The Plenary Session of the Hellenic Competition Committee (HCC) will meet on December 19, 2019, to examine, following the submission of the Statement of Objections by the Directorate- General for Competition, whether there is a violation of article 8 par. 8 of Law 3959/2011. With Decision No. 658/2018 (hereinafter referred to as the "Commitment Decision"), the HCC approved the merger concerning the acquisition of sole control by “ATTICA HOLDINGS SA” over the company "HELLENIC SEAWAYS SA", under specific terms and conditions (corrective measures), based on the commitments undertaken by ATTICA before the HCC, in accordance with article 8 of Law 3959/2011, as in force.
According to the Statement of Objections (SO) of the General Directorate of Competition, ATTICA has complied with most of the commitments undertaken, with the exception of the commitment to extend routes to some remote islands in relation to the routes prior to the acquisition and in particular a) the non-implementation of an additional route on a remote island (Kavala-Lemnos) for the period 08.10.2018-09.06.2019 and b) the non-realization of a new connection (Santorini-Symi) for the period 29.10.2018-17.03.2019, omissions which constitute, according to the SO, non-compliance with the undertaken commitments. In this context, it is proposed that ATTICA should cease in the future its non-compliance with the commitments regarding the above-mentioned routes and a fine should be imposed for each day of non-compliance.
It is noted that the SO is not binding for the Hellenic Competition Commission, which will decide taking into account all the evidence and the views of the parties.