• The Court of Competition and Consumer Protection has dismissed the Ombudsman's appeal concerning the President of UOKiK's approval for the merger of Orlen and Polska Press.

• The judgment confirms that the President of UOKiK can only assess concentrations in terms of competition protection.

In February 2021, the President of UOKiK approved the acquisition of control over Polska Press by PKN Orlen. The decision was preceded by an investigation and market research which revealed that this was a vertical concentration occurring between entities operating at different levels of the press market. In practice, this meant that the activities of the parties to the concentration did not overlap. In the absence of a threat to competition, unconditional approval was granted for the concentration of the undertakings.

The decision was appealed by the Ombudsman, who pointed to the negative impact of the transaction on media pluralism and freedom of speech Meanwhile, the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection clearly indicates that the only criterion that the President of UOKiK may take into account when issuing a decision on a concentration is the circumstance of a significant restriction of competition. A concentration can only be prohibited if it would lead to a significant restriction of competition.

On 7 June 2022, the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection dismissed the Ombudsman's appeal, thus sharing the stance of the President of UOKiK. In the verbal reasons for judgment, the Court pointed out that the Ombudsman had not presented any evidence to support the claim that the decision was incorrect. The Court found that the assessment of the transaction by the President of UOKiK was appropriate and supported by the evidence. The Court emphasised that the President of UOKiK, as a competition protection authority, examines concentrations only for the criteria indicated in the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection.

"The Court's dismissal of the Ombudsman's appeal confirms that when issuing decisions on concentration control, the President of UOKiK can only examine the impact of the transaction on competition. It cannot take into account subjective criteria and criteria which are not precisely defined in antitrust law. This was the case with the approval of the Orlen - Polska Press merger. From the outset, we have clearly indicated the legal and economic foundations for our decision stating that the concentration would not threaten competition in any market. Today's court ruling confirms that the allegations made by the then Ombudsman, Mr Adam Bodnar, were completely unfounded. We accept this ruling with satisfaction since it strengthens the trust in us as an institution," says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKIK.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL