The Swedish Competition Authority - Annual

Transcription

SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY
2014 Annual Report
Contents
Message from the Director General
The year in brief
Our mandate
4
6
10
Competition Law enforcement and supervision Examples of Competition Act cases Improvement measures
Knowledge and communication
Collaboration 14
16
19
28
29
32
Public procurement
The consolidated procurement support function
Government assignments
Law enforcement and supervision
Examples of procurement supervision
Applications for procurement fines Knowledge and communication
Improvement measures Collaboration 34
36
48
48
50
56
62
64
65
Research 66
International cooperation
EU cooperation EU statistics Nordic cooperation
Other international cooperation
72
74
76
76
76
Staff and organisation 80
Facts and financial statements
88
Facts in brief 90
Financial review 94
Reports issued on government assignments 94
Summary of significant information 95
Income statement 96
Balance sheet 97
Statement of appropriations 98
Notes99
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
A year of progress
and change
2014 was hallmarked by, among other
things, the organising and developing of a
procurement support function at the
Swedish Competition Authority. Building on
foundations laid by the Swedish Legal,
Financial and Administrative Services
Agency, the Swedish Environmental
Management Council and VINNOVA, we
created an organization that stands ready
to help the myriad stakeholders involved in
the procurement process by offering a
consolidated national support function to
address these important matters.
Among other measures taken to date, the
Swedish Competition Authority’s procurement support function has drafted three
guidelines pertaining to the procurement of
health and medical care, held a number of
seminars on a variety of themes throughout
the country, and focused on outlining
criteria to help develop a procurement
process that yields more sustainable outcomes. We have worked on government
assignments, including guidelines for the
procurement of nontoxic goods for preschools in a manner that is consistent with
the procurement regulations.
Efforts to develop the procurement
support function will continue in 2015.
I hope that the work that is completed by
1 September 2015 will serve as a solid
foundation for its continued development
when a new independent agency is created
from the procurement support function in
accordance with a government decision.
Considerable progress has been made in
terms of law enforcement and supervision.
Several key cases have made their way to
court. One such case was the merger of
Sweden’s two largest estate agents under a
single owner, Swedbank. The Swedish
Competition Authority took the matter to
court to block the transaction, which, in our
opinion, would severely undermine
conditions for estate agents, as well as the
buyers and sellers of houses and apartments. On 16 December, the Stockholm
District Court ruled in favour of the
Swedish Competition Authority.
Two companies in the tyre market were
found by the Stockholm District Court to
have colluded in a bid rigging cartel when
placing bids in conjunction with public
procurements. We also filed two summons
applications against companies that we
deem to have violated the cartel rules – one
in the removals sector and the other in the
telecom sector. We also brought an action
against the snus manufacturer Swedish
Match for abusing its dominant position.
In terms of the supervision of public
procurement, the Swedish Competition
Authority has to date applied for administrative fines to be imposed in a total of 82
cases, 20 of which were in 2014. In one case,
concerning Falu Municipality, an administrative fine of SEK 8 million was ordered.
This is the largest fine to date in a judgment
that has gained legal effect.
The Swedish Competition Authority does
not aim to bring in the highest fines possible
for the government, but instead intends for
these judgments and interventions to serve
as a deterrent against other parties violating the competition and procurement
legislation.
This allows us to create the foundation
for a properly functioning market – in the
interest of consumers and the general
public.
Dan Sjöblom
Director General,
Swedish Competition Authority
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT YEAR IN BRIEF
YEAR IN BRIEF SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
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2014 – Year in brief
1 January: Swedish Competition Authority to regulate innovation procurement
Responsibility for innovation procurement is transferred to the Swedish Competition
Authority.
21 January: Tyre companies convicted of illegal bidding collusion
Two tyre companies, Däckia and Euromaster, are ordered to pay SEK 2.5 million in administrative fines for illegal collusion in conjunction with public procurement processes.
31 January: Municipalities may not distort competition
The Market Court establishes that the Municipal Association Räddningstjänsten Dala Mitt
(an emergency service) has violated the Competition Act by refusing to give a private entity
access to a training area.
1 March: Procurement support function transferred to Swedish Competition Authority
The Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency’s procurement support
function is transferred to the Swedish Competition Authority.
31 March: Borås Municipality’s Service Office may not compete in the private market
The Stockholm District Court sides fully with the Swedish Competition Authority in a
judgment that prohibits the municipality from selling services to anyone other than the
municipality itself.
3 April: Haninge Bostäder is fined SEK 10 million
The Administrative Court sides with the Swedish Competition Authority and establishes
that municipal companies are not allowed to buy a company with assets in the aim of
circumventing the procurement rules.
27 May: Swedish Competition Authority and VINNOVA partner on innovation procurement
The Swedish Competition Authority and VINNOVA reach an agreement regarding a partnership on innovation procurement. The partnership aims to make it easier for contracting
authorities to access high quality support and guidance.
10 June: Akademiska Hus is fined SEK 3 million
The state-owned company, Akademiska Hus, must comply with the Public Procurement Act
when purchasing goods and services. The Umeå Administrative Court orders the company to
pay an administrative fine for the illegal direct award of contracts.
26 June: Stockholm County Council ordered to pay SEK 3 million in procurement fines
The Stockholm Administrative Court rules fully in favour of the action brought by the
Swedish Competition Authority seeking administrative fines from the Stockholm County
Council.
1 July: Swedish Competition Authority assumes control of the Swedish Environmental
Management Council’s procurement activities
The Swedish Environmental Management Council’s procurement activities are transferred
to the Swedish Competition Authority, thus consolidating the procurement support function
under a single authority.
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT YEAR IN BRIEF
1 July: Guidelines for the use of sustainability criteria
The Swedish Competition Authority publishes new guidelines on the use of sustainability
criteria in public procurement.
1 July: Information on guidelines and the obligation to maintain
documentation for direct awards without prior contract notice
The Swedish Competition Authority publishes information in conjunction with an increase
in the threshold for direct awards of contract.
2 July: Swedish Competition Authority tasked with new government assignment
To make it easier to achieve a nontoxic environment in preschools, as well as an assignment
to sharpen expertise on food procurement.
3 July: Swedish Competition Authority at the Almedalen Week
(event featuring policy forums on Gotland)
The Swedish Competition Authority organises five seminars during the Almedalen Week,
featuring procurement for welfare as the overarching theme.
15 July: Swedish Competition Authority takes action against three removals companies
The Swedish Competition Authority files a summons application against three companies in
the removals sector for illegal collusion. The Swedish Competition Authority requests that
the removals companies pay a total of SEK 42 million in administrative fines.
16 September: Swedish Competition Authority initiates a series of breakfast seminars
The seminars, which are held during the autumn, educate participants on, and offer support
regarding procurement.
22 September: Dawn raids in the environmental and waste sectors
The Swedish Competition Authority initiates an investigation on potential violations of the
competition rules in the environmental and waste sectors.
24 September: Report on consolidation of the procurement support function
The report indicates that the new organisation, with its wide range of expertise, has resulted
in stronger support, information and guidance on sustainable and effective public procurement.
7 November: Analysis of amortisation recommendations
The Swedish Competition Authority presents its preliminary analysis, which serves as the
basis for the investigation into the Swedish Bankers’ Association’s amortisation recommendations on housing loans. The analysis indicated that the recommendation could constitute a
violation of the Competition Act.
20 November: Malmö Municipality convicted of repeated procurement violations
The Administrative Court of Appeal upholds the judgment against Malmö Municipality.
Malmö Municipality is ordered to pay SEK 325,000 in fines for repeated procurement
violations.
24-25 November: Nordic workshop on sustainable procurement
The Swedish Competition Authority organises the first Nordic workshop on sustainable
procurement, social requirements and the analysis of lifecycle costs.
YEAR IN BRIEF SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
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28 November: Research seminar The Pros and Cons
The year’s theme for the Swedish Competition Authority’s international research seminar
is The Pros and Cons of Antitrust in Two-Sided Markets, which focuses on competition
policy and two-sided markets.
1 December: Investigation into the procurement of intermediate housing
The Swedish Competition Authority publishes an investigation focusing on how projectbased contests can be used to identify new forms of intermediate housing.
5 December: Facts and figures on public procurement
For the fifth consecutive year, the Swedish Competition Authority publishes a report that
features fundamental facts and figures on public procurement.
9 December: Scope of electronic procurement
The Swedish Competition Authority presents a government assignment with a description
of the current scope of electronic procurement.
10 December: Swedish Match taken to court for SEK 38 million in fines
The Swedish Competition Authority files an application with the Stockholm District Court
seeking administrative fines of approximately SEK 38 million from Swedish Match.
15 December: Four of ten care clinics operating on deficits
The Swedish Competition Authority submits a report to the government that evaluates the
process of choosing a primary care provider.
16 December: Court blocks estate agent deal
Fully in line with the Swedish Competition Authority’s request, the Stockholm District Court
rules that Swedbank Franschise’s acquisition of Svensk Fastighetsförmedling must revert
back to the structure in place prior to the transaction.
18 December: New report on municipal companies
The “charting of municipal companies’ sales activities” report is published, in which the
Swedish Competition Authority charts sales activities based on the municipal companies’
perspectives.
18 December: Telia Sonera and GothNet in bid rigging cartel
The Swedish Competition Authority files a summons application with the Stockholm District
Court against TeliaSonera Sverige and Göteborg Energi GothNet, seeking nearly SEK 35
million in administrative fines.
19 December: New website launched
The Swedish Competition Authority launched a new website, konkurrensverket.se, where
information on the consolidated procurement support function and our supervisory
activities are presented.
19 December: New authority for procurement support
The government tasks the Swedish Competition Authority with preparing for the transfer of
activities related to procurement to a new authority.
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT OUR MANDATE
OUR MANDATE SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
Our mandate
We serve to promote effective
competition among private and
public operations to the benefit of
consumers, and to achieve an
effective public procurement process to the benefit of the general
public and market participants.
Read more about our service on the following pages.
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT OUR MANDATE
Our mandate
The Swedish Competition Authority is an
administrative authority for matters concerning competition and public procurement. We serve to promote effective competition among private and public operations to the benefit of consumers, and to
achieve an effective public procurement
process to the benefit of the general public
and market participants. As of January
2014, the Swedish Competition Authority is
also responsible for ensuring a strengthened
national procurement support function.
The aim of the procurement support
function is to help strengthen the strategic
significance of procurement among public
operations, to facilitate participation in the
public procurement process for small to
medium-sized enterprises, to thwart conflicts of interest and corruption, to foster
innovation-compatible procurement and to
help in achieving the objectives related to
long-term sustainable development.
Work on developing the consolidated
procurement support function was in
progress throughout 2014. On 19 December,
the government tasked the Swedish
Competition Authority with preparing for
the transfer of tasks related to the procurement support function to a new government
agency. The Swedish Competition Authority
has been focusing on this task since then.
A report on the costs that are expected to
be incurred by the Swedish Competition
Authority was submitted to the government
on 1 February 2015.
Our work builds on insights into, and
knowledge and analysis of our target
groups’ needs as well as initiatives. On the
supervision side, we receive substantial
assistance from reports and tip-offs from
companies and the public. In 2014, we spent
considerable time on various government
assignments, predominately regarding
procurement. Pursuant to our appropriation directions, we have focused on law
enforcement and supervision in those areas
which the Swedish Competition Authority is
primarily meant to pursue under the
Swedish Competition Act (2008:579).
We have also worked on proposals for
amendments to rules and other measures to
clear obstacles to entry for companies, and
to enable an effective procurement process.
Furthermore, we have focused on a number
of different research projects in partnership
with independent researchers in the aim of
raising awareness in matters related to
competition and procurement.
Our annual report is presented on the
basis of our appropriation directions:
» law enforcement and supervision
» procurement support
» improvement measures
»knowledge
»research
» international efforts
»collaborations.
Quality assurance
for legal certainty
Our continuous dedication to quality
assurance aims to ensure that our administration is legal certain effective and
appropriate. Our work is often carried out
in project form to ensure a high level of
quality and that the right expertise is
applied. The decision-making process is
preceded by quality assurance measures in
accordance with our rules of procedure.
We hold what are known as state of play
meetings during which parties and representatives are informed of the Swedish
Competition Authority’s views on the
matter and what the proceeding steps in the
investigation will be. The aim of the state of
play meetings is to create transparency in
investigations into various matters. During
these meetings, parties and representatives
are also given the opportunity to ask the
project team questions. We also offer oral
proceedings upon request. These proceedings are a formalized way to express oral
opinions about the Swedish Competition
Authority’s decisions also while in the
OUR MANDATE SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
draft phase. In 2014, we also continued to
develop our procedures for hearings and
for the handling of sales data in conjunction
with mergers. We held several meetings
with representatives to gather opinions
and proposals as to how we can further
improve the quality and effectiveness of
our investigations.
The Swedish Competition Authority’s
decision on a case is made by the Director
General or by the person to whom the
Director General has delegated the matter.
Our Chief Counsel and Chief Economist
participate in the preparation of decisions
along with the individual in charge and the
employees investigating the matter.
Tip-offs and enquiries are
imperative to our work
Tip-offs and enquiries concerning suspected
competition and procurement-related
problems are essential to our work. In our
supervisory work, they form the basis for
being able to track and intervene against
severe violations of the regulatory framework that we are tasked with enforcing.
Responding to enquiries is part of our core
operation and helps increase our understanding of our target groups’ needs and
helps us assign priority to the rights matters.
If we find that we are unable to resolve
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competition or procurement-related
problems through the legislation in place,
following the conclusion of the investigation we can opt to submit proposals for
legislative amendments to the government.
As the authority in charge of supervising
public procurement it is imperative for us
to be informed of procurement processes
that fail to comply with the regulatory
framework and to receive feedback on the
Public Procurement Act.
Just over a third of the comments that we
receive from companies are directed at
contracting authorities. These comments
may concern the illegal direct award of
contracts, ambiguously worded requests for
proposals, or decisions that are challenged
by suppliers. This year, the Swedish
Competition Authority received just over
1,700 enquiries and complaints from
businesses, customers and consumers,
compared with nearly 1,100 in 2013, the
rise in which was attributable to the
coordination of the consolidated procurement support function at the Swedish
Competition Authority in 2014.
The influx of enquiries predominantly
pertain to procurement-related queries,
most commonly concerning direct awards
without a prior contract notice.
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT COMPETITION
COMPETITION SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
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Competition
Pre-emptive efforts related to
providing information and guidance
are imperative for businesses and
procurers to have the proper
means to make the right decision
from the very beginning.
In 2014, the Swedish Competition Authority continued to investigate questions that have been
raised concerning competition in the commercial radio market. Read more about competition
and other examples of cases related to the Competition Act on the following pages.
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Competition
Law Enforcement
and supervision
The Swedish Competition Authority is
responsible for the enforcement of the
Competition Act and articles 101 and 102
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU). During the year,
the Swedish Competition Authority reached
130 decisions in this supervisory capacity.
Focus on communications in
our supervisory activities
Pre-emptive efforts related to providing
information and guidance are imperative
for businesses and procurers to have the
proper means to make the right decision
from the very beginning. Accordingly, in
2014, the Swedish Competition Authority
made a dedicated effort to clearly provide
information regarding the regulatory framework which we are charged with enforcing,
our decisions, and how we approach the
task of assigning priorities. Among other
measures, we developed a new prioritisation policy for our enforcement activities
and a policy on external communications
concerning enforcement matters, both of
which are published on our website,
konkurrensverket.se. The website was
modernised and re-launched in late 2014.
Many of our cases received considerable
attention during the year. One example is
the case against Swedbank in which the
Swedish Competition Authority intervened
in a merger in the estate agent market;
another example was our summons
application against Swedish Match concerning abuse of a dominant position, and a
third was our analysis illustrating that the
Swedish Bankers’ Association’s amortisation recommendations could be in violation
of the Competition Act.
We also discussed our Swedish leniency
programme in an opinion piece in the
Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri,
and our investigative methods in an opinion
piece in Svenska Dagbladet, as well as our
summons application against Telia and
GothNet in an opinion piece in GöteborgsPosten.
We also wrote articles on topics including
cartel detection and interactive guidance
tools that can be used as a resource for
purchasers and small-business owners. The
articles were published in various international magazines. The Swedish Competition
Authority’s own newsletter and press
releases have helped raise further awareness concerning law enforcement and
supervision matters.
In 2014, the Swedish Competition
Authority developed a new model for
factsheets that we have begun using to help
describe the cases that we are investigating
in a manner that is easy to understand. The
factsheets are published on our website. We
have also worked on further clarifying our
decisions concerning the dismissal of cases
and enforcement decisions.
Our general recommendations concerning leniency and trading prohibitions were
updated in 2014.
Several lectures were held during the
year regarding the regulatory framework
system, the Swedish Competition Authority’s
role, our methods and the cases that we are
investigating, both in Sweden and other
international settings. An example of this is
our presentation on vertical agreements
from a supervisory perspective, which we
held at a conference on vertical agreements
in Brussels in June. We were invited to
Tillväxt Motala, a business consultancy, to
discuss the rules governing anti-competitive
public sales activities and our operations.
We discussed corruption, the illegal direct
award of contracts and bid rigging cartels
at the ICN Cartel Workshop in Taipei in
October 2014, and our on-site investigations
at an international conference organised by
the Austrian Competition Authority in
December.
We also produced two new brochures
during the year. One is entitled “The right
approach to competition” and is specifically
geared toward small to medium-sized
enterprises with no or limited knowledge
about the competition regulations. The
other is entitled “How the Swedish Competition Authority conducts on-site inspections”
and is meant to be given to representatives
of the companies that are subject to
unannounced inspections by the Swedish
Competition Authority in what are known
as dawn raids. Both of the brochures are
also available on our website.
During the autumn of 2014, we held
three meetings for legal representatives
with different themes: mergers, leniency
and on-site inspections, as well as investigations of abuse of dominance. In total,
about 100 individuals participated in the
meetings.
In 2014 we also worked on updating two
interactive guidance tools that are available
on the Swedish Competition Authority’s
website. One is geared toward companies
that collaborate within the framework of a
trade association, and the other toward
small to medium-sized enterprises that
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want to partner in procurement processes.
These guidance tools will be re-launched in
the spring of 2015. A completely new
interactive guidance tool pertaining to
anti-competitive public sales activities was
also developed in 2014, which will also be
launched in the spring of 2015.
Continued focus on
bid rigging cartels
Efforts to pre-empt, detect and investigate
bid rigging cartels continue to be assigned a
high priority in our enforcement activities.
We have several investigations under way
in various phases, in which companies are
suspected of having colluded in bidding
processes. During the year, we made
several speeches on this theme, in addition
to which we published articles underscoring the importance of paying attention to
the risks of bid rigging in the public procurement process. We also spend considerable
time advancing our knowledge of applying
economic analysis to procurement data
in the aim of being able to detect and
investigate these types of cartels.
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Examples of Competition Act cases
Presented below is a selection of supervision matters that the Swedish
Competition Authority has investigated during the year.
Anti-competitive cooperation
Summons application
Summons application:
The Swedish Competition Authority has
brought an action against three companies
in the removals sector for colluding to form
a non-competition alliance. The Swedish
Competition Authority has now filed a
summons application against the companies with the Stockholm District Court and
is seeking administrative fines of SEK 42
million from the companies for illegal
collusion. In conjunction with one of the
companies acquiring operations from the
other companies, the companies drafted
contracts on two occasions agreeing not to
compete with each other for international
household removal assignments, thus
resulting in customers’ range of options
being limited when moving abroad.
