stage 6,117 gas stations are active, of which 5,825 operate under the brand of a company, while the rest are independent. Barriers to entry at the retail supply level include the amount of investment to set up a gas station, low profit margins and delinquency (counterfeiting). Accordingly, and at the retail stage, imports could constitute alternative sources of supply for trading companies, exerting competitive pressure on refining companies.
4 FOOD: On July 18, 2024, the Competition Commission proceeded to assign to a competent rapporteur an ex officio investigation into possible vertical collusion and anti-competitive practices in the supply, marketing and retail market of cereals, milk, coffee, jams, beverages and cheese. It is noted that the assignment to a rapporteur does not prejudge the content of the proposal and/or the decision of the Competition Committee.
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