The Critical Aspects of Lithuanian Competition Policy in Relation to Cartels

Competition in the market is an essential prerequisite for ensuring the national economic growth; therefore, almost all market economies consider national competitiveness as a value and protect it. The national competition policy, directed towards the detection and punishment of cartels, is an important tool for ensuring fair and free competition and an important factor for maintaining the country's economic development. The success of an efficient competition supervision is determined by not only a formal coordination of the legal basis, but also by the peculiarities of practical application of competition law, economic and cultural aspects of society, the political will and many other factors. Despite the fact that formally, the regulation of competition restricting agreements concluded between undertakings in Lithuania is essentially the same as in the European Union, however, in Lithuania the level of competition culture and competition policy dissemination and public awareness is quite low, compared to the other European Union states. This paper analyzes the aims, measures and mechanism of implementation of the Lithuanian competition policy in relation to the cartels in the context of the EU and highlights the economic aspects, peculiarities and critical issues of this policy.