[Ref no.: 511/2014]
Data communications
connections in Gothenburg
filed a summons with the Stockholm
District Court against TeliaSonera Sverige
and Göteborg Energi GothNet demanding
nearly SEK 35 million in administrative
fines for forming a bid rigging cartel ahead
of a procurement process held by the City
of Gothenburg in 2009.
When the City of Gothenburg held a
procurement process for data communications services, GothNet and TeliaSonera
Sverige agreed that TeliaSonera Sverige
would not submit a bid in the process,
despite GothNet and TeliaSonera Sverige
being key competitors in the same market.
TeliaSonera is a publicly listed company,
while GothNet is a municipal company
owned by the City of Gothenburg.
[Ref no.: 848/2014]
Commitment:
Market for commercial radio
In 2014, the Swedish Competition Authority
continued its investigation into questions
raised concerning competition in the
commercial radio market. Two radio
stations, SBS Discovery Radio AB (SBS
Radio) and RBS Broadcasting AB (NRJ), have
committed to partly refraining from
collaborating on the sale of radio advertising time in certain broadcasting areas.
The companies have now made amendments to a previous version of their
partnership agreement, and NRJ must
submit regular reports on its compliance
with the commitment to the Swedish
Competition Authority. If the companies fail
to comply with the commitment, fines of
SEK 20 million and SEK 15 million may be
imposed on SBS Radio and NRJ respectively.
[Ref no.: 174/2012]
Removals sector
Active investigation:
Questions raised concerning
competition in the market
for online hotel bookings
continued its investigation into whether
online travel agencies, by stipulating terms
and conditions known as price parity in
their contracts with Swedish hotels, are
restricting competition in the market for
online hotel bookings. Active investigation.
[Ref no.: 595/2013, 596/2013]
Suspicion of anti-competitive
collusion in the waste sector
The Swedish Competition Authority has performed unannounced inspections at two
municipal companies that are suspected of
having violated the competition rules. The
suspected violations manifested themselves
in the companies coordinating their bids in
public procurement processes pertaining to
the incineration of household waste, and
refusing to accept the waste for incineration
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from the company that won the procurement contract. The Swedish Competition
Authority will continue to investigate this
matter in 2015. [Ref no.: 598/2014]
Dismissal due to corrective measures
taken during the investigation:
The Swedish Bodybuilding
and Fitness Federation
The Swedish Competition Authority
investigated what was known as a loyalty
clause in the Swedish Bodybuilding and
Fitness Federation’s (SKKF) by laws that may
have been anti-competitive against other
organisers of bodybuilding and fitness
competitions. During the course of the
investigation, SKKF announced that athletes
that compete for other organisations no
longer risk expulsion or fines. Members
who serve as coaches, functionaries or
judges in another organisation will no
longer be subject to expulsion or fines. The
Federation has stated that it has informed
its members of these updates by newsletter
and on its website. Based on these actions,
the Swedish Competition Authority decided
not to pursue its investigation further.
[Ref no.: 590/2013]
Swedish Bankers’ Association’s
amortisation recommendations
investigated whether the Swedish Bankers’
Association’s distribution of amortisation
recommendations to its members constituted a violation of the rules governing anticompetitive cooperation. Under the amortisation recommendations, the member companies would have conducted themselves in
a certain manner in the market that risked
appreciably restricting competition. During
the course of the investigation, the Bankers’
Association announced that it would repeal
the recommendations, thus prompting the
Swedish Competition Authority to close the
investigation. [Ref no.: 674/2014]
Suspicion of anti-competitive
cooperation in the environmental and waste sector
Based on suspicions of anti-competitive
cooperation, the Swedish Competition
Authority performed unannounced
inspections at companies in the environmental and waste sector. The raids constituted part of a search for evidence that could
help chart and underpin suspicions of
potentially anti-competitive practices.
[Ref no.: 184/2014]
Concentrations
The Swedish Competition
Authority went to court to
block Swedbank Franchise’s
acquisition of Svensk
Fastighetsförmedling
In June 2014, the Swedish Competition
Authority filed a summons with the
Stockholm District Court in which the
Authority sought to prohibit Swedbank
Franchise’s acquisition of Svensk Fastighetsförmedling. Under the terms of the transaction, Swedbank Franchise AB, which is
owned by Swedbank, would gain control
of the country’s two largest estate agent
franchises. The two estate agent franchises,
Fastighetsbyrån and Svensk Fastighetsförmedling, would have jointly commanded
about 40 per cent of the property transactions in Sweden, had the purchase been
completed. The Swedish Competition Authority is of the view that the transaction
would significantly impede competition in a
vast number of local markets, which would
undermine conditions for the estate agents’
customers. The main hearings were held in
the Stockholm District Court in November
2014 and in a judgment issued 16 December,
the Stockholm District Court sided with the
Swedish Competition Authority and blocked
the merger. Swedbank and Svensk Fastighetsförmedling have appealed the judgment
by the District Court, and the Market Court,
which is the final instance, will hold a
hearing on the case in late February 2015.
[Ref no.: 426/2014]
Approval for acquisition in the
telecommunications market
TeliaSonera notified its acquisition of Zitius,
Quadracom Networks, Quadracom Services,
QMarket Riksnet. After several companies
in the telecom market raised concerns
regarding the acquisition, the Swedish
Competition Authority initiated an in-depth
investigation. The Swedish Competition
Authority concluded that, following the
acquisition, TeliaSonera would collectively
become the largest supplier of communications operator services (CO services) to open
networks in the Swedish market with a
market share of about 30 per cent. The
market is a procurement market and even
after the acquisition, TeliaSonera would
face competition from major companies.
Potential competition could also be faced
from municipal companies that regard
operating a proprietary alternative in the
future as a likely strategy, and from other
companies that could make progress in the
value chain and enter the CO market. The
network owners that purchase CO services
also serve as a countervailing buying
power. The Swedish Competition Authority
was also unable to conclude that TeliaSonera,
which also acts as a service provider in
open network, would, following the acquisition, be able to exclude other service
providers or make it less profitable for
these providers to operate in the networks
for which TeliaSonera is the communications operator. Through the acquisition,
TeliaSonera expanded its already substantial
command of fibre network infrastructure,
though it controls far less than 1 per cent of
the total fibre in Sweden. The Swedish
Competition Authority deemed that that
merger would not significantly impede the
existence or emergence of effective competition and decided not to take any action.
[Ref no.: 89/2014]
Gas springs for swivel chairs
Spinnaker Norway AcquiCo AS acquired
Scandinavian Business Seating Holding AS
(SBS), which manufactures and markets
office furniture, including swivel chairs.
Spinnaker’s owner, the venture capital firm
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Triton, also controls Stabilus GmbH, which
supplies gas springs to manufacturers of
swivel chairs. This created a vertical
relationship between SBS and Stabilus. In
its assessment of the case, the Swedish
Competition Authority operated under the
assumption that the relevant market could
be gas springs for eco-labelled swivel chairs
in Sweden, since this scenario could give
rise to the most significant impact on
competition. Stabilus’ gas springs constitute
a key component for swivel-chair manufacturers in Sweden. However, gas springs
comprise a minor share of the end production and of the production costs. The
investigation did not result in evidence indicating that, following the acquisition, it
would be profitable for Triton and SBS to
prevent competing swivel chair manufacturers from gaining access to Stabilus’ gas
springs. Since Stabilus was already the
primary supplier of gas springs to SBS, the
acquisition was not deemed to yield any
material impact on Stabilus’s competitors.
The Swedish Competition Authority did not
take any action. [Ref no.: 527/2014]
The daily newspaper
Sydsvenskan’s acquisition of
Helsingborgs Dagblad
investigated Sydsvenska Dagbladet’s
acquisition of Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD).
Both of the newspapers are primarily active
in the publication and distribution of local
morning papers, as well as the sale of
advertising space. Each of the newspapers’
distribution areas had a limited degree of
overlap, and as such the newspapers
exerted only a limited competitive pressure
on one another in terms of both readers
and advertisers. The acquisition of HD
could also strengthen the position of
Sydsvenskan’s owner, the Bonnier Group, in
terms of the packaging of advertisements
by giving it the ability to offer a broader
range and lower prices in national and local
campaigns. The Swedish Competition
Authority deemed it unlikely that the
merger would impart such market strength
as to risk resulting in the exclusion of a
22
competitive supply and, over time, having a
negative impact on advertising clients and
ultimately consumers. The Swedish
Competition Authority did not take any
action. [Ref no.: 388/2014]
Martin & Servera’s acquisition
of Galatea Spirits
Martin & Servera, which is a full-range
wholesaler to hotels, restaurants and
catering services, acquired Galatea Spirits,
which owns a number of brands that
import and distribute beer and other
alcoholic beverages. The operations of the
parties overlap primarily regarding the sale
of class III beer (over 3.5 per cent by
volume) to hotels, restaurants and catering
services. Certain concerns emerged during
the course of the investigation that, following the acquisition, Martin & Servera, would
prioritise Galatea’s products to its customers, ahead of others in its supply. The
Swedish Competition Authority concluded
that there are several options available for
suppliers of alcoholic beverages in marketing their products to these customers and
that the parties’ combined market share
was limited. No action was taken on the
merger. [Ref no.: 618/2014]
Abuse of dominant position
Summons application:
Abuse of dominant position
in the snus market
The Swedish Competition Authority filed a
summons with the Stockholm District Court
against Swedish Match North Europe AB
requesting that the company pay nearly
SEK 38 million in administrative fines for
abusing its dominant position. From June
2012 to April 2013, Swedish Match North
Europe implemented a mandatory system
for shelf labelling in snus refrigerators,
which limited competitors’ ability to
communicate their brands and prices.
[Ref no.: 815/2014]
Abuse of dominant position –
exclusion of competitor
During 2014, the Swedish Competition
Authority continued to investigate the
alleged abuse of a dominant position in the
market for securities trading services in the
Nordic region. A major company that provides securities trading services is suspected of preventing a minor competitor from
placing equipment close to the customers’
trading equipment by putting pressure on a
data centre supplier. This may have raised
the entry barriers and reduced competition
in the relevant markets. Active investigation.
[Ref no.: 629/2010]
Anti-competitive public
sales activities
Helsingborg Municipality – Inport
Intelligent Port Systems AB
investigated whether InPort’s sales activities concerning logistics solutions for port
operations could have constituted a
violation of the Competition Act’s rules
governing anti-competitive public sales
activities. After the municipal company the
Port of Helsingborg sold all of its shares in
its InPort subsidiary, the Swedish Competition Authority concluded its investigation
and closed the case. [Ref no.: 535/2012]
Municipal association
Tolkförmedling Väst
Following market contacts and an analysis
of the municipal association’s sales activities, the Swedish Competition Authority
resumed its investigation of Tolkförmedling
Väst (a provider of translation and interpreting services). The Swedish Competition
Authority is investigating whether the municipal association’s sales of intermediation
and translation services to parties other
than the association’s members prevented
competition from private entities by
leveraging its position as a public entity.
Active investigation. [Ref. no.: 363/2013]
Dismissed case:
Svenska Spel – establishment
of sports bars
During the year, the Swedish Competition
Authority investigated whether AB Svenska
Spels new sports bar venture, Sport Zone,
at the Casino Cosmopol casinos distorts
competition in the market for companies
that show sports games in public in their
respective locations. The Swedish Competition Authority gathered an overall impression of the market for companies that show
sports games in public and their customer
groups. The Swedish Competition Authority
also compared the price levels between
Sport Zone and other market entities.
Based on the investigation’s findings, the
Swedish Competition Authority determined
23
that there was no reason to conduct a more
thorough investigation, thus dismissing the
case. [Ref. no.: 391/2014]
Follow-up:
Our enforcement efforts
regarding public sales activities
yielded positive effects
The Stockholm District Court prohibited the
municipally owned company Skelleftebuss
AB from offering commissioned bus
services to any client other than Skellefteå
Municipality. According to the Swedish
Competition Authority’s follow-up of the
judgment, the prohibition has yielded
positive effects in the market.
[Ref. no.: 219/2014]
24
Court decisions and judgments in 2014
Swedish Competition Authority
Stockholm District Court
Däckia Aktiebolag and
Euromaster Aktiebolag
22/11/2010. Ref. no.: 605/2010
Petition for Däckia and Euromaster to pay SEK 4,397,000
and SEK 4,745,000 respectively,
for anti-competitive collusion.
21/01/2014. (T 18896-10)
The District Court upheld
the Swedish Competition
Authority’s petition and ordered
Däckia Aktiebolag to pay and
an administrative fine of SEK
1,283,000 and Euromaster
Aktiebolag to pay SEK
1,196,000.
Räddningstjänsten Dala Mitt
30/05/2011. Ref. no.: 392/2011
Petition for Räddningstjänsten
Dala Mitt to be prohibited from
denying a competing company
access to a training area
subject to a fine of SEK 1 million
for non-compliance.
30/01/2013. (T 7924-11)
The District Court rejected the
case. The Swedish Competition
Authority appealed the matter
to the Market Court.
31/01/2014. (MD 2014:1, A1/13)
The Market Court overturned
the District Court’s ruling and
prohibited Räddningstjänsten
Dala Mitt’s practices subject to
a fine of SEK 1 million for
non-compliance, pursuant to
Authority’s petition.
Borås Municipality’s
service office
12/01/2012. Ref. no.: 45/2012
Petition to prohibit the Service
office in Borås from selling
earthworks and engineering
services to parties other than
the municipality, subject to a
fine of SEK 3 million for
non-compliance.
31/03/2014. (T 911-12)
The District Court sided with
Authority and prohibited the
activities.
Currently awaiting hearing in
the Market Court (A4/14)
AB Strömstads Badanstalt
09/11/2012. Ref. no.: 628/2012
Petition for AB Strömstads
Badanstalt to be prohibited
from operating anti-competitive
gym and spa activities. A fine
of SEK 2 million was also
requested.
09/04/2014. (T 16810-12)
The District Court did not
uphold the claim . The Swedish
Competition Authority appealed
the matter to the Market Court.
Swedbank Franchise AB
17/06/2014. Ref. no.: 426/2014
Petition to prohibit Swedbank
Franchise’s acquisition of
Svensk Fastighetsförmedling.
A fine of SEK 250 million was
also requested if the transaction was completed.
16/12/2014. (T 3629-14)
The District Court upheld the
Swedish Competition Authority’s petition. Swedbank
Franchise appealed the matter
to the Market Court.
Market Court
25
Swedish Competition Act in brief
The Competition Act contains three prohibitions:
» prohibition of anti-competitive cooperation
» prohibition of the abuse of a dominant position
» prohibition of anti-competitive public sales activities.
The Act also includes rules governing mergers.
Sanctions
To stop ongoing violations, the Swedish
Competition Authority may decide on an
injunction, with or without imposing fines
for non-compliance. The Swedish Competition Authority may also file an application
with the Stockholm District Court seeking
an order for the company to pay an
administrative fine. The Swedish Competition Authority is authorised to issue what
are termed administrative fine orders.
Members of a company’s management team
may be subjected to a trading prohibition if
they have participated in a cartel.
Following an action brought by the Swedish
Competition Authority, the Stockholm
District Court may prohibit the government,
a municipal authority or a county council
from engaging in a certain conduct in its
sales activities, punishable by fine. Municipal authorities and county councils may
also be banned from conducting certain
activities. Following an action brought by
the Swedish Competition Authority, the
Stockholm District Court may prohibit
mergers or decide on less interventionist
measures to prevent the adverse effects of
the merger.
26
Authority’s supervision
of the Transparency Act
The Transparency Act is based on state aid
rules and imposes requirements on disclosures, predominantly in publicly owned
or financed companies. The Swedish
Competition Authority ensures compliance
with the Act. In 2013, the Swedish Competition Authority concluded that Sweden did
not have to submit a report to the European
Commission since the state and municipalities did not control any manufacturing
companies whose transparency disclosures
are subject to this obligation. The Swedish
Competition Authority’s investigation
indicates that the situation in Sweden
remains unchanged, which it informed the
European Commission and Swedish
Government Offices of in 2014.
[Ref. no.: 234/2014]
Our stakeholders’ views
on the implementation of
the Competition Act
Our Appropriation Directions for 2014
stipulate that we are to report and comment on the views of our stakeholders
regarding our law enforcement practices.
For the 22nd consecutive year, the Swedish
Competition Authority conducted a stakeholder survey specifically addressing the
implementation of the Competition Act.
The stakeholders that were surveyed were:
large companies (200 employees or more),
SMEs (less than 200 employees), trade
associations, municipalities and county
councils, corporate lawyers and the group
comprising public authorities and agencies.
These findings are used when prioritising
information initiatives and other activities
for the coming year. The survey was conducted by Institutet för kvalitetsindikatorer.
Effects
All stakeholder groups remain highly
favourable to competition, according to 97
per cent of those surveyed. A vast majority
believe that intentional violations the
Competition Act do occur to some degree.
Among those who believe that the Swedish
Competition Authority proactively counteracts serious violations of the competition
rules, the percentage of favourable responses from trade associations and authorities
and agencies has increased. For other
groups, the results remained unchanged
compared with 2013.
Attitudes
The share of those with a positive inclination to the competition legislation ranged
from 44 per cent (SMEs) to 69 per cent
(trade associations). In the preceding year,
the share with a positive inclination ranged
from 47 per cent (SMEs) to 68 per cent (trade
associations). In terms of stakeholders’
views on how the Swedish Competition
Authority communicates its prioritisation
strategy for its cases, 73 per cent of respondents said that it was favourable, which is
an increase on last year.
Confidence
When benchmarking the various stakeholder groups, 66 per cent responded that they
have a high level of confidence in the Swedish
Competition Authority; an increase of 4 per
cent. With the exception of corporate
lawyers and trade associations, the percentage responding that they have a high level
of confidence has increased among all
stakeholder groups. Among those with a
high level of confidence, the share is highest
among authorities and agencies (76 per
cent) and lowest among SMEs (55 per cent).
27
Our stakeholders’ assessment of the Swedish Competition
Authority’s case management, per cent
Mergers
201420132012
PosNeg PosNeg Pos Neg
Made contact quickly and easily
91
0
89
3
94
0
Service
87 0 91 388 0
Expertise and knowledge of staff
55
9
74
6
56
9
Understanding of your case/your query
60
16
60
9
65
6
Information about how the case would proceed 54
7
49
9
56
9
Quick/straightforward information about the
progress of the case
62
9
51
3
56
9
Decision was clear and well-reasoned
65
4
66
3
85
0
Overall opinion of how your case was handled
75
2
80
0
77
0
Would you contact the Swedish Competition
Authority again?
63
7
71
6
94
3
Competition and procurement cases
201420132012
Pos Neg
Pos Neg
Pos Neg
Made contact quickly and easily
70
11
61
11
71
11
Service
79 6 65 969 10
Expertise and knowledge of staff
66
9
56
11
51
13
Understanding of your case/your query
62
16
46
25
45
24
Information about how the case would proceed 46
18
40
19
38
21
Quick/straightforward information about the
progress of the case 49
17
40
21
42
26
Decision was clear and well-reasoned
52
16
33
19
29
34
Overall opinion of how your case was handled
66
15
49
24
43
24
Would you contact the Swedish Competition
Authority again?
72
14 62 18 66 15
28
Assessment of the Swedish
Competition Authority’s case
management
In terms of parties in merger cases, three
quarters of respondents gave a positive
overall assessment of how the Swedish
Competition Authority managed the cases
in question. They have a positive view of
the Swedish Competition Authority’s
accessibility and of the service of our staff.
The respondents gave somewhat lower
marks regarding our management of cases
in terms of information, clarity, understanding and expertise. The greatest difference
compared with the preceding year’s results
are found in the assessment of staff
expertise, with a decline of 19 percentage
points in the share of positive responses,
and in the assessment of the speed and ease
with which they were supplied with a
decision or information, with an increase of
11 percentage points in the share of positive
responses.
The share of positive responses in both
of these matters is now back at the same
levels as in 2012. Although 16 per cent
perceived the understanding of the case at
hand as being poor, the share of poor marks
for the other aspects of case-management
falls below 10 per cent.
Improvement measures
One of the Swedish Competition Authority’s
tasks is to detect obstacles to effective competition in the public and private sectors.
We are to present proposals for pro-competitive measures and for regulatory reform,
as well as monitor developments in
competition. We present our proposals for
improvement measures in reports, notices
to the government and in responses to
official consultations. We also provide
perspectives to other public authorities that
seek our views on specific investigations or
amendments to the regulatory framework.
Reports
In our reports, we analyse how different
markets work and submit proposals for
improvement measures.
Charting the sales activities of
municipal companies
charted the sales activities of municipal
companies. The aim of the project was to
identify, quantify and visualise the areas
of conflict between private and public
enterprises. Under the project, selected
municipal companies were asked to
describe what they sell and to whom,
among other questions. The companies also
answered whether they face competition
from private companies, what pricing
strategies they apply for sales and how
often they have submitted bids in public
procurement processes.
conclusions indicate that municipal
companies are increasing in number, that
sales are not declining and that the companies feel that they face intense competition
from private companies. Accordingly, the
Swedish Competition Authority does not
believe that the areas of conflict between
private companies and public organisations
are declining; on the contrary, it is enduring
and diversifying. The Swedish Competition
Authority concluded that there is a lack of
empirical research on the effects of how
municipal sales activities are conducted in
competitive markets. Report series 2014:3
Market entry and competition
among healthcare clinics
– on quality-based competition and
economic terms and conditions
In its report, the Swedish Competition
Authority concludes that there is potential
for quality-based competition throughout
much of the country. In areas where access
is limited, there is less opportunity for
choosing a healthcare clinic. The design of
the compensation system and breadth of
the duties play a significant role in the
presence and results of healthcare clinics
within the County Councils’ various care
choice systems in the field of primary care.
Report series 2014:2
Official notices to
the government
Following an investigation, the Swedish
Competition Authority was able to conclude
that the recently amended rules governing
local activity support (known as LOK
support) appeared to limit the options for
private companies to compete with the
Swedish Sports Confederation’s online
administration system, IdrottOnline. The
Swedish Competition Authority underscored that the government should provide
guidance to the Swedish Sports Confederation to ensure that the rules are designed to
prevent the associations that use administration systems other than IdrottOnline
from being placed at a disadvantage and
not to limit the ability of other administration systems to compete with IdrottOnline.
Responses to official
consultations
By commenting on proposals made in
reports and other inquiries, we can assist
the government and other agencies in the
preparation of proposals and decisions.
Among the most important official
consultations made by the Swedish Competition Authority in 2014 were several
responses in the field of financial markets.
In summary, these responses reflect the
Swedish Competition Authority’s aim to
prevent unnecessary entry barriers from
being imposed in conjunction with a
necessary tightening of the regulation of the
financial markets (Ref. no.: 337/2014 and
620/2014). In several official consultations,
the Swedish Competition Authority also
submitted opinions on the regulation of
electric utilities (Ref. no.: 87/2014 and
243/2014). Corporate framework conditions
influence competition in various respects.
During the year, among other actions, the
Swedish Competition Authority backed the
Planning and Building Act appeal investigation’s proposal that aims to expedite
processing times in the planning and
building process (Ref. no.: 260/2014).
29
In a consultation concerning the Swedish
Committee on Corporate Taxation’s final
report, entitled Neutral Corporate Tax, the
Swedish Competition Authority was
favourable to the attempt to reduce the tax
difference between shareholders’ equity
and loans raised (Ref. no.: 451/2014).
In the supervision area, the Swedish
Competition Authority adopted a positive
position on the proposal for a new Patent
and Market Court. Under the proposal,
cases of a competition law nature would in
the first and second instance be heard in
special courts, which would be part of the
Stockholm District Court and the Svea Court
of Appeal respectively (Ref. no.: 21/2014).
However, the Swedish Competition Authority
did not back the Public Sector Information
investigation’s proposal that the Swedish
Competition Authority be tasked with
ensuring compliance with the rules
governing the re-use of public administration documents (Ref. no.: 200/2014).
Knowledge and
communication
The Swedish Competition Authority is to
promote a competition-centred approach
and, where appropriate, provide companies
and other relevant parties with information
regarding important decisions, how we
enforce the rules and the contents of these
rules. Over the course of the year, we
conducted a number of different initiatives
to disseminate knowledge about competition issues to our stakeholders.
30
Konkurrensverket.se
Social media
Our website, which received nearly 900,000
page views in 2014, is the Swedish Competition Authority’s primary channel for
external information.
During the autumn of 2014, in a bid to
further improve knowledge about our
operation and increase accessibility among
our target groups, the Authority worked on
developing a new website. On the new
website, which was launched in December,
we gather information on supervision and
support resources related to competition
and procurement matters. The website,
which has also been given a clearer visual
image, is now completely responsive and
adapts to the user’s screen size. Accordingly,
the Swedish Competition Authority’s digital
communications are highly consistent with
the rapid pace of mobile advancements.
presence in social media adds to the
information and communication channels
that are available via the website. We have
used such tools as Twitter in our external
communications, which supplements our
communication of news, presentations and
career opportunities, as well as generating
attention and guiding traffic to the Swedish
Competition Authority’s other communication channels. The Swedish Competition
Authority’s has also initiated an effort to
gain greater exposure in such channels as
LinkedIn, and begun developing communications in motion graphics.
Almedalen Week
During this year’s Almedalen Week on the
island of Gotland, the Swedish Competition
Authority organized five seminars on 3 July
covering the overarching theme of procurement for welfare. The seminars, which
were also broadcast live via the Swedish
Competition Authority’s website, were
popular and enjoyed a high level of attendance. A total of 1,255 individuals participated in the five seminars, either live on site
or via the webcasts.
Electronic newsletter:
Procurement and competition
The electronic newsletter on competition is
published once a month through the month
of July. As of August, the Swedish Competition Authority issues a consolidated
newsletter on both procurement and
competition matters and addresses support
and supervision matters. The newsletter is
issued every other week and provides more
than 3,000 subscribers with up-to-date
information. The newsletters are popular
among readers, which is attested to by the
fact that they enjoy high open rates.
Information meetings
During the year, employees have participated in a host of seminars, courses and
meetings with purchasers and suppliers at
various locations nationwide. The aim has
been to provide information on legislation
and our supervision and support tasks.
Authority’s employees have held speeches
and presentations in more than 170
different forums. During the autumn of
also launched a series of breakfast seminars that were also broadcast live on our
website.
The breakfast seminars addressed such
topics as competition in the field of primary
care. A total of just over 250 individuals
participated in these six seminars.
Focus on combating
detrimental competition
involved in a network of government
agencies and trade associations that work
together to take action against detrimental
competition in public procurement. The
efforts are coordinated by the Swedish Tax
Agency. Within the framework of the
network, an opinion piece was published
during the autumn and Swedish Competition Authority staff have participated in
several conferences and seminars. In
November, a seminar was organised on the
topic of public procurement and the
potential for competition on fair terms. The
discussion aimed to draw the public’s and
companies’ attention to problems related to
various forms of irregularities in public
procurement and how these may affect
competition.
responded that they are familiar with or
have heard of the Act. The greatest increase
in familiarity was among public authorities
and agencies, among which the share increased by 14 percentage points.
The share of those who are aware that
the Swedish Competition Authority is
responsible for the enforcement of the
Competition Act also increased somewhat.
On average, 61 per cent responded that the
Swedish Competition Authority is the authority in charge. As in previous years, awareness of what authority is in charge of enforcing the Competition Act was the lowest
among SMEs at 34 per cent, and highest
among corporate lawyers at 88 per cent.
Our stakeholders’ knowledge
of the Competition Act
stipulate that we are to report and comment on our stakeholders’ knowledge of
the regulatory framework, including the
Competition Act. For the 22nd consecutive
year, the Swedish Competition Authority
has conducted a stakeholder survey.
The stakeholders that were surveyed
were: large companies (200 employees or
more), SMEs (less than 200 employees),
trade associations, municipal authorities
and county councils, corporate lawyers and
the group comprising public authorities and
agencies. These findings are used when
prioritising information initiatives and
other activities for the coming year. The
survey was conducted by Institutet för
kvalitetsindikatorer.
Knowledge Knowledge of the principal areas of the Competition Act is favourable, with
the exception of knowledge that companies
can be exempted from administrative fines;
a fact to which slightly less than half of
those surveyed responded correctly.
The weighted average for the share of
correct responses to the questions of
knowledge increased in four of the stakeholder groups and was essentially unchanged in the other stakeholder groups. The
greatest increase in familiarity occurred in
the group public authorities and agencies,
among which the share of respondents who
gave the correct answers increased for all
questions regarding familiarity.
Awareness Awareness of the Competition
Act remains high among all stakeholder
groups. As an overall group, 94 per cent
Knowledge of the Competition Act, per cent
Companies with 200 or more employees
Companies with less than 200 employees
Municipalities/county councils
Corporate lawyers Trade associations
Public authorities and agencies
31
2014 20132012
72
80
79
88
83
79
72
77
75
84
84 65
71
76
74
85
85
65
32
Collaborations
The Swedish Competition Authority strives
to maintain productive collaborations with
government agencies and other parties.
We must also consult with the authorities
that are affected by our proposals for
improvement measures.
Consultations held in the
field of competition
On certain matters, there are several
authorities, committees and investigators
that must consult with the Swedish Competition Authority. Described below are some
of the formal consultations in the field of
competition that were held in 2014.
» Between 2011 and 2014, the Swedish
Competition Authority consulted with
the Swedish Transport Analysis Agency
on a regular basis on the government
assignment to assess the new Public
Transport Act and the opening of the
railway market. [Ref. no.: 217/2011]
» The Swedish Competition Authority
participated in a reference group
established by the Swedish Transport
Analysis Agency for its government
assignment on the transportation of
passengers with special needs.
[Ref. no.: 4/2014]
» The Swedish Transport Agency must
consult with the Swedish Competition
Authority on competition matters and
report improprieties. Two formal
consultations took place during the year,
as well as several interactions by phone
or e-mail.
» The Swedish Broadcasting Authority
must consult with the Swedish Competition Authority ahead of decisions on
issuing permits to broadcast TV, searchable Teletext services and commercial
radio. [Ref. no.: 127/2014]
» The Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate must collaborate with the Swedish
Competition Authority in particular on
matters concerning customer issues and
market oversight of the competitive
energy markets. [Ref. no.: 140/2014]
» The Swedish Competition Authority must
submit statements on competition
matters to the Swedish Post and Telecom
Authority. [Ref. no.: 704/2014]
Other collaborations
The Swedish Competition Authority strives
to maintain productive collaborations with
government agencies, including the Swedish
County Councils, and other parties. We
must also consult with the authorities that
are affected by our proposals for improvement measures. Agencies with which we
have collaborated during the year include
the Swedish Consumer Agency, the Swedish
Tax Agency and the Swedish Agency for
Public Management. The other parties with
which we have collaborated include the
Swedish Anti-Corruption Institute and
several different trade associations. In
terms of overcoming issues that affect legal
areas other than those overseen by the
Swedish Competition Authority, but
nonetheless influence competition, we often
interact primarily with the Swedish Tax
Agency, the Swedish National Anti-Corruption Unit and the Swedish Police’s National
Corruption Group.
In addition, Swedish Competition
Authority employees also participate in an
expert capacity in public investigations,
including the official report on oversight
regarding compensation to municipalities
and county councils for what is termed
latent VAT (Fi 2014:07), the official report on
railway organisations (N 2013:02), the
official report on the evaluation of the
broadband strategy (N 2012:06), the official
pharmaceutical and pharmacy report
(S2011:07), the report on a modern regulation of passenger and freight transport on
railways (Ju 2013:13), The appeal report (S
2013:15), and the report on the future of
municipal laws (Fi 2012:07).
33
The Swedish Competition Authority strives to maintain productive
collaborations with government agencies, including the Swedish County
Councils, and other parties. We must also consult with the authorities
that are affected by our proposals for improvement measures.
34
SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
35
Public procurement
Public procurement plays a key
strategic role and influences how
to make the best and most effective
use of public resources.
We have submitted proposals for improvement measures to the government in a bid to
address cases in which the prevailing legislation counteracts an effective public procurement process. Read about public procurement on the following pages.
36
Public procurement
The consolidated procurement
support function
In 2014, the national procurement support
function was consolidated and developed
under the Swedish Competition Authority.
The process was completed in phases. The
responsibility for innovation procurements
was integrated on 1 January. The Swedish
Legal, Financial and Administrative
Services Agency’s procurement support
function was transferred on 1 March. The
Swedish Environmental Management
Council’s procurement support resources
were taken over on 1 July.
Efforts to consolidate the procurement
support function have focused on integrating the operations, capitalising on the
shared knowledge available, and maintaining and improving the quality of the work
conducted under the procurement support
function. This has manifested itself in a
broader array of contact channels with our
target groups and enhanced accessibility in
the form of the more generous opening
hours of Swedish Competition Authority’s
telephone support service. A survey was
conducted to gain an understanding of how
the target groups experienced the procurement support that had formerly been
offered by the other organisations, but also
what the target groups’ expectations were
for the consolidated support function. This
served as a useful basis for drafting the
Swedish Competition Authority’s prioritisation policy and the strategy behind its
work during the year.
capitalised on and developed the Swedish
Environmental Management Council’s
accumulated knowledge about public
procurement as a strategic tool to ensure a
sustainable development.
initiatives affect a number of different
target groups. The consolidated procurement support function achieves the best
effect when we work together with others
and focus on the right priorities. A review
has been initiated of how the Swedish
Competition Authority can best continue
working with forums and networks to
spread knowledge among and engage in
discussions with its target groups. Examples
of forums and networks that are now being
discussed include the forum for strategic
purchasing (examples of themes: category
control, procurement methods, monitoring
and contract management), the forum for
environmental considerations, the forum
for social considerations, the network for
purchasing managers, the network for
chemical matters (formerly the Swedish
Chemical Council) and the network for
electronic procurement.
The strategic significance
of procurement
Public procurement is a strategic resource
that can be used to achieve social objectives
and other values that are key to the operations of contracting authorities. This
particularly applies to goods, services and
construction contracts that are purchased
in vast amounts on an annual basis.
Although each individual procurement
process has its own unique attributes, the
strategic choices have similarities. The
conclusions reached based on the careful
considerations that an authority makes
ahead of a procurement can play a significant role in achieving desirable social
objectives, such as sustainable development,
innovation and more opportunities for
SMEs to participate in public procurement
processes.
Examples of how purchasing can add
value to an organisation include higher
quality, cost-effectiveness and savings.
By applying carefully considered strategies,
the authority’s procurement process can be
conducted with greater efficiency and make
better use of public funds.
The Swedish Competition Authority can
assist contracting authorities in identifying
procurement strategy methods and
methods for defining their objectives. We
can also help identify how procurements
can help in developing the authority’s
operations and contract management.
Other examples of support initiatives
include providing assistance with demand
and market analyses, assignment of
responsibility and roles, as well as how to
organise the procurement process.
Procurement law
The regulatory framework governing public
procurement is based on EU directives. It is
vast and can occasionally seem inaccessible. Furthermore, precedents that could
serve as guidance are lacking in several
areas. The Swedish Competition Authority’s
support function provides information on
the options available under to the law,
concrete guidance and support in matters
concerning the application of Swedish
legislation.
The procurement support function is
also geared toward suppliers. A better
understanding of the regulatory framework
among suppliers enhances the potential for
effective competition since more suppliers
can submit bids in public procurement
processes. The aim is for the support
initiatives to lead to the contracting authorities and suppliers understanding the
options available to them under procurement law, thus yielding higher quality in
requests for proposal and tenders. This will,
in turn, result in better public contracts,
fewer appeals and fewer protracted legal
processes.
37
Many parties contact us for support.
The process of providing support by phone
and e-mail corresponds to approximately
1.5 fulltime positions. The most common
questions concern direct awards of contract, environmental criteria, the application of statutory requirements and
withdrawal from a procurement process.
However, the questions cover a broad range
of topics and vary greatly in terms of
complexity.
Environmental considerations
and sustainable procurement
practices
A prioritised task has been to identity the
areas and social objectives for which
procurement can be employed as a strategic
and effective tool. Having a consolidated
procurement support function enables us to
more clearly ensure that sustainability is
taken into account at every stage of the
process – prior to, during and after a public
procurement process. It also allows the
public procurement process to be better
used as a strategic tool in ensuring a
sustainable social development.
The possibility under the procurement
rules to impose environmental requirements enables contracting authorities to
help contribute to sustainable development
and to achieving Sweden’s national environmental quality objectives.
support function helps contracting authorities that want to impose environmental
requirements navigate their way through
the process. The basis for our support
initiatives includes European legislation on
energy and chemicals, as well as informa-
Having a consolidated procurement support function enables us to more
clearly ensure that sustainability is taken into account at every stage of the
process – prior to, during and after a public procurement process. It also
allows the public procurement process to be better used as a strategic tool
in ensuring a sustainable social development.
38
tion on the market availability of sustainable
goods, services and construction contractors. The aim of the support initiatives
is to prompt more contracting authorities to
use procurement as a strategic instrument
to help achieve their environmental goals.
provides criteria to make it easier for
contracting authorities to impose environmental consideration requirements. The
criteria, which are available in a database
via the Swedish Competition Authority’s
website, also facilitate access for suppliers
that want to participate in public procurements processes. In addition, the Swedish
Competition Authority provides support
aimed at ensuring that the contracting
authorities monitor the environmental
requirements.
The interest in applying these types of
criteria is growing. Statistics indicate that
the number of documents downloaded
from the Swedish Competition Authority’s
criteria database rose by nearly 20 per cent
between the autumn of 2013 and the
autumn of 2014.
On 1 July, the Swedish Competition
Authority published guidelines for the
application of its sustainability criteria.
The guidelines stressed that authorities
have considerable flexibility in imposing
far-reaching environmental requirements
[Ref. no.: 307/2014].
A key element of future efforts on
sustainability is to develop approaches for
designing various procurement criteria.
Work on updating existing criteria on
sustainable procurement and developing
new ones continues.
The active management of these criteria
is an ongoing process that takes the shape
of external monitoring, communication,
advisory services and support, monitoring
of their application, adjustments and
identifying whether criteria need to be
updated.
The criteria are subsequently defined
with the help of teams of experts collaborating with key stakeholders from the public
and private sectors, including purchasers,
suppliers, trade associations, environmental organisations and authorities. Where
possible and appropriate, the teams of
experts develop criteria on three levels:
basic, advanced and expert.
During the year, the process for developing new criteria and the active management of existing criteria were both updated
and integrated into the new organization.
Among other measures, the updates involved capitalising on the collective expertise
available at the Swedish Competition
Authority. Quality assurance work with the
help of teams of experts will continue in the
interest of ensuring that the sustainability
criteria are deeply embedded.
The consolidated procurement support
function can ensure that users can be
confident that the criteria are appropriate
and adapted to the prevailing laws and
rules. When the support and enforcement
departments are in consensus on the
application of rules, the Swedish Competition Authority can conduct support initiatives with greater credibility and impact.
An effort is under way to develop a plan
that aims to establish the order of priority
in revising the criteria fields. The consolidated procurement support function allows
a broad perspective to be taken when
developing the sustainability criteria. This
is relevant when, for example, drafting new
criteria for ensuring nontoxic preschools
environments, providing guidance in the
procurement of cleaning services, as well as
when updating older informational material
from the Swedish Legal, Financial and
Administrative Services Agency and the
Swedish Environmental Management
Council.
In addition, the Swedish Competition
Authority collaborates on educational
initiatives aimed at disseminating information on the criteria. The Swedish Competition Authority also exchanges experiences
related to criteria development with foreign
authorities within the framework of international cooperation. Our broad mandate
allows sustainability matters to be highlighted in more forums than in the past.
39
Statistics on downloaded
criteria documents
The following work was conducted in the autumn of 2014
Total in 2014 10 487
Total, July–December 4 967
Total, July–December 2013 4 163
Increase from autumn 2013 to 2014 19,3 %
Active management/administration:
58 subgroups of a total of 129.
Requirements adjusted: 116 of 697
Requirements updated: 1
The Swedish Competition Authority provides criteria to make it easier for
contracting authorities to impose environmental consideration requirements.
The criteria, which are available in a database via the Swedish Competition
Authority’s website, also facilitate access for suppliers that want to participate
in public procurements procedures.
40
The Swedish Competition Authority is currently developing criteria specific
to the procurement of products for preschools. The main products encompassed by the Nontoxic Preschools project are furniture, toys and textiles,
as well as kitchen and serving equipment.
41
The Swedish Competition Authority has initiated discussions with the
Swedish National Procurement Services on energy-efficiency enhancements
in Swedish National Procurement Agreements and will continuously work
on lifecycle cost analyses (LCCs) during the autumn with a focus on guidelines for lighting.
Nontoxic preschools
been commissioned by the government to
help municipalities draft procurement criteria and to develop a comprehensive support
resource to ensure a nontoxic preschool
system (government decision 26/06/2014
M2014/1604/Ke). Reducing everyday
chemical risks is one step on the path to
achieving the Swedish Parliament’s
environmental quality objective of a nontoxic environment. Children are considered
particularly sensitive to exposure to
hazardous chemicals, such as endocrine
disruptors. There is considerable interest
surrounding children’s exposure to chemicals in preschools. In 2013, prior to the
transition to the Swedish Competition
Authority, the Swedish Environmental
Management Council launched the Nontoxic
Preschools project on behalf of the Swedish
Chemicals Agency, and produced a preliminary study that will form the basis for the
work on outlining criteria.
currently developing criteria specific to the
procurement of products for preschools
(Ref. no.: 481/2014). The main products
encompassed by the Nontoxic Preschools
project are furniture, toys and textiles, as
well as kitchen and serving equipment.
In addition, the Swedish Competition
Authority is developing guidance geared
toward purchasers and a guide geared
toward preschool staff. The project is
scheduled for completion in May 2015, with
communications initiatives in tandem with
the Swedish Chemicals Agency proceeding
throughout 2015.
The energy efficiencyenhancement project
conducting a project aimed at completing
the energy efficiency-enhancement assignment with which the Swedish Environmental Management Council was tasked from
2010-2014. The aim of the project is to
facilitate public sector usage of procurement as a means to achieve energy efficiency. The project is being financed by the
Swedish Energy Agency and involves
continuously updating the Swedish Competition Authority’s website for energyefficient products, keeping the energy
criteria updated, participating in seminars
on energy-efficiency enhancements, as well
as producing benefit calculations and other
educational material.
The project also includes developing
indicators for the energy consumption of
lighting at the construction level for such
structures as offices, schools and healthcare
facilities, which constitute the largest
structures under the direction of municipalities and county councils. A tool has been
developed under the project that helps
ensure that a strategic approach is taken
during the procurement process in the
interest of achieving energy-efficiency
enhancements regarding carbon emissions.
Information and assistance resources are
also being produced for authorities concerning the ordinance (2014:480) on authorities’ procurement of energy-efficient goods,
services and buildings. The Swedish Competition Authority has initiated discussions
with the Swedish National Procurement
Services on energy-efficiency enhancements in Swedish National Procurement
Agreements and will continuously work on
lifecycle cost analyses (LCCs) during the
autumn with a focus on guidance resources
for lighting.
42
Skills-enhancing initiatives for
the public procurement of food
Work on this government commissioned
project (L2014/1808/DL) was conducted
during the autumn of 2014 and will
continue in 2015.
The core purpose of the project is to
promote verification, monitoring and
evaluation options for both buyers and
sellers. The project aims to enable contracting authorities and suppliers to continue to
raise their level of expertise, with a primary
focus on applying procurement criteria in
the environmental, animal protection and
corporate social responsibility fields in a
bid to improve the food procurement
process. The effort is also meant to result in
greater resource efficiency in the bidding
process, as well as improving the possibility
of a level playing field for suppliers by
providing a better basis for decision-making
when awarding contracts. Planning is
under way to hold information meetings for
buyers and sellers in a bid to help improve
practical aspects of the work.
[Ref. no.: 461/2014].
Social considerations and
sustainable procurement
Under the procurement regulations,
contracting authorities have the ability to
impose requirements on social considerations when engaging in procurement, which
can help achieve key social objectives and
improve labour terms and conditions for
employees who produce contracted goods,
and provide services and construction
work.
In the Swedish Competition Authority’s
experience, there is uncertainty as to what
types of requirements are consistent with
the laws and regulations governing procurement. The support initiatives serve to
increase knowledge regarding the options
that are available for imposing social
consideration requirements in public
procurement processes and to prompt more
authorities to impose such requirements in
their procurement processes. The inclusion
of at-risk groups in society, such as individuals with disabilities, and corporate social
responsibility (CSR) are a few examples of
areas in which support is being provided.
Social consideration requirements may also
include stipulations regarding, for example,
gender equality, equal treatment and terms
and conditions similar to those found in a
collective agreement.
Contracting authorities may also impose
ethical requirements that ensure human
rights and fair trade in the supply chain. In
addition, the Swedish Competition Authority
provides support aimed at ensuring that
contracting authorities can monitor the
social consideration requirements. Among
other measures, the Swedish Competition
Authority is in discussions with representatives from the county councils on the
development of the Monitoring Portal.
An example of the broader effort on
social consideration related to public
procurement is the current project on the
ability to impose terms and conditions
similar to those found in a collective
agreement in public procurement processes. The core point of the project is to
investigate the degree of flexibility available to contracting authorities to impose
requirements that are consistent with the
43
terms and conditions stipulated in various
Swedish collective agreements and to offer
concrete advice and guidelines as to how
said requirements could be formulated,
governed and monitored.
The objective of the project is to achieve
greater clarity concerning the legal flexibility to impose labour law terms and conditions in procurement processes. During the
course of the project, stakeholders will be
invited to a consultation and an external
reference group will be appointed.
[Ref. no.: 514/2014].
also financed a commissioned research
project on this issue. [Ref. no.: 569/2014]
44
Procurement methodology
Authority initiated a number of projects
focusing on practical procurement methodology. The work centres on describing how
the process works in practice, with particular emphasis on the elements not associated
with law. . As a pilot area, we selected the
procurement of cleaning services, since it is
an easy area to delineate and most contracting authorities employ such services, in
addition to which it is perceived as being a
field with a substantial risk for problems.
The method that is selected on the basis of
the project’s findings will be applied in
additional areas.
Initiatives in the
healthcare sector
Work on operating a national database for
advertising the system of choice and
developing and actively providing guidance
for procurements in the health and social
care sector was taken over from the Swedish
Legal, Financial and Administrative Services
Agency and has carried on under the
administration of the Swedish Competition
Authority. A government commissioned
assignment to develop a guidance resource
for the procurement of housing for the
elderly has been reported to the government. The task of conducting educational
initiatives on the procurement of health
and social care services for the elderly also
continued. [Ref. no.: 247/2014 and
Ref. no.: 278/2014]
launched an investigation to highlight how
a system of choice can be achieved in the
home care sector when applying the Public
Procurement Act, and begun charting
municipalities’ procurement of facilities for
care or housing facilities for children and
adolescents.
Innovation procurement
Innovation is one of the most important
factors driving future growth. Authorities
can use the public procurement process to
stimulate innovation. Innovation procure-
ment practices help create greater economic, environmental and social benefits.
The demand for innovative solutions by
contracting authorities also helps trigger
the emergence and incorporation of new
companies. Innovation procurement
practices can also yield greater social
returns on public investments since new
product development achievements are
harnessed by publicly financed businesses.
The Swedish Competition Authority took
over control of innovation procurement
from VINNOVA at year-end 2013. The
Swedish Competition Authority provides
concrete methodology and expertise
support services for innovation procurement practices to make the process easier
for contracting authorities and suppliers.
The support initiatives in the area aim to
both increase knowledge about the opportunities and means for best conducting
innovation procurement practices and to
prompt more contracting authorities to
conduct innovation procurement practices.
reached an agreement and designed a joint
action plan with VINNOVA in a bid to
harness the expertise of both of our
authorities in our outreach to common
target groups in these matters. The aim is to
encourage politicians and decision-makers
at the strategic level to promote innovation
through procurement and to provide
contracting authorities and companies with
concrete support in their innovation
procurement. This will help improve the
means for harnessing the potential for
innovation procurement in Sweden and
allow wider user of innovation procurement practices.
The initiatives during the autumn of
2014 paid particular attention to conducting
regional inspiration seminars with VINNOVA,
the Swedish Energy Agency and the
Swedish Association of Local Authorities
and Regions.
The Swedish Competition Authority also
provides contracting authorities and
departments with direct support and
guidance in individual innovation procure-
ment projects. In this context, workshops
were conducted with such authorities and
departments as the Swedish national grid,
the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the
Swedish Maritime Administration, the
Geological Survey of Sweden and the Swedish
Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.
Furthermore, the Swedish Competition
Authority has taken over and developed
work with the Swedish Environmental
Management Council’s Think Tank project,
which serves in part as a forum to discuss
innovative proposals for what are known as
transformative solutions that help use
public procurement to reduce the consumption of resources and lower emissions of
carbon dioxide.
Participation of small and
medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in public procurement
SMEs account for a substantial share of net
turnover, added value and employment in
the business community. Yet there remain
certain recurring challenges for SMEs to
participate in the tendering process during
public procurement processes. The greatest
obstacles to these companies participating
in procurement lies in the selection process.
In addition, participating in public procurement processes is often associated with
substantial administrative burdens that
impede SMEs.
By improving the design of the procurement process, contracting authorities can
endeavour to capitalise on the advantages
resulting from increased competition
among SMEs. These companies can also
help achieve other key social objectives by
harnessing their potential for growth, job
opportunities and innovation during public
support initiatives in this area are aimed at
informing contracting authorities about
how SMEs can contribute during public
This involves, for example, demonstrating how the contracting authorities can
take SMEs into consideration or provide
45
support in matters of dividing contracts into
subcontracts, as well as identifying reasonable qualification and financial requirements. The Swedish Competition Authority’s
support initiatives are also geared toward
suppliers in a bid to increase awareness of
what is involved in conducting transactions
with authorities.
conducting a project that will investigate
and propose initiatives to make it easier for
SMEs to participate in public procurement
processes. [Ref. no.: 761/2014]
Within the framework of this project, the
Swedish Competition Authority will also
report on how the perspective of smaller
suppliers has been integrated into the
authority’s work. The Swedish Competition
Authority maintains a healthy dialogue
with various trade associations to accumulate knowledge and experience, while
keeping the perspective of SMEs, among
others, in focus. Our procurement support
efforts geared toward contracting authorities, departments and suppliers often
emphasise the “SME perspective” (meaning
the perspective of small and medium-sized
enterprises). Among other actions taken
related to this issue, the Swedish Competition Authority participated in the procurement days during the spring held by the
West Sweden Chamber of Commerce and
Norrbotten Chamber of Commerce, and in
the KOMMEK trade fair in August.
The Swedish Competition Authority is a
member of the SIR network, which, among
other ventures, strives to facilitate the
participation of SMEs and non-profit
organisations in public procurement
rounds. The network is a forum at the
administrative level that serves to discuss
and exchange experiences on how to
improve the means for such participation.
The consolidated procurement support
function allows the Authority to proceed in
addressing these matters from a broader
perspective.
46
Electronic purchasing process
and standardisation efforts
An electronic purchasing process facilitates
every aspect of the procurement practice,
from preparatory analysis to follow-ups and
evaluation.
A comprehensive and properly designed
electronic purchasing process helps enhance
efficiency and yields ample opportunity to
consolidate the information for future
strategic consideration. It can also make it
easier for SMEs to submit bids in procurement rounds since an electronic purchasing
process reduces administrative burdens,
which is important for these companies.
Standardisation is an important element
in efficiently managing the electronic
purchasing process, in terms of commerce
both in Sweden and internationally. To
achieve this, the Swedish Competition
Authority is collaborating with the Swedish
National Financial Management Authority
and the Swedish Association of Local
Authorities and Regions within the framework of the Single Face to Industry (SFTI)
electronic standard. Greater systemisation
enables contracting authorities and
suppliers to facilitate purchasing practices
and maintain solid control of procurements
and purchasing, from the publication of a
contract notice to paying invoices and
monitoring. In 2014, the Swedish Competition Authority reported on a government
commissioned assignment regarding the
degree to which contracting authorities use
electronic communication for procurement
and e-purchases. The rate of response was
very high and indicated that there were
more contracting authorities than expected
that employ electronic procurement.
[Ref. no.: 759/2013]
Economics and statistics
Statistics show that public sector purchases
amount to SEK 538 billion and purchases
subject to procurement requirements to
SEK 600 billion. That is equal to one-fifth of
Sweden’s gross domestic product.
It is important for public sector organisations to be acutely aware of what they are
buying, how much they are spending and
from whom they are making purchases, not
just in their own interests but also in the
interests of the public. There is also
considerable interest in information on
categorising public purchases by sector and
on how purchases can be made with
greater efficiency. The Swedish Competition
Authority collects and processes statistics
on purchases and procurement practices.
We also evaluate the findings of completed
procurement processes and propose
regulatory amendments in order to achieve
a more effective public procurement
process.
conducts socioeconomic analyses and
investigations on public procurement.
These are conducted on our own initiative,
by government commission or through
international cooperation. We also monitor
the publication of new research in the field.
During the autumn, the Swedish Competition Authority made preparations to
develop support resources for strategic
purchasing methods that are tailored to the
public sector, such as category control as a
means of support for purchasing and cost
analysis, as well as support resources for
the analysis of life-cycle costs (LCCs). During
the autumn, the Swedish Competition
Authority also organised a Nordic workshop
on the theme of social requirements and
life-cycle costs.
47
48
Pre-emptive measures
on anti-corruption and
conflicts of interest
Both national and international experiences
demonstrate that there is a risk of detrimental and improper influences such as
conflicts of interest, corruption and anticompetitive practices in public procurement processes. Such influences cause an
improper and damaging use of public funds
and erode public confidence in the public
sector.
helps contracting authorities strengthen
their integrity and avoid detrimental and
improper influences.
These support initiatives primarily focus
on pre-emptive measures and the dissemination of information in collaboration with
other authorities and organisations.
We also provide guidance on exemptions
from the requirement to publish contract
notices, the enforcement of ordinances on
the exclusion of suppliers and the rejection
of bids. These exemptions and ordinances
offer effective protection for the contracting
authorities in their fight against detrimental and improper influences.
Government-commissioned
procurement assignments
» Assignment to draft procurement criteria
for a nontoxic preschools.
[Ref. no.: 481/2014]
» Assignment to produce guidance for the
procurement of elderly housing.
[Ref. no.: 278/2014]
» Assignment to conduct a preliminary
study on electronic procurement.
[Ref. no.: 759/2013]
» Assignment to implement skills-enhancing initiatives for the public procurement of food. [Ref. no.: 461/2014]
Law enforcement
and supervision in the
field of procurement
Our supervision activities remained prioritised in 2014, and the illegal direct award of
contracts was in focus. The Swedish Competition Authority has continued to prioritise
the illegal direct award of contracts and
actions seeking administrative fines.
During the year, we submitted 15
summons applications seeking administrative fines on our own initiative as well as
five applications for mandatory administrative fines to the Administrative Court. In
addition, we processed and concluded 50
different cases under the Public Procurement Act. We also enforced the Act on
System of Choice in the Public Sector.
worked on a number of government assignments. The following is a selection of these
assignments:
» Assignment to evaluate the care choice
system in the field of primary care and
specialised outpatient care.
[Ref. no.: 517/2013]
» Assignment to hold training courses in
the procurement of health and medical
care for the elderly. [Ref. no.: 247/2014]
Both national and international experiences demonstrate that there is a
risk of detrimental and improper influences such as conflicts of interest,
corruption and anti-competitive practices in public procurement rounds.
Such influences cause an improper and damaging use of public funds and
erode the public’s confidence in the public sector.
Focus on communication in
procurement supervision
Our pre-emptive efforts on information and
guidance are imperative in providing
businesses and purchasers with the proper
means to take the right approach from the
very beginning. Accordingly, in 2014, the
Swedish Competition Authority made a
dedicated effort to be straightforward in
our communication regarding the regulatory framework that we are in charge of
enforcing, our decisions, and how we assign
priority in our work. We drafted a new
prioritisation policy for our supervision
activities and an external communications
policy on supervision matters. Both
documents are available on our website,
which was modernised and re-launched
during the year.
In 2014, we also worked on further
clarifying our supervisory decisions and
our decisions concerning the dismissal of
cases. We also published four articles on
procurement supervision, and, in two
matters, linked supervisory decisions to
support initiatives by way of explanatory
texts on our website or the development of
guidance resources under our procurement
support function.
Decisions as a means of
procurement supervision
Authority’s enforcement department
worked on developing a far-reaching
procurement supervision function covering
all violations of the regulatory framework
governing procurement and the Act on
System of Choice in the Public Sector. Our
enforcement includes measures such as
supervision decisions.
These decisions serve to draw attention
to contracting authorities that fail to comply
with their obligation to apply the Public
Procurement Act or relevant procurement
legislation, but do not result in any administrative fines. Through discussions and by
working together, we have subsequently
been able to help these contracting authori-
49
ties identify procedures and systems to
make it easier to conduct a process properly.
These decisions also serve as concrete
guidance for other contracting authorities.
In addition, our supervision practices have
increased awareness of the regulatory
framework governing procurement. In
several cases, it has yielded better procedures and self-correcting action.
During the year, we reached ten enforcement decisions concerning violations of the
regulatory framework governing procurement and two concerning the Act on System
of Choice in the Public Sector. Eight of our
enforcement decisions pertained in full or
in part to the illegal direct award of
contracts.
Administrative fines as a means
of procurement supervision
Since 2010, the Swedish Competition
Authority has had the possibility to bring an
action in court to impose administrative
fines on contracting authorities and
departments, including county councils and
government authorities that have carried
out illegal direct award of contracts. We
can seek administrative fines on our own
iniative, which is known as a facultative
application. The Authority must also apply
for administrative fines, known as a
mandatory application, in the event of a
violation of a standstill period or a suspension. This is the case also when a court,
following an appeal of the validity of an
agreement, has issued a declaration that the
contract rightfully ought to have been
declared null and void, but was nonetheless
allowed to remain in effect due to overriding reasons relating to the public interest.
During the year, we filed 15 summons
applications seeking administrative fines on
our own accord, as well as five applications
for mandatory administrative fines with the
Administrative Court.
50
Examples of procurement supervision cases
Presented below is a selection of the supervision cases the Swedish
Competition Authority has investigated during the year.
Supervision decision:
A question of whether a
foundation was a body
governed by public law
After the Foundation for Strategic Research
had signed a contract for event services
without engaging in the public procurement of said services, the Swedish Competition Authority launched an investigation.
The matter being determined was primarily
whether the foundation was a body
governed by public law and must thus
comply with the Public Procurement Act
when awarding contracts for goods,
services and construction contracts. The
that this was the case and that the foundation had thus violated the regulatory framework governing procurement by awarding
the contract without publishing a contract
notice. [Ref. no.: 456/2012]
Supervision decision:
A question of exemption
from publication of a
contract notice under the
Public Procurement Act
investigated whether an exemption clause
in the first paragraph in chapter 4, article 5
of the Public Procurement Act can be used
as grounds for an informal procedure when
a reopening of competition failed to result in
any bids. In 2013, the Jönköping University
Foundation entered into a contract for the
leasing of company cars. This was done
without first publishing a contract notice on
the grounds that it had not received any
responses to a call-off request under its
Swedish National Procurement Agreement.
In its decision, the Swedish Competition
Authority concluded that the difference
between a reopening of competition and
the publication of a contract notice, which
the clause pertains to, is significant. In the
first case, requests for tender are exclusively
sent to a limited group of suppliers,
whereas in the latter case, a request is sent
to the entire market. The aforementioned
contract should have been procured in
accordance with the stipulations of the
Public Procurement Act, thus rendering the
current contract an illegal direct award of
contract. The legal question that the case
highlights is topical and of practical
significance. [Ref. no.: 179/2014]
Älmhult Municipality’s procurement of a partner for the
purchase of unprepared meat
investigating whether Älmhult Municipality,
which, without any prior publication of a
contract notice, contracted a supplier
which, in partnership with the Municipality,
is charged with managing the purchasing,
butchering, packaging and distribution of
meat. The structure shares certain similarities with the construction industry’s model
for what is termed “partnering”. The
question is whether the structure is in violation of the Public Procurement Act. This
case can be compared to Stockholm Public
Transport’s procurement of consultants;
reference number 155/2013.
[Ref. no.: 692/2014]
Dismissal and transfer to
the Support Department:
Staffing services
The case pertained to the Norrbotten
County Council’s framework agreement for
staffing services for doctors and nurses.
From 2012 onward, the County Council has
largely enlisted suppliers that are not
encompassed by the current framework
agreement. In the course of the Swedish
Competition Authority’s investigation, the
Council had difficulty accounting for how
its suppliers had been selected. The County
Council cited an occasional failure on the
part of the suppliers to deliver on the
services that had been contracted, and that
the problem was prevalent nationwide. The
Swedish Competition Authority acknowledged the presence of larger structural issues
related to the procurement of staffing
services for healthcare personnel. Following discussions between the Enforcement
Department and the Support Department,
the Swedish Competition Authority decided
that the matter should be investigated from
a support perspective.
[Ref. no.: 155/2014, 572/2014]
Application seeking administrative fine:
Herrljunga Municipality –
totalling up of direct award of
contracts during the fiscal year
Through an article in a local paper, the
Swedish Competition Authority learned that
between 2011 and 2013, Herrljunga
Municipality had enlisted consultants
through a staffing company without
opening the services to competition by
publishing a contract notice. Accordingly,
the Swedish Competition Authority elected
to investigate the matter. The investigation
resulted in an application seeking administrative fines being filed with the Administrative Court in Jönköping on 22 May 2014.
The application petitioned for Herrljunga
Municipality to pay fines of SEK 65,000 due
to the illegal direct award of contracts.
In its application, the Swedish Competition Authority calculated the value of the
illegal direct award of contracts to include
the value of all of the performed an illegal
direct award of contract for consulting
services that had been rendered during the
2013 fiscal year. Since the application was
51
filed in May 2014, the Swedish Competition
Authority’s calculation also included the
value of contracts that, at the time the
application was filed, were more than one
year old, despite an action for administrative
fines pertaining to these contracts being
prescribed. This marks the first occasion in
which the Swedish Competition Authority
has calculated the value of an illegal direct
award of contract in this manner in an
action seeking administrative fines.
The Swedish Competition Authority thus
sought the Court’s opinion in a bid to gain
clarity in the matter.
In a judgment issued 7 January 2015, the
Administrative Court in Jönköping ruled in
favour of the Swedish Competition Authority
and ordered Herrljunga Municipality to pay
administrative fines of SEK 65,000.
[Ref. no.: 364/2014]
Application seeking administrative fine:
Malmö Municipality
– aggravating circumstances
In 2011, Malmö Municipality conducted a
public procurement process for a framework agreement pertaining to the leasing of
machinery and other equipment for
construction work. According to the terms
conveyed to bidders in the procurement,
the framework agreement would be valid
for two years. There was no option for an
extension of the framework agreement.
Despite this, in June 2013, the Municipality
extended the framework agreement for
another two years. Since this constitutes an
illegal direct award of contract in the view
of the Swedish Competition Authority, the
Authority filed an application seeking SEK
325,000 in administrative fines from Malmö
Municipality. [Ref. no.: 135/2014]
52
Malmö Municipality had previously – in
July 2012 – been convicted by the Administrative Court in Malmö of illegal direct award
of contracts for snow removal services, for
which it was ordered to pay an administrative fine. In its current application, the
Swedish Competition Authority contended
that the Municipality’s repeated behaviour
constitutes aggravating circumstances, thus
warranting an order to pay a higher fine
than under normal circumstances.
The Administrative Court in Malmö sided
with the Swedish Competition Authority
and ruled fully in favour of the application
in a judgment issued in July 2014. The
Municipality filed an appeal with the
Gothenburg Court of Appeal which, in a
judgment dated 20 November 2014, sided
with the Swedish Competition Authority on
all counts in the case. The Court of Appeal
also found the Municipality’s repeated
illegal direct award of contracts to constitute
aggravating circumstances, thus warranting
an order to pay SEK 325,000 in administrative fines.
Decision to dismiss case:
The Swedish Defence
Materiel Administration’s
purchase of trucks
Following authorisation by the government,
the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) entered into a cooperation
agreement with the Norwegian Defence
Logistics Organisation (FLO), a Norwegian
government agency, with the aim of
conducting a joint procurement process
under which they would purchase trucks
for the agencies. FLO was tasked with
conducting the procurement process in
accordance with Norwegian law.
After becoming aware of the impending
transaction, the Swedish Competition
Authority launched an investigation that
focused on whether there were any
precedents to conducting a cross-border
agreement such as the one that was entered
into between FMV and FLO.
After completing its investigation, the
that there are no stipulations in the
procurement legislation and the EU
directives concerning procurement that
prevent a partnership between authorities
in separate EU/EEA member states. The
that, pursuant to the transparency principle,
such partnerships should be required to
make clear to all parties which of the
participating country’s legislation will be
applied. The agreement between FMV and
FLO stated that Norwegian law applied in
terms of procedural rules and legal remedies. Accordingly, the Swedish Competition Authority decided that there was no
reason to pursue the matter further and
that the matter would be closed.
[Ref. no.: 761/2013]
Charting of construction
collaborations
Following an application from the Swedish
Competition Authority, the Stockholm Administrative Court ruled on 3 April 2014 that
the municipally owned company Haninge
Bostäder AB would be ordered to pay an
administrative fine. Forming the grounds
for the judgment was the fact that the
company had performed an illegal direct
award of contract by purchasing a limited
liability company whose only asset was a
construction contract. According to the
Court, which conducted a full review of the
circumstances surrounding the company’s
actions, the purchase of the limited liability
company constituted an intentional
circumvention of the procurement legislation since, for all intents and purposes, the
point of the purchase was to obtain a
construction contract that was subject to
procurement. The Administrative Court’s
judgment has been appealed and has not
yet gained legal effect.
As a result of the judgment and information that has come to the Swedish Competition Authority’s attention, a number of
53
As a result of the judgment and information that has come to the Swedish
Competition Authority’s attention, a number of enforcement cases have
been launched with the aim of both reviewing whether the specific circumstances in these cases constitute the illegal direct award of contracts, and
of investigating the procurement law aspects and questions concerning
collaborations between a municipality or municipally owned company and
private organisations in carrying out a construction contract.
54
enforcement cases have been launched
with the aim of both reviewing whether the
specific circumstances in these cases constitute the illegal direct award of contracts,
and of investigating the procurement law
aspects and questions concerning collaborations between a municipality or municipally owned company and private organisations in carrying out a construction
contract. [Ref. no.: 573/2014, 405/2014,
403/2014 and 538/2013]
Supervisory project:
Framework agreements
and the waste sector
Authority worked on two enforcement
projects in the field of procurement: one
was on framework agreements and one
pertained to the waste sector.
The framework agreement project aims
to disseminate information on the application of framework agreements in order to
act as a general deterrent and thus yield
greater compliance with the rules. The
project has reviewed a number of procurement processes and call-off orders from
framework agreements that will result in
separate decisions, as well as a report
drafted on the basis of the legal issues that
are the subject of the enforcement.
[Ref. no.: 699/2013]
The waste project aims to review the
procurement of services in the waste
market, building on past reviews by the
Swedish Competition Authority to assess
the current state of affairs. Over the course
of the project, certain companies and
contracting authorities have been selected
and reviewed in greater detail. These cases
will culminate in individual decisions in the
interest of gaining clarity surrounding the
problems at hand. [Ref. no.: 632/2014]
Official notices to the
government with proposals for
regulatory amendments
The current legislation governing mandatory applications for administrative fines
require the Swedish Competition Authority
to bring legal action seeking administrative
fines even in the cases in which the
Authority does not believe that a fine will
be imposed. This is not satisfactory since it
creates an unnecessary workload for the
courts, contracting authorities and the
Swedish Competition Authority.
This official notice resulted from the
Supreme Administrative Court ruling
against the Swedish Competition Authority
on 30 June 2014 in a series of judgments for
five municipalities in the province of
Värmland. In its ruling, the Court cited that
the value of the sanctions was so low that it
constituted a trivial case and that it was
therefore unable to rule in favour of an
administrative fine.
The Court’s decision creates new
guidance for when an administrative fine
does not have to be paid on the grounds of
the case being trivial. On 1 October, the
Swedish Competition Authority filed an
application seeking an administrative fine
against Åsele Municipality pursuant to the
same legal provision in the Public Procurement Act. In light of the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment during the
summer, the Swedish Competition Authority
has determined that its current application
is a trivial case, meaning that no administrative fine is to be paid. Despite this fact,
under the current rules, the Swedish
Competition Authority must nonetheless
bring an action against the municipality.
believes that this legislation must be reviewed and amended. Accordingly, the
Swedish Competition Authority has turned
to the government in this matter.
[Ref. no.: 601/2014 and 369/2014]
Proposals for a more effective
public procurement process
submitted proposals suggesting improvement measures in instances where legislation hampers an effective public procurement process. These proposals have taken
the shape of official notices to the government and responses to consultations,
including views on reports concerning new
procurement rules. (Ds 2014:25 and SOU
2014:51).
In the latter consultation response, the
Swedish Competition Authority contends
that greater flexibility must be given to
contracting authorities, and more opportunities for what are termed socially responsible companies and non-profit organisations to submit bids in procurement
rounds. [Ref. no.: 510/2014]
In its consultation response, the Swedish
Competition Authority also emphasises that
public procurement processes offer the
ability to impose strict requirements that go
beyond the EU-harmonised legislation.
However, the ability to take environmental
considerations, social considerations and
labour laws into account has not changed
in any material respect under the new
directives. As contracting authorities in
various member states impose new and
more requirements on environmental
considerations and social considerations,
the ability to observe environmental
considerations and social considerations
will be clarified through the development
of best practices and precedents from the
55
Court of Justice of the European Union. This
should ultimately lead to smaller contracting authorities also taking the chance to
impose such requirements in their procurement processes, which the Swedish Competition Authority regards as positive.
Authority monitors legal
developments
tasked with monitoring and reporting on
developments in the field of public procurement, both nationally and internationally.
Our database of court decisions encompasses judgments from administrative courts,
appellate courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. Since 2010, it has been
mandatory for these courts to submit all
judgments and final decisions in procurement cases to the Swedish Competition
Authority for publication. The database also
includes judgments issued by the Court of
Justice of the European Union.
As contracting authorities in various member states impose new and more
requirements on environmental considerations and social considerations,
the ability to observe environmental considerations and social considerations will be clarified through the development of best practices and precedents from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
56
Applications seeking administrative fines in 2014
Applications seeking administrative fines – own initiative
The following is a list of all of the applications seeking administrative fines that the Swedish
Competition Authority submitted to the Administrative Court on its own initiative in 2014.
Authority Administrative
fine requested
Reason
Eskilstuna Municipality
Ref. no.: 64/2014 SEK 225,000 Direct award of contract for event organising services at a value of
SEK 3 million.
Kronoberg County Council
Ref. no.: 65/2014 SEK 200,000 Direct award of consulting services
at a value of SEK 2.7 million.
Herrljunga Municipality
Ref. no.: 364/2014 SEK 65,000 Direct award of staffing services
at a value of SEK 1.6 million.
Malmö Municipality
Ref. no.: 420/2014 SEK 325,000
Direct award of lease and building
and construction products at a
value of SEK 3.6 million.
Akademiska Hus AB
Ref. no.: 473/2014, 474/2014, SEK 950,000
475/2014, 476/2014,
477/2014, 478/2014
Direct award of services
and construction contracts
at a value of SEK 12 million.
Mullsjö Municipality
Ref. no.: 751/2014 SEK 200,000 Direct award of cleaning services
at a value of SEK 3 million.
Stockholm County Council
Ref. no.: 816/2014 SEK 500,000 Direct award of plastic surgery
services at a value of SEK 5.8 million.
Municipal Purchasing Association Gävleborg Ref. no.: 833/2014 SEK 170,000
Direct award of printing services
at a value of approx. SEK 2.3 million.
Ref. no.: 852/2014 SEK 350,000
Direct award of specialist care for
patients with lymphedema at a
value of about SEK 4 million.
Bergs Tingslags Elektriska AB
Ref. no.: 853/2014 SEK 550,000
Direct award of contracting services
at a value of about SEK 7.3 million.
57
Applications seeking administrative fines in 2014
Applications seeking administrative fines – mandatory
The following is a list of all of the mandatory applications seeking administrative fines that the
Swedish Competition Authority submitted to the administrative court in 2014.
Authority Administrative
fine requested
Reason
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Chalmers University
of Technology
Ref. no.: 217/2014 SEK 28,000
The contract was allowed to remain
in effect despite being reached in
violation of the regulations
governing standstill.
MUNICIPALITY/MUNICIPAL COMPANIES
Lund Municipality
Ref. no.: 709/2013 SEK 250,000
in effect due to overriding reasons
relating to the public interest.
Nyköping Municipality
Ref. no.: 173/2014 SEK 80,000
in effect despite being reached in
violation of the regulations
governing standstill.
Solatum Hus & Hem AB
Ref. no.: 457/2014 SEK 85,000
Åsele Municipality
Ref. no.: 601/2014 -
58
Court decisions and judgments in 2014 – administrative fines
The Swedish
Competition Authority
Administrative Court
Administrative
Court of Appeals
Supreme Administrative Court
SJ AB
23/01/2013 10/01/2014
Being reviewed by the
Ref. no.: 58/2013, 57/2013 (Stockholm
Amount requested: 1959-13, 1960-13)
(Stockholm 603-14, 604-14)
SEK 8,500,000 The application was denied
since the Administrative
Court found that the Utilities
Procurement Act was not
applicable to SJ AB’s
purchases of construction
contracts, goods and services.
Växjö Municipality
29/08/2013 11/03/2014
Ref. no.: 487/2013 (Växjö 3385-13)
Amount requested: The Swedish Competition
SEK 52,000 Authority’s request was granted.
29/08/2013 Ref. no.: 488/2013
Amount requested: SEK 81,000
11/03/2014
(Växjö 3386-13)
Authority’s request was granted.
29/08/2013 Ref. no.: 489/2013 Amount requested: SEK 45,000
11/03/2014
(Växjö 3387-13)
The Swedish Competition Authority’s claim was granted.
11/03/2014
(Växjö 3388-13)
Authority’s claim was granted.
11/03/2014
(Växjö 3389-13)
The Swedish Competition Authority’s request was granted.
Haninge Bostäder AB
12/10/2012 Ref. no.: 461/2013 Amount requested: SEK 10,000,000 Eskilstuna Municipality
03/04/2014
Being reviewed by the
(Stockholm 20749-13)
The Swedish Competition (Stockholm 2737-14)
23/04/2014
(Linköping 589-14)
Chalmers University of Technology AB
23/03/2014 24/04/2014
Ref. no.: 217/2014 (Gothenburg 3749-14)
Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 28,000
Nyköpings Municipality
06/05/2014
(Linköping 1505-14)
The Swedish Competition Authority’s request was
granted.
20/08/2014
(Jönköping 1686-14)
Leave to appeal denied; previous
decision upheld.
29/09/2014
(4860-14)
Leave to appeal
denied; previous
decision upheld.
The Swedish
Administrative
Court of Appeals
Region Gotland
15/05/2014
(Stockholm 21274-13)
The Swedish Competition Authority’s request was
granted.
19/09/2014
(Stockholm 4062-14)
Leave to appeal
denied; previous
decision upheld.
Akademiska Hus AB
11/09/2012 Ref. no.: 476/2012 Amount requested: SEK 3,000,000
10/06/2014
(Umeå 1643-12)
The Swedish Competition Authority’s request was granted. 23/01/2015
(Sundsvall 1767-14)
Authority’s request was
granted.
18/12/2013 27/06/2014
Ref. no.: 765/2013 (Stockholm 30512-13)
Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 3,000,000
Malmö Municipality
12/06/2014 09/07/2014
Ref. no.: 420/2014 (Malmö 5830-14)
Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 325,000
59
Supreme Administrative Court
25/09/2014
(Stockholm 5322-14)
Leave to appeal
denied; previous decision upheld.
20/11/2014
(Gothenburg 4402-14)
Leave to appeal
denied; previous decision upheld. Statens Servicecenter (Swedish National Service Centre)
23/05/2013
28/07/2014
Being reviewed by Ref. no.: 331/2013, (Falun 2191-13, 2192-13)
the Administrative Court
330/2013 Rejected the Swedish (Sundsvall 2109-14. 2110-14)
Amount requested: Competition Authority’s SEK 1,450,000
application and granted
its claim in part.
Åsele Municipality
10/09/2014 Ref. no.: 601/2014 Amount requested: SEK 0
06/10/2014
(Umeå 1617-14)
Application rejected.
Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB)
06/12/2013 17/07/2013 Ref. no.: 688/2012 (Karlstad 5156-12)
Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 1,100,000
Authority’s claim was
granted.
Falu Municipality
01/12/2011 Ref. no.: 739/2011 Amount requested: SEK 10,000,000
Lund Municipality
23/10/2014 Ref. no.: 709/2013 Amount requested: SEK 250,000 02/12/2014
Appeal rejected. Previous decision upheld. Awaiting hearing on
leave to appeal to
the Supreme Administrative Court
(HFD 6888-14)
13/02/2013
(Falun 5096-11)
Granted part of the Swedish Competition Authority’s request. Amount: SEK 7,000,000
09/10/2013
30/10/2014
(Sundsvall 672-13)
(7021-13)
Granted part of the Granted part of the
Swedish Competition Swedish Competition
Authority’s request. Authority’s request.
Amount: SEK 8,000,000 Amount: SEK 8,000,000
24/03/2014
(Malmö 758-14)
18/12/2014
request was granted.
Awaiting hearing on
leave to appeal to
the Supreme
(HFD 6888-14)
60
Opinions given to courts
Authority submitted four opinions to courts
that requested views on various cases.
» The Härnösand Administrative Court
requested the Swedish Competition
Authority’s opinion on fundamental
questions of law concerning the telecom
exemption in the Public Procurement
Act. In the Swedish Competition Authority’s opinion, the telecom exemption is
not applicable if an authority engaging in
a procurement instead opts to enlist a
private company to provide such
services or to operate the network. In
such a case, the authority is no longer
conducting any operations that are
covered by the telecom exemption.
The opinion also highlights the
stipulations that apply when a contracting authority enters into an agreement
with a supplier in which certain elements of the agreement are subject to
procurement obligations while others lie
beyond the Public Procurement Act,
which are termed mixed contracts.
[Ref. no.: 348/2014]
» In an opinion given to the Jönköping
Court of Appeal, the Swedish Competition Authority contended that the rules
in chapter 5 of the Public Procurement
Act are applicable in procurement
processes that primarily pertain to an
authority’s inclusion in a framework
agreement, but emphasised that this
assessment is to be made on the basis of
the practice that is depicted in the
opinion. [Ref. no.: 9/2014]
» In conjunction with Systembolaget’s
purchase of media services, a dissatisfied
supplier turned to the Stockholm
Administrative Court to have the case
heard. The Court asked the Swedish
Competition Authority to provide its
expert opinion in the matter of whether
Systembolaget (the state alcohol monopoly) was covered by the term “body
governed by public law”, in chapter 2
article 12 of the Public Procurement Act.
conducted a thorough investigation of
the criteria under the Public Procurement Act and analysed the legal position,
and determined that Systembolaget is a
body governed by public law that is
covered by the Public Procurement Act
[Ref. no.: 306/2014]
Stakeholders’ opinion on
our supervision of public
procurement
stipulate that we are to report and comment on the views of our stakeholders
regarding our supervision of public
procurement. For the eighth consecutive
year, the Swedish Competition Authority
conducted a stakeholder survey addressing
issues relating to public procurement.
The stakeholders asked to participate are:
large companies (200 employees or more),
SMEs (less than 200 employees), trade
associations, municipal authorities and
county councils, corporate lawyers and the
group comprising public authorities and
agencies. These findings are used when
Effects
Of all those surveyed, 56 per cent responded
that they believe that the Swedish Competition Authority is combating serious violations of the procurement legislation, which
was a slight increase compared with the
preceding year. The share responding that
they disagree is the greatest among trade
associations, at 11 per cent, and SMEs, at 11
per cent.
Attitudes
In terms of views on the procurement rules,
the share that holds a negative view (28 per
cent) is approximately the same as those
who hold a positive view (27 per cent) on
the rules. The positive share was unchanged
or had declined among each group of
61
Swedish procurement rules in brief
Public procurement is defined as the purchase of goods, services
or construction contracts by a public body, such as a government
agency, or a municipal authority or certain public companies. In
what is known as the utilities sector, meaning water, energy, transport and postal services, certain privately held companies may also
be subject to the procurement regulations.
The fundamental principles that must be observed in all public
procurements are:
»non-discrimination
» equal treatment
» transparency and predictability
»proportionality
» mutual recognition.
After a supplier files an application, a general administrative court
must determine whether the procurement process must be
re-conducted. The court may also decide that a procurement can
only be finalised after it has been amended. If, after the completion
of a procurement process, a supplier believes that it has suffered
damages due to an improperly conducted procurement process,
the supplier can seek damages in a general court. An agreement
between a contracting authority and a supplier may be declared
null and void by a court following an application from a supplier.
Administrative fines
Since 15 July 2010, the Swedish Competition Authority has been entitled to take contracting
authorities and departments – including municipalities, county councils and government
agencies – that violate rules governing the illegal direct award of contracts to court and seek
an administrative fine. The Swedish Competition Authority must also apply for administrative fines in the event of in the event of a violation of a standstill period or a suspension.
62
stakeholders. On average, 62 per cent agree
with the view that the Swedish Competition
Authority’s decisions and actions taken
serve as a form of guidance for companies
and authorities in procurement matters,
which is an increase of 7 percentage points
compared with 2013. SMEs (53 per cent)
responded that they receive less guidance
than other stakeholder groups.
Confidence
In a weighted average of the various
stakeholder groups, 66 per cent responded
that they have a high level of confidence in
the Swedish Competition Authority, which
is an increase of 4 per cent. With the exception of corporate lawyers and trade associations, the share responding that they have a
high level of confidence increased across all
stakeholder groups. The share with a high
level of confidence is the greatest among
authorities and agencies (76 per cent), and
lowest among SMEs (55 per cent).
Assessment of the Swedish
Competition Authority’s case
management
This year’s survey does not make a distinction between competition cases and procurement cases since these two groups have
been integrated. Please refer to the findings
and tables on pages 27 and 28 under the
Competition heading.
Information and
communication
During the year, we conducted a number of
initiatives aimed at disseminating information on procurement issues to serve as
support for our target groups and to
improve our digital information channels.
Konkurrensverket.se
primary channel for external communications is our website, konkurrensverket.se,
which was thoroughly revamped during the
autumn of 2014.
The new konkurrensverket.se website
was developed using what is known as
responsive design to better meet our users’
needs. The website now adapts to the user’s
screen size, thus making the Swedish
Competition Authority’s digital communications highly consistent with the rapid pace
of mobile advancements.
Konkurrensverket.se has also been given a
clearer and more modern visual image.
The purpose of updating the website was
to enhance accessibility for our target
groups, and our new website, which was
launched in mid-December, compiles
information about both enforcement and
support functions in competition and
procurement matters. On our website,
information that was previously housed
with the Swedish Legal, Financial and
Administrative Services Agency’ Procurement support function (upphandlingsstod.
se), the Swedish Environmental Management Council (msr.se) and the Swedish
Competition Authority (konkurrensverket.
se), has been consolidated and updated.
The statistics for 2014 show that the website
received nearly 900,000 hits and that the
procurement homepage, the Q&A pages and
the page with career opportunities were
among the most popular. It is also noteworthy that all pages related to direct
awards of contract are very popular.
Social media
All of the website’s communications options
are accompanied by the Swedish Competition Authority’s presence in social media.
Twitter is a key resource in our external
communications to certain target groups
and is used to communicate news, presentations and career opportunities. Social
media enables us to generate attention and
navigate traffic to the Swedish Competition
Authority’s other communication channels.
In addition to Twitter, we have also
uploaded video clips from our own events,
for example on YouTube. The Swedish
Competition Authority has also begun
developing clearer communications in
motion graphics and initiated an effort to
gain greater exposure in other social media,
such as LinkedIn.
Almedal Week
During this year’s Almedalen Week on the
island of Gotland, the Swedish Competition
Authority organized five seminars. The
overarching theme of the seminars was
procurement for welfare. The seminars,
which were held on 3 July, were also
broadcast live via our website, konkurrensverket.se, and enjoyed a high attendance.
The five seminars were seen by a total of
1,255 individuals, either live on site or via
the webcasts.
» Creating world-class purchasing
organisations
» Vision meets reality when purchasing
food
» Nontoxic preschools – utopia or potential
reality?
» Crafting new Swedish procurement laws
» Purchasing welfare services – turning
taxpayers’ money into welfare
Electronic newsletter
As of August, the Swedish Competition
Authority issues a consolidated newsletter
on both procurement and competition
matters. The newsletter addresses both
support and supervisory matters and is
issued every other week. It replaces the
newsletter that was previously published
once a month. Our newsletter provides
more than 3,000 subscribers with up-to-date
information.
Information meetings
Authority’s employees have held speeches
and presentations in more than 170 different
external settings, aimed at providing information on legislation and on our supervisory
and support functions. Since the procurement support functions were fully consolidated with the Swedish Competition
Authority on 1 July, our employees have
held presentations on procurement matters
on about 70 occasions, 28 of which dealt
specifically with sustainability matters.
During the autumn of 2014, the Swedish
Competition Authority also launched a
series of breakfast seminars that were also
broadcast live on our website. They allowed
63
viewers to ask questions, and a total of just
over 250 individuals participated in these
seminars.
The breakfast seminars addressed such
topics as the direct award of contracts,
environmental and social considerations,
new procurement legislation, the procurement of health and medical care, as well
as the options available for early discussions between suppliers and contracting
authorities.
Opinion pieces
and presentations
The Swedish Competition Authority is an
active participant in the public debate on
procurement. Our employees have held
presentations for both decision-makers and
buyers for the government, municipalities
and county councils. Opinion pieces and
presentations are published on our website.
Stakeholders’ knowledge of
the Public Procurement Act
stipulate that we are to report and comment on our stakeholders’ knowledge of the
regulatory framework, including the Public
Procurement Act. For this year’s survey, we
turned to large companies (200 employees
or more), SMEs (less than 200 employees),
trade associations, municipal authorities
and county councils, corporate lawyers and
the group ‘public authorities and agencies’.
For the eighth consecutive year, we
measured awareness of the Public Procurement Act. These findings are used when
64
Awareness An overwhelming majority – 95
per cent on average – of all groups said that
they were aware of the Public Procurement
Act. The share who responded that they
are aware of or have heard of the procurement rules increased across all stakeholder
groups. As in the preceding year, just under
one-third of respondents indicated that the
Swedish Competition Authority is responsible for the enforcement of the Act. Awareness that the Swedish Competition Authority is responsible for this enforcement
varied sharply among the different stakeholder groups. Only one in ten small-business owners was aware that the Swedish
Competition Authority is responsible, while
a clear majority of corporate lawyers (68
per cent) named the correct authority.
Attitudes With the exception of municipalities and county councils (85 per cent),
awareness of a system of choice in the
procurement of health and medical care
was low, and the share of those aware of
the Act varied sharply among the different
stakeholder groups. However, awareness
increased across all target groups with the
exception of small companies, and based on
the responses, 38 per cent are aware of the
Act on System of Choice in the Public Sector,
which constitutes an increase of 7 percentage points.
Just over half of the respondents indicated that they have a positive view of the Act.
Knowledge A substantial majority of
respondents in all stakeholder groups
– 94 per cent overall (89 per cent in 2013) –
know that an authority can be fined for the
illegal direct award of a contract. An equal
share, 94 per cent, knew that contracts
awarded illegally can be declared null and
void (91 per cent in 2013). The percentage
responding correctly to the questions
regarding knowledge of the procurement
rules was up on average compared with the
preceding year.
Council on Procurement Matters
The Council on Procurement Matters serves
as a valuable form of assistance in the
Swedish Competition Authority’s public
procurement efforts. The Council acts as a
forum for sharing experiences both on
public procurement matters and on the
need for measures to promote the development of an effective public procurement
process. The Council’s members are
appointed by the Swedish Competition
Authority. Examples of topical matters
discussed by the Council during the year
include:
» Direct awards of contract–raised
threshold on the direct award of contracts, guidelines and duty to maintain
documentation
» terms similar to collective agreements,
what degree of flexibility is available to
impose requirements consistent with the
terms stipulated in Swedish collective
agreements?
» reopening of competition without
tenders, the options for direct awards of
contract
» new procurement rules and a review of
the responses to official consultations
pertaining to these rules
» unfair strategic bidding
» dialogue ahead of, during and after
procurement
» criteria activities of the Swedish
Improvement measures
and reports
In our reports, we analyse how different
markets work and submit proposals for
improvements.
Responses to official consultations on procurement
By commenting on proposals contained in
reports and other inquiries we can participate in and influence the preparation and
drafting of proposals and decisions at an
early stage.
In 2014, among the Swedish Competition
Authority’s most important responses to
official consultations in the field of procurement included statements on the proposal
for the implementation of new procurement directives that have been adopted at
the EU level. (Ref. no.: 510 and 673/2014).
commented on the proposal for amendments to the Health and Medical Services
Act regarding the right to choose a primary
care provider (Ref. no.: 667/2014) and
opposed a proposal for the design of the
future system of choice in the area of social
services. (Ref. no.: 106/2014).
largely backed the proposal for stronger
protection for employees who call attention
to serious improprieties. (Ref. no.: 490/2014).
Facts and figures on public procurement.
Statistics on procurement processes
completed in 2013 New developments in
this year’s report include a new calculation
of the value of purchases subject to mandatory procurement notice, which amount
to approximately SEK 600 billion annually,
a study of bidders and winners at the contract level, as well as statistics on leaves to
appeal that were granted and withdrawals
from procurement processes. The report
is based on statistics gathered from such
sources as Visma Commerce AB, Statistics
Sweden and the Swedish National Courts
Administration. (Report series 2014:1)
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Collaborations
The Swedish Competition Authority’s tasks
include striving to maintain effective
collaborations with authorities and other
relevant actors. We must also consult with
the authorities that are impacted by the
Swedish Competition Authority’s proposals
for improvement measures.
The Swedish Competition Authority is in
regular contact with other authorities and
organisations that have been given assignments related to the implementation of the
system of choice in the field of primary
care, among others. These authorities
include the Swedish National Board of
Health and Welfare, the Swedish Agency for
Economic and Regional Growth, the
Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency, the Swedish Agency for
Public Management, the Swedish Agency
for Health and Care Services Analysis, the
Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis
as well as the Swedish Association of Local
Authorities and Regions. The Swedish
Competition Authority also collaborates
with business organisations and organisations that represent the non-profit sector.
We have also participated in the Swedish
Chemicals Agency’s industry discussion on
textiles, and held talks with VINNOVA regarding innovation in the public sector.
Members of the Council on Procurement matters
Dan Sjöblom, Director General, Council Chairman, Swedish Competition Authority
Mats Bergman, Professor of Economics, Södertörn University
Fredrik Rogö, Procurement Lawyer, Upphandlingsbolaget i Göteborgs stad
Nina Widmark, Analyst, Vinnova
Ulrica Dyrke, Expert, Swedish Federation of Business Owners
Ted Stalte, Procurement Strategist, City of Stockholm
Johanna Falk, Head of Procurement, Atea AB
Charlotta Lindmark, Chief Counsel, Swedish Transport Administration
Karin Peedu, Head of Procurement, Stockholm County Council
Andrea Sundstrand, PhD in Public Law, Stockholm University
Viveca Reimers, Environmental Manager, VGR
Eva-Lotta Löwstedt Lundell, Managing Director, Sveriges Radios Förvaltning AB and Chair
of the Swedish Association of Public Purchasers
Therese Hellman, Draftsperson, Secretary of the Council, Swedish Competition Authority
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT RESEARCH
RESEARCH SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
67
Research
most important task in the field of
research is to support research
projects. The research is meant to
yield greater awareness among the
Swedish Competition Authority’s
employees and stakeholders.
To share and advance knowledge about current competition-related matters, the Swedish
Competition Authority holds an annual international research seminar under the theme of
“Pros and Cons”. Read more about our research on the following pages.
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Research
The Swedish Competition Authority has a
special government appropriation that is
earmarked for contributions to research in
the fields of competition and procurement.
In 2014, that appropriation totalled nearly
SEK 14 million.
The research is meant to yield greater
awareness among the Swedish Competition
Authority’s employees and stakeholders.
First and foremost, we finance research in
the legal and economic fields. We also
organise conferences, seminars and workshops during which we provide information on our research and its findings. The
Swedish Competition Authority also holds
an annual essay contest for students.
Projects that received
funding in 2014
The Swedish Competition Authority’s most
important task in the field of research is to
support research projects. During the year,
we received 38 applications requesting
funding for research in the fields of
competition and procurement. The Swedish
Competition Authority granted funding for
seven new projects in the field of competition research and two in procurement
research at a total value of nearly SEK 3.4
million. The Swedish Competition Authority
also paid out slightly more than SEK 6.1
million to ten ongoing projects.
Competition research
Presented below are the new research
projects on competition-related matters.
» Lars Henriksson – The significance of
purchasing power in EU competition law.
» Lars Persson - Swedish Part of the
European Cartel Project: “What Do Legal
Cartels Tell Us about Illegal Ones?”
» Magnus Söderberg - Measuring the effect
of cartels on price.
» Mats Bergman - Competitive Neutrality
in Mixed Markets.
» Erik Lakomaa - Market deregulation as a
discovery process: A comparative study
of monopolist behaviour in deregulatory
processes in Sweden and Finland.
Research on public
procurement
Presented below are the new research
projects on procurement-related matters.
» Johan Nyström – Imbalanced bidding in
the engineering industry; a cause of
insufficient cost-efficiency?
» Jan-Eric Nilsson – Cost-efficiency in
tendered contracts.
Commissioned research
commissions research projects when we
detect a direct need to investigate or
highlight certain aspects in the fields of
competition and procurement. The findings
are published in a special report series on
commissioned research. For each project,
we assign a reference group with the task of
assuring the quality of the study. The
reference groups consist of individuals with
special expertise in the relevant field. Our
ambition is for the reports to be founded on
solid academic grounds and to be written in
a way so that the content can also be understood by non-specialists.
A total of SEK 4 million was awarded to
commissioned research in the fields of
competition and procurement.
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reports on competition
Conferences, the Pros and
Cons series and workshops
published the following commissioned
research reports in 2014:
» Hans Lind – “Competition in the estate
agency market: How does it work and
what improvement measures could be
warranted?”
» Karl Lundvall – “New markets and
gender equality: Does increased competition lead to increased gender equality at
the workplace?”
» Fredrik Heyman, Pehr-Johan Norbäck &
Lars Persson – “Competition and
discrimination in the production market:
Theory and empirical evidence”
» Carl-Johan Petri & Nils-Göran Olve
– “Cost information from a competition
law perspective: Collection, monitoring
and analysis – proposal for a tentative
framework”
» Magnus Söderberg – “The role of
personality traits on price cartel
characteristics”
» Mattias Ganslandt & Gunilla Rönnholm
– “Analysis of the effects of competition
on the retail market for fuel in Sweden”
On 6-7 November, the Swedish Competition
Authority and the procurement law journal
Upphandlingsrättslig Tidskrift organised a
two-day research conference on public
procurement. The aim of the conference
was to enable researchers who currently
work in the field of procurement to forge
ties and thus create a forum for exchanging
research findings.
To share and advance knowledge about
current competition-related matters, the
Swedish Competition Authority holds an
annual international research seminar
under the theme of “Pros and Cons”. Since
the first seminar in 2002, researchers and
experts have discussed the pros and cons of
compelling questions in the field of competition. The theme of this year’s seminar,
which was held on 28 November, was “The
Pros and Cons of Antitrust in Two-Sided
Markets”, and focused on competition
policy and two-sided markets. Participating
in the conference were over 100 researchers, academics, lawyers and representatives
of competition authorities.
On 27 November, the Swedish Workshop
in Competition Research (SWCR) was held.
It is an annual workshop organised by the
Swedish Competition Authority’s Research
Council. The SWCR is held in conjunction
with the Pros and Cons conference and
focuses on competition and procurementrelated matters.
reports on procurement
published the following commissioned
research reports in 2014:
» Charles Edquist – “Public procurement
and innovation: Obstacles and how to
overcome them”
» Per-Erik Eriksson & John Hane – “Procurement of construction contracts: How
can contractors promote efficiency and
innovation by applying suitable procurement strategies?”
» Tobias Indén, Hanna Lindström &
Sofia Lundberg – “Appealing public
procurement awards: An interview study
on the differences between the Public
Procurement Act and the Utilities
Procurement Act”
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Working Paper
Council for Research Issues
In the Working Paper series, the Swedish
Competition Authority presents ongoing
research related to the field of competition
policy. The papers are published in English
and serve to share research and methodology that may be of interest to authorities,
researchers and other stakeholders, in
Sweden and internationally.
Authority published the following papers:
» Maria Bigoni, Sven-Olof Fridolfsson,
Chloé Le Coq, and Giancarlo Spagnolo –
“Trust, Leniency and Deterrence”
» Catarina Marvao – “Heterogeneous
Penalties and Private Information”
The Council for Research Issues is tasked
with stimulating research in the fields of
competition and procurement, and providing the Swedish Competition Authority with
findings from developments, primarily in
the economic and legal sciences, which may
be of significance to our activities. The
Council’s members are appointed by the
Swedish Competition Authority and have a
term of two years. This year, the Council
convened three times. Its agenda includes
research issues at large, applications for
research grants, proposals for commissioned research projects and the essay contest.
Essay contest
In an effort to increase interest in competition and procurement matters among
students, the Swedish Competition Authority
holds an annual essay contest. The contest
is open for all topics that are relevant to the
Swedish Competition Authority’s activities
and the annual submission deadline is 15
September. Some 16 essays were submitted
in the contest of which six were awarded
prizes and shared a total of SEK 100,000.
Four of the essays pertained to public
procurement and two to competition.
Members of the Council for Research Issues
Dan Sjöblom, Director General, Council Chairman, Swedish Competition Authority
Carl Dalhammar, Assistant Professor, Lund University
Caroline Heide-Jørgensen, Law Professor, University of Copenhagen
Lars Henriksson, Law Professor, Stockholm School of Economics
Tobias Indén, Senior Lecturer in Law, Umeå University
Sofia Lundberg, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Umeå University
Annik Magerholm Fet, Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
Peter Møllgaard, Professor, Copenhagen Business School
Kristina Nyström, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Katarina Olsson, Law Professor, Lund University
Magnus Söderberg, Assistant Professor of Economics at CERNA, Mines ParisTech
Joakim Wallenklint, Research Coordinator and Council Secretary, Swedish Competition Authority
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
73
International efforts
is tasked with contributing to international development in the fields
of competition and procurement.
We cooperate internationally with
other authorities, networks and
international organisations.
Read more about our international efforts on the following pages.
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International efforts
tasked with contributing to international
development in the fields of competition
and procurement. We cooperate internationally with other authorities, networks and
EU cooperation
Within the framework of the European
Competition Network (ECN), the Swedish
Competition Authority maintains a close
working relationship with the European
Commission and the competition authorities of the member states in the application
of articles 101 and 102 (anti-competitive
cooperation and abuse of dominant
position), under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
In 2014, the Commission and the
competition authorities of the member
states reported 125 new cases to the
network. In addition, the Swedish Competition Authority regularly receives information on complaints and new cases before
the Commission, as well as the most
important documentation in these cases. In
received information on 28 new cases.
Before the European Commission
announces its decision in a case, the parties
are given the opportunity to present oral
opinions on the drafts of the decision under
what is known as an oral hearing. The
competition authorities of the member
states are consulted on the Commission’s
decisions during meetings of the advisory
committee. The Swedish Competition
Authority participated on 15 such occasions
during the year. In addition, the Swedish
Competition Authority participates in the
advisory committee’s meetings to consult
on certain legislative matters before the
Commission. In 2014, the Swedish
Competition Authority participated on
four occasions.
The national competition authorities are
also obligated to consult the Commission
before reaching decisions under articles
101 and 102 of TFEU. In 2014, the Swedish
Competition Authority consulted with the
Commission on three matters.
Exchange of information
Cooperation within the ECN is also conducted through the exchange of information
between the authorities and within the
framework of working groups focusing on
different matters. During the year, the
Swedish Competition Authority participated
in 26 working group meetings. The ECN
representatives also participated in drafting
recommendations on the investigative and
decision-making processes of the competition authorities of the member states. The
recommendations also aim to facilitate the
exchange of information and to increase
harmonisation in the application of rules
among the competition authorities in the EU.
The Swedish Competition Authority is tasked with contributing to
international development in the fields of competition and procurement.
We cooperate internationally with our counterparts, networks and
Investigations on behalf
of other authorities
The Swedish Competition Authority helps
the Commission and its sister authorities in
the EU with on-site investigations and
information gathering among companies in
Sweden. In 2014, the Swedish Competition
Authority conducted one such on-site
investigation and ordered one company to
submit written information.
Cooperation on merger control
participated in one hearing and seven
meetings under the Advisory Committee
regarding the Commission’s merger
controls in 2014. In addition, the national
competition authorities have a special
working group that is charged with
promoting greater cooperation on merger
controls. In 2014, the working groups
organised three meetings in which the
Swedish Competition Authority participated.
Advisory Committee
on Public Procurement
The EU law cooperation on procurement
matters is largely conducted within the
framework of the European Commission’s
Advisory Committee under the DirectorateGeneral for the Internal Market and
Services. Working groups are associated
with the Committee. The Swedish Competition Authority’s employees have participated in these efforts in all forums.
The Commission’s Stakeholder Expert Group on Public
Procurement – SEGPP
The SEGPP serves as a sounding board on
public procurement for the EU DirectorateGeneral for the Internal Market and
Services. In conjunction with the drafting
and implementation of new procurement
directives, this group has discussed relevant
legal and practical matters in the field of
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public procurement. The Swedish Competition Authority participated in two meetings
during the year and, among other activities,
held a presentation on green public
procurement.
The EU Green Public
Procurement Advisory
Group (EU APP AG)
The EU GPP AG comprises appointed
representatives from EU member states.
The national experts exchange knowledge
and experiences on how each member state
approaches green public procurement,
policy development, monitoring and the
prioritisation of criteria efforts in the EU.
The Directorate-General for the Environment
organises two meetings a year in Brussels
or in another member state. The Swedish
Competition Authority participated in one
meeting during the year in Ghent, Belgium.
G11 Group
This working group is closely associated
with the aforementioned EU GPP AG.
Meetings are held in conjunction with the
EU GPP AG. The Swedish Competition
Authority participated in one meeting
during the year in Ghent, Belgium.
Public Procurement Network
The Public Procurement Network (PPN) is
an informal network comprising representatives from European authorities and is
specifically geared toward public procurement. Collaborative efforts within the
network are aimed at strengthening and
improving the application of procurement
regulations and promoting cross-border
public procurement, among other purposes.
The 2014 chairmanship began with Greece
prior to being passed to Italy in July. A
member conference was held in December,
at which the Swedish Competition Authority
held a presentation on corruption and
public procurement.
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Other information
The Swedish Competition Authority has also
participated in a working group on ethical
procurement, entitled the European Working Group on Ethical Public Procurement
(EWEPP), and in the EU-financed Electronics Watch project, which aims to develop
methods and tools to monitor labour terms
and conditions within the framework of
electronic products that were purchased by
way of public procurement.
Statistics on public
procurement
According to EU procurement directives,
Sweden must annually submit public
procurement statistics to the Commission.
The obligation to compile information in
the field of procurement is also required
under the Agreement on Government
Procurement within the framework of the
WTO. In 2014, the Swedish Competition
Authority tasked Statistics Sweden with
producing this information. The information on procurement exceeding the threshold value is based on information obtained from the EU Tenders Electronic Daily
database. Information that falls below the
threshold values is obtained through
questionnaires given to authorities and
other bodies. [Ref. no.: 38/2014]
Nordic cooperation
The Nordic competition authorities have
enjoyed closed cooperation for many years.
The most recent meeting was held in Copenhagen, where we discussed, among other
things, competition issues that arise when
booking hotels online and the state of
competition in the waste market, mainly
when public organisations compete with
private companies. Several working groups
with members from the Nordic countries
have met during the year, including the
Chief Economists group. The Nordic cartel
network includes representatives who work
on cartel investigations at the different
authorities. The chairmanship rotates and
the members meet once a year to discuss
current cases and methodology develop-
ments. In addition to annual meetings,
teleconferences are held regularly to
update members on the activities of each
authority.
There is also a Nordic network for
procurement matters. Representatives for
the Nordic ministries and for authorities
that are active in the field of procurement
meet once a year to share experiences and
to discuss procurement law matters. In
2014, one meeting was held in Helsinki that
addressed such matters as the implementation of the new procurement directives, the
Swedish government’s focus on procurement and support services and the potential
for an intensified Nordic cooperation on
environmental and social considerations in
public procurement. As a result of this, the
Swedish Competition Authority organised a
Nordic workshop in November at which
participants discussed and shared experiences about lifecycle costs, social requirements
and the monitoring of such requirements.
Other international
cooperation
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development’s (OECD) Competition
Committee held three meetings during the
year, all of which the Swedish Competition
Authority attended. Topics discussed
included quantitative methods for evaluating regulations and interventions by
competition authorities from the perspective
of competition law, conducting surveys on
mergers that are not subject to mandatory
notification, assessing how competition
authorities can combat corruption and
promote competition, and financing the
expansion of broadband infrastructure.
In September, the OECD adopted a new
recommendation on international cooperation regarding competition law investigations and proceedings; an effort in which
the Swedish Competition Authority was
involved. Since 2010, the Swedish Competition Authority’s Director General has been a
member of the steering committee that
prepares the Competition Committee’s
agenda.
In the field of procurement, representatives for the Nordic ministries
and for other authorities meet once a year to share experiences and to
discuss procurement law matters.
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The OECD’s efforts on procurement are
conducted within the framework of the
Public Governance Committee and its
underlying working groups, the Public
Sector Integrity Network and Leading
Practitioners on Public Procurement. The
Swedish Competition Authority has been a
proactive participant in meetings and
shared its experiences in drafting recommendations and compendiums on green
public procurement, integrity and corruption in the public sector, as well as indicators for measuring the effectiveness of
procurement systems. In November, the
OECD and the UN Environmental Program
(UNEP) organised a webinar in which the
Swedish Competition Authority presented
Sweden’s efforts on environmentally
compatible and sustainable procurement.
in the same working group co-authored a
chapter in a manual on cooperation
between competition and procurement
authorities regarding bid rigging. In the
advocacy working group for we actively
participated in efforts to draft recommendations on conducting impact assessments
when implementing competition rules. In
November, one of our employees participated in a seminar on competition advocacy.
In the agency effectiveness working
group, the Swedish Competition Authority’s
Deputy Director General participated in a
seminar to discuss how different competition authorities can enhance effectiveness
in the investigation process.
At the annual ICN conference in April,
the Swedish Competition Authority was
represented in all working groups.
ICN
The 10 Year Framework
Programme on Sustainable
Public Procurement
Competition authorities around the world
cooperate in the International Competition
Network (ICN). The Swedish Competition
Authority actively participates in all of the
network’s working groups. During the year,
eight external advisors were linked to four
working groups: cartels, mergers, advocacy
and unilateral conduct.
In partnership with the Competition and
Markets Authority (UK) and Rekabet
(Turkey), the Swedish Competition Authority
continued to lead the efforts of a group
addressing unilateral conduct. In its
continued work on a workbook on abuse of
market power, the Swedish Competition
Authority headed efforts on a chapter
addressing tying. In December, the Swedish
Competition Authority organised a webinar
discussing the framework for analysing
exclusionary abuse of dominant position.
In the cartel group, our employees have
been involved as moderators and speakers
at a seminar on cartel investigations, among
other events. We also participated in a
teleseminar to discuss settlement proceedings in cartel cases, in which one of our
employees held a presentation. Employees
The UN’s 10 Year Framework Programme
on Sustainable Public Procurement (10YFP)
was adopted in Rio in 2012.
One of the programmes addresses
sustainable public procurement. The work
aims to disseminate information on the
importance of sustainable public procurement on sustainable development and to
create partnerships to develop joint support
resources for the practical application of
procurement regulations. One of the
Swedish Competition Authority’s employees
participated in a meeting and in two
teleconferences for the programme’s
Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee.
Other information
During the year, we hosted delegations from
Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Thailand,
Tanzania, Belarus, Serbia and Latvia. In
addition, several of the Swedish Competition
Authority’s employees held presentations at
conference at the invitation of various
organisations and competition and procurement authorities across the globe, including
Denmark, Belgium, the Faroe Islands, Italy,
Portugal, Taiwan and the US.
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SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT STAFF AND ORGANISATION
STAFF AND ORGANISATION SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
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Staff and organisation
During the year, we conducted a
review of our core values, and the
values that our employees and
our management collectively produced to represent the Swedish
Competition Authority are: respect,
commitment, expertise and clarity.
Read about our organisation and our approach on the following pages.
82
Staff and organisation
monitors, evaluates and governs its
operations through operational planning
and by placing substantial emphasis on
project planning and evaluation. Other
governance and monitoring resources
include our case management system,
business and media intelligence, financial
and HR evaluations, as well as time reports.
Since 1993, we have conducted valuable
external stakeholder surveys.
On 28 November 2013, the government
tasked (N2013/5426/MK) the Swedish Legal,
Financial and Administrative Services
Agency, VINNOVA and the Swedish Competition Authority with preparing for the
transfer and integration of activities related
to their procurement support functions.
Since being tasked with this assignment,
the Swedish Competition Authority has
undergone a reorganisation that has
affected nearly the entire authority, in the
interests of best integrating this new
responsibility into our operations. Our staff
has nearly doubled in size during the year,
in part owing to the transfer of operations
and in part by way of recruitments.
Recruiting and welcoming so many
employees has been exciting and challenging. All new employees receive through
introductory training and are each assigned
a guide.
In its 2015 budget proposal, the government announced that a new Procurement
Authority would be created as of 1 September 2015 and the mandate that was assigned to the Swedish Competition Authority
under the decision made in November 2013
will be transferred to the new authority. On
19 December 2014, the government decided
(N2014/5319/MK) to task the Swedish
Competition Authority with preparing for
this transition. This work has begun.
In the interests of skills development and to
motivate our staff, everyone has the opportunity to get involved in the broadened
range of tasks, to be assigned new professional tasks and to participate in courses,
seminars and workshops. Many employees
also participate in various types of collaborations and meetings with other authorities,
both in Sweden and abroad.
Authority invested SEK 2.7 million in skills
development, which corresponds to about
SEK 13,500 per employee. The more extensive courses include a programme at King’s
College in London. The Nordic cooperation
within the framework of the ICN and OECD
also offers opportunities for on-the-job
learning. The Swedish Competition Authority
has a national expert stationed in Brussels
at the Commission’s Directorate-General for
Competition (DG COMP) and two employees
briefly interned there.
Wellness benefits
and sickness absence
Wellness is something that the Swedish
Competition Authority views as an investment. All employees thus have the opportunity, during working hours, workload
permitting, of engaging in one hour of
wellness activities per week. The Swedish
Competition Authority gives each employee
an allowance of up to SEK 5,000 per year to
cover wellness-related expenses. The
Swedish Competition Authority also has a
staff association called Efterverket, which
has organises various activities throughout
the year, like skiing, visits to the opera and
inspirational lectures.
The average sickness absence in 2014
was 1.8 per cent (1.3 in 2013). The Swedish
Competition Authority maintains a collaboration with Previa as our health service
provider.
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Our staff has been afforded the opportunity to get involved in our broadened
range of tasks, to try new professional tasks and to take courses and
participate in seminars and workshops. Many employees contribute to
various forms of collaboration and in meetings with other authorities, both
in Sweden and abroad.
The Authority’s core values tie in with the government’s priority of maintaining a healthy administrative culture aimed at fostering a more effective
and legally sound civil service, and that helps the Authority ensure that its
interactions with the general public are hallmarked by the utmost dignity
and respect (public ethos).
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Core values
Developing the Swedish Competition Authority’s core values has
been a matter of priority for several years. During the year, while
employees from three different organisations all merged under
one authority, these efforts have been important and resulted in a
greater sense of inclusion for everyone. The Authority’s core values
group meets twice a month. The matters that are discussed are
subsequently passed on to the Authority’s management team.
The working group comprises one employee from each department on a rotating annual basis. The group addresses such
matters as how to treat and respond to others. During the year,
we conducted a review of our core values, and the values that
our employees and our management collectively produced to
represent the Swedish Competition Authority are: respect,
commitment, expertise and clarity.
Respect
All of our interactions, both external and internal, are hallmarked by an
openness and attentiveness to the other party’s needs and we show them
respect. By being respectful of one another’s skills and differences, we can
unpretentiously strive to achieve our goals in unison.
Commitment
We are highly committed to our work and are forward-looking in order to
stay one step ahead. This commitment leads to a sense of job satisfaction
that allows everyone to feel comfortable at work and achieve favourable
results in the interests of our target groups.
Expertise
We possess the expertise, ability and resources to fulfil our mandate and
maintain a high level of quality. We harness our experience and strive to
improve continuously our knowledge and methods in order to enhance and
ensure the efficiency and quality of our work.
Clarity
We maintain communications that are tailored to our target groups.
We are objective, impartial and open in all of our interactions, which builds
confidence and credibility.
These values shall serve as the signature of all work conducted by
the Swedish Competition Authority.
85
DIRECTOR
GENERAL
POLICY AND
SUPPORT
ADMINISTRATION
ENFORCEMENT
S1
PROCUREMENT
POLICY
CHIEF
ECONOMIST
T1
CARTELS AND
MERGERS
S2
PROCUREMENT
SUPPORT
COMMUNICATIONS
T2
ABUSE AND VERTICAL
RESTRAINTS
S3
PURCHASING
ANALYSIS
INTERNATIONAL
T3
COMPETITION
NEUTRALITY
S4
POLICY EVALUATION
AND ADVOCACY
LEGAL
TIP-OFFS & ENQUIRIES
T4
PUBLIC
PROCUREMENT
– ILLEGAL DIRECT
AWARD OF
CONTRACTS
T5
PUBLIC
PROCUREMENT
– GENERAL
SUPERVISION
86
Organisation
Facts
headed by Director General Dan Sjöblom.
He is assisted by Deputy Director General
Kristina Geiger.
management team comprises the Director
General, the Deputy Director General and
all the Directors of Departments. The
management team meets once a week.
Information pertinent to the entire
organisation during the year was provided
at monthly meetings for all staff and
continuously via our intranet, Kompassen.
Meetings for departments and units were
held weekly.
has had 170 full-time equivalents, represented by 56 per cent women and 44 per cent
men. The average age is 40. Just over 90 per
cent of our staff hold graduate or postgraduate degrees, most of which are in law or
economics. Among our lawyers, 40 per cent
have court experience. Among our economists, just over 40 per cent hold postgraduate degrees, of whom 11 hold PhDs. During
the year, 73 new employees were recruited
and 10 left. In addition to in-house staff, the
Swedish Competition Authority has also
procured reception, janitorial and substitute
staffing resources from the company
Bemannia.
management team as of 1 January 2015
The management team comprises the Director General, the Deputy Director General
and the Directors of Departments.
From left:
Arvid Fredenberg, Chief Economist and Director of Chief Economist Department
Ylva Mannervik, Director of Policy and Support Department
Ola Billger, Director of Communications Department
Kristina Geiger, Deputy Director General and Director of Administrative Department
Dan Sjöblom, Director General
Hanna Witt, Director of Enforcement Department
Per Karlsson, Chief Legal Officer and Director of Legal Department
Karin Lunning, Director of International Department
87
88
SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT FACTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FACTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
Facts and financial
statements
In the ‘Facts in brief’ section, we
present statistics relating to the
Swedish Competition Authority’s
law enforcement and supervision
cases, as well as official consultations. The Swedish Competition
Authority also works on proposals
for regulation amendments and
other improvement measures,
and provides support for research
projects and international efforts.
89
90
Facts in brief
Case statistics Costs include indirect costs and
are reported by cases concluded
2014 20132012
Competition Act cases
Estimated annual cost, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 1
105 052
85 344
88 246
Time spent (of total time) per cent
61
65
67
Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days
112
126
130
Anti-competitive cooperation 2
Registered Concluded
16
22
27
14 1923
Concluded cases:
Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 398 234260
Average number of hours spent per case 4
1 664
867
949
Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5
1 005
517
569
In 2014, three particularly extensive cases were concluded for which
a total of 19,241 hours were registered and 2,443 calendar days.
Abuse of a dominant position 2
Registered 5
12
6
Concluded
8 912
Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 246 159287
1 667
364
1 358
1 007
217
815
Anti-competitive public sales activities 2
Registered
13 48
Concluded
9 411
Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 182 463240
595
1 843
690
359
1 098
414
Notifications of mergers
Registered
67 4836
Concluded
65 4542
Concluded cases:
124 221257
75 132154
In 2012 and 2013, there were three cases concluded in each
year that became in-depth investigations, while two cases
were concluded in 2014.
91
2014 20132012
Other merger cases
Registered
42 2830
Concluded
44 2830
Concluded cases:
25 2441
15 1425
Court cases
Registered
7 54
Concluded
5 63
Concluded cases: Average time to complete cases at court, calendar days 6
743 806300
889
2 612
482
537
1 557
289
In 2013, the case that was launched against TeliaSonera
in 2004 was concluded.
Total number of Competition Act cases
Registered Concluded
150
119
111
145 111121
92
2014 20132012
Public Procurement Act
22 273
21 182
18 962
13
16
14
Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 258
218
187
Supervision cases etc.
Registered
123 9896
Concluded
107 89102
Concluded cases:
67 6533
39 3819
Court cases
Registered
19 2324
Concluded
242014
Concluded cases: 471 403207
Average time to complete cases at court, calendar days 7
58 9446
34 5527
Act on System of Choice in the Public Sector
656
1 862
733
0,4
2
1
Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 150
154
304
Registered
5 41
Concluded
6 32
Concluded cases:
64 543392
38 318230
Concluded government assignments are reported separately,
and are not included in this summary.
Improvement measures in public procurement
The cost allocation model used this year was the same as
in the past; for the reporting of the procurement support
function’s actual costs, refer to the financial review section.
13
23 353
2
2 542
-
The year-on-year increase from 2013 to 2014 was attributable
to the Swedish Competition Authority’s 2014 takeover of
procurement support services from the Swedish Legal, Financial
and Administrative Services Agency, VINNOVA and the Swedish
Environmental Management Council.
No calculations for time spent or estimated annual cost were made in 2012.
93
2014 20132012
Responses to official consultations
Official consultations responded to
126
211
167
3
4
3
Estimated cost per matter, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 37 2226
Key figures
Total area of premises per employee, sqm
21
21
21
Leasing costs per employee and year, (SEK ‘000)
85
89
87
1)
Total administrative cost distributed according to time registered during the year.
2)
Also includes the cases that were registered as tip-off cases and investigated by the
Enforcement Department.
3)
From the date the case was opened until it was closed.
4)
Registered hours from the time the case was opened until it was closed.
5)
Total hours for the entire processing time, regardless of calendar year, has been calculated based on the hourly cost in the year the case was closed.
6)
From the date the Swedish Competition Authority submitted a summons application to Stockholm
District Court until the case was settled in the final instance.
7)
From the date the Swedish Competition Authority submitted a summons application to the
Administrative Court until the case was settled in the final instance.
94
Financial review
Activities financed by appropriations and contributions (SEK ‘000)
Appropriations Other income
Costs
Year
2014 2013 2012
20142013 2012
2014 2013 2012
Competition 1
Public Procurement 1
Procurement support
function 2
Total
116 936 104 769 104 012
27 430
28 491 30 035
-
-
-
144 366 133 260 134 047
772
1 181
1 562
977
2 478
-
116 847 106 331 106 490
28 408 29 468 30 035
31 489
-
33 442 2 539
-
2 478
32 553
-
177 808 135 799 136 525
The distribution of costs and appropriations is based on registered time
Personnel and premises costs are actual costs; other costs were allocated on the basis of registered time.
1)
2)
Revenue collection (SEK ’000)
Income Contributed to Central Government budget
Year
2014 20132012
2014 2013 2012
Competition fines
Procurement fines
Total
2 479
13 704
16 183
35 000
7 287
42 287
11 390
883
12 273
2 479
13 704
16 183
35 000
7 287
42 287
11 390
883
12 273
Transfers (SEK ‘000)
Year
Received from Central Government Contributions paid Financial costs
budget/other public authorities
2014 2013 2012
2014 2013 2012 2014 20132012
Competition
of which, court costs
of which, research
Public Procurement
of which, research
Total
7 310
1 457
5 853
3 870
3 870
11 180
16 267
9 000
7 267
3 272
3 272
19 539
6 461
256
6 205
3 848
3 848
10 309
7 300
1 447
5 853
3 870
3 870
11 170
16 267
9 000
7 267
3 272
3 272
19 539
6 459
254
6 205
3 848
3 848
10 307
10
10
0
0
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
2
Reports issued on
government assignments
Assignments under instructions, appropriation directions
and special assignments (SEK ‘000)
Ref. no. Assignment Funds received
Costs incl. overheads
517/2013
Assignment to evaluate the care choice system in the 1 000
1 918
field of primary care and specialised outpatient care 727/2013 Assignment to prepare for the transfer and integration of -
certain duties concerning procurement support 759/2013 Assignment to conduct a preliminary study on electronic procurement
-
229
160/2014 & Assignment to develop and proactively spread guidance services 2 361
554
246/2014 for the procurement of health and medical care and to operate a
national database for the notification of the system of choice
247/2014 Assignment to hold training courses in the procurement of 1 100
728
health and medical care for the elderly
278/2014 Assignment to provide guidance services for the procurement
-
252
of elderly housing
95
Summary of
significant information
(SEK ‘000)
2014 2013 2012 20112010
Credit line granted by the Swedish National Debt Office
12 000
12 000
12 000
12 000 12 000
Credit line drawn at the end of the financial year
4 995
2 735
5 235
6 747
6 424
Account credit granted with the Swedish 18 000
8 000
8 000
8 000
8 000
National Debt Office
Account credit drawn over the year
0
0
0
0
345
Interest expense on interest account
-
1
-
-
Interest income on interest account
88
193
247
304
54
Income from charges, etc. that the Authority appropriates
853
1 352
2 176
971
2 181
(the Authority appropriates of all income from charges, etc.)
Total income calculated under Appropriation Directions
1 200
1 200
1 200
1 200
1 200
Appropriation credit granted
24 01:15 Appropriation envelope
13 789
4 030
3 983
3 835
3 797
24 01:16 Competition research
411
411
405
430
395
24 01:21 Financing of litigation costs
1 800
1 800
1 800
1 000
1 000
Appropriation credit drawn
-
-
-
-
Appropriation savings
1 711
7 368
3 235
2 025
3 769
24 01:16 Competition research
103
257
900
361
210
24 01:21 Financing of litigation costs
16 542
9 000
17 744
19 823 28 626
FTEs
170 132 134 124121
Average number of employees
197
152
154
138
136
Annual operating cost per employee
1 033
1 007
996
1 069
1 039
Change in capital for the year
-
-
-
-
700
Change in capital brought forward
-
-
-
-
-700
Transfers according to Note 10 Authority Capital
-
-
-
-
Closing authority capital
-
-
-
-
96
Income statement
(SEK ‘000)
Note
20142013
Operating income
Income from appropriations
144 366
133 260
Income from charges and other payments
2
853
1 352
Income from grants
3
32 489
977
Financial income
4
100
210
Total
177 808
135 799
Operating expenses
Employee benefit expenses
5
-133 278
-100 014
Expenses for premises
-17 833
-14 290
Other operating costs
-24 447
-18 851
Financial expenses
4
-20
-54
Depreciations and impairments
6
-2 230
-2 590
Total
-177 808
-135 799
Operational results
0
0
Revenue collection work
7
Unappropriated income from charges and other payments
16 183
42 287
Funds contributed to Central Government Budget
-16 183
-42 287
Balance
00
Transfers
8
Funds received from Central Government Budget to finance grants
11 180
19 539
Financial costs
-10
0
Grants paid
-11 170
-19 539
Balance
00
Change in capital for the year
0
0
97
Balance sheet
Assets (SEK ’000) Note 31/12/2014
31/12/2013
Tangible assets
6
Cost of improvements to leased property
687
979
Machinery, equipment, fixtures and fittings, etc.
4 121
1 855
Total
4 808
2 834
Short-term receivables
Accounts receivable
9
2
3
Receivables from other public authorities
10
3 394
1 739
Other short-term receivables
11
58
59
Total
3 454
1 801
Cut-off items
Prepaid expenses
12
6 304
4 240
Total
6 304
4 240
Settlement account with the government
Settlement account with the government
13
-933
-6 784
Total
-933
-6 784
Cash and bank balances
Balance in interest account with Swedish National Debt Office 14
19 917
18 922
Total
19 917
18 922
Total assets
33 550
21 013
Capital and liabilities (SEK ’000)
Authority Capital
Change in capital brought forward
0
0
Change in capital as per income statement
0
0
Total
00
Provisions
Provisions for pensions and similar obligations
15
1 270
1 258
Total
1 270
1 258
Liabilities etc.
Loans from Swedish National Debt Office
16
4 995
2 735
Short-term liabilities to other public authorities
17
4 062
3 051
Accounts payable
5 692
3 338
Other short-term liabilities
18
2 466
1 714
Total
17 215
10 838
Cut-off items
19
Accrued expenses
11 728
8 394
Unappropriated contributions
3 337
523
Total
15 065
8 917
Total capital and liabilities
33 550
21 013
98
Statement of appropriations
Statement of appropriations (SEK ‘000)
as of 31 December 2014 Allocation for the year Opening under
Total Closing
transfer Appropriation With- available Expen- transfer
Appropriations
amount
Directions drawal
amount diture amount
24 01:15 ap.1 Swedish Competition Authority, 7 368
137 892
-3 339
141 922 -140 210
1 711
appropriation envelope
24 01:16 ap.1 Competition research, 257
13 685
13 942
-13 839
103
24 01:21 ap.2 Financing of litigation costs, 9 000
18 000
-9 000
18 000
-1 458 16 542
Total appropriations
16 626
169 577 -12 339 173 864 -155 507 18 357
Statement of revenue title (SEK ’000)
as of 31 December 2014
Revenue title 2714 Financial penalties, etc.
Income
2 479
Procurement fines
13 704
Total financial penalties
16 183
Statement of charge activity where the income is appropriated (SEK ’000)
Activity
through 2012 +/-
2013
2014
2014
+/- IncomeExpense
Charge income, Swedish Post and Telecom
0
0
Charge income, SIDA
0
0
Charge income, other
-
-
Total charge income
723
89
41
853
2014
+/-
-723
0
-89
0
-
-
-812
2014
+/0
0
-
99
Notes
Note 1
Accounting policies
This annual report was prepared in accordance with the Ordinance (2000:605) concerning Annual
Reports and Budget Documentation. The Swedish Competition Authority’s reporting complies with
generally accepted accounting principles as interpreted by the general advice of the Swedish National
Financial Management Authority (ESV) relating to Section 6 of the Bookkeeping Ordinance (2000:606).
Accounts receivable and receivables are carried at nominal value. Accrued or prepaid expenses and
accrued or deferred income that amount to SEK 50,000 or more are distributed over a period of time. Fixed assets
All acquisitions with an economic life of at least three years and a cost of at least half of one base amount
are recognised as a fixed asset. Objects falling below this fixed amount but which belong to a functioning
department are added to other objects and defined as an asset. The cost is depreciated on a straight-line
basis based on the assessed economic life. Installations in and rebuilding work at leased premises are
recognised as the cost of improvements to other property. If the end date for the lease contract is shorter
than the financial life span of an asset, then the depreciation period is calculated from after the expected
utilisation period. Tangible assets
Depreciation period
Computers and accessories
Other office equipment Furniture
Other
3 years
5 years
6-10 years
6 years
The Director General’s monthly salary is SEK 115,000. The Director General has a car for business and
private use. Total gross earnings paid in cash for 2014 amount to SEK 1,381,937. The Director General has
not reported involvement in any additional assignments.
Note 2
Income from charges and other payments, subtotal (SEK ’000)
20142013
Publication sales under Section 4 of the Fees Ordinance
10
14
Income under Section 15 of the Fees Ordinance (copies etc.) 26
18
Payments from SIDA for aid projects
89
720
Payments from the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority
723
600
Other income
5
Total income 853
1 352
100
Note 3
Income from grants (SEK ’000)
20142013
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs – evaluate the care choice system in the field of primary care and specialised outpatient care
1 000
977
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs – develop and proactively 554
spread guidance services for the procurement of health and medical care
and to operate a national database for the notification of the system of choice
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs – hold training courses in the procurement of health and medical care for the elderly
728
The Ministry for Rural Affairs – skills-enhancing initiatives for the public procurement of food
158
Ministry of the Environment and Energy – procurement criteria and
comprehensive support for a nontoxic preschool environment
The Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications – develop and deliver lists of energy-efficient goods as a form of support for contracting parties
960
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 5 750
– procurement support functions
VINNOVA – procurement support functions
7 500
The Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency 15 200
– procurement support functions
Total income from grants 32 489
977
Note 4
Financial income and expenses (SEK ’000)
20142013
Interest income linked to interest account at the Swedish National Debt Office
88
193
Other financial income 12
17
Total financial income
100
210
Interest expenses linked to loans with the Swedish National Debt Office
13
46
Other financial expenses 7
8
Total financial expenses
20
54
Note 5
Employee benefit expenses (SEK ’000)
Payroll expenses (excl. employer’s contributions, contract
premiums and other statutory and contractual charges)
Other employee expenses
Total employee benefit expenses
20142013
85 624
47 654
133 278
64 258
35 756
100 014
Note 6
Tangible assets (SEK ’000) 31/12/2014 101
31/12/2013
Opening balance – costs
4 300
4 300
The year’s acquisitions
500
The year’s disposals
-
Closing balance – costs
4 800
4 300
Depreciations
Opening accumulated balance 3 321
2 528
The year’s depreciations
792
793
-
Closing accumulated balance 4 113
3 321
Book value
687
979
Other
8 502
8 446
1 753
90
0
-34
10 255
8 502
Depreciations
6 805
417
598
0
-34
7 369
Book value
2 469
1 133
Computers
4 199
4 202
1 950
99
0
-102
6 149
4 199
Depreciations
2 380
1 021
1 199
0
-102
3 477
Book value
1 652
722
102
Note 7
Revenue collection activities (SEK ’000)
20142013
Unappropriated income from charges etc.
2 479
35 000
Procurement fines
13 704
7 287
Total revenue collection activities
16 183
42 287
Note 8
Transfers (SEK ’000)
20142013
Research grants 9 723
10 539
Compensation for litigation costs
1 457
9 000
Total transfers
11 180
19 539
Note 9
Accounts receivable (SEK ’000)
20142013
Accounts receivable 2
3
Note 10
Receivables from other public authorities (SEK ’000)
20142013
Receivable in respect of input value added tax
2 671
1 684
Receivable from other public authorities
723
55
Total
3 394
1 739
Note 11
Other receivables (SEK ’000)
20142013
Receivable from the European
35
59
Commission 23
Total
58
59
Note 12
Cut-off items, prepaid expenses (SEK ’000)
20142013
Rent paid in advance
4 991
3675
Other prepaid expenses
1 313
565
Total
6 304
4 240
Note 13
Settlement with the government (SEK ’000)
103
20142013
Revenue collection
Opening balance 00
Recognised under revenue title
-16 183
-42 287
Revenue collection funds paid to non-interest-bearing flow
16 183
42 287
Funds from interest account that contributed to revenue title
Liabilities relating to revenue collection
0
0
Appropriations in non-interest-bearing flow
24 01:21 Financing of litigation costs, appropriation envelope
Opening balance 00
Recognised against appropriations
1 458
9 000
Funds attributable to transfers paid to non-interest-bearing flow
-1 458
-9 000
Receivables relating to appropriations in non-interest-bearing flow
0
0
Appropriations in interest-bearing flow
Opening balance -7 626
-4 135
Recognised against appropriations
140 210
130 185
24 01:16 Competition Research, appropriation envelope
13 839
13 834
Total recognised against appropriations
154 049
144 019
Appropriated funds added to interest account
-137 892
-134 319
-13 685
-13 686
Total appropriated funds contributing to the interest account
-151 577
-148 005
Repayment of appropriated funds
3 339
495
Total appropriated funds repaid to interest account
3 339
495
Liabilities relating to appropriations in interest-bearing flow
-1 814
-7 626
Receivables relating to holiday pay liability that have not been
recognised under appropriations
Opening balance 842
1 062
Recognised against appropriations over the year under the exception clause
39
-220
Receivables relating to holiday pay liability that have not been
recognised under appropriations
881
842
Total settlement with the government
-933
-6 784
Note 14
Balance in interest account with Swedish National Debt Office (SEK ’000)2014
2013
Appropriation savings on the appropriation
24 01:15 Swedish Competition Authority
1 711
Appropriation savings on the appropriation 24 01:16 Competition research
103
Other funds
18 103
257
11 297
Total balance in interest account
18 922
19 917
7 368
104
Note 15
Provisions for pensions and similar obligations (SEK ’000)
20142013
Opening balance, pensions
Provision for pensions
Special payroll tax for pension provisions
Provision for skills transfer
Closing balance
1 258
-195
-47
254
1 270
Note 16
Loans from Swedish National Debt Office (SEK ’000)
1 854
-1 000
-242
646
1 258
20142013
Credit line granted
12 000
12 000
Opening balance 2 735
5 235
New loans raised over the year
4 303
90
Repayments over the year
2 043
2 590
Total closing balance
4 995
2 735
Note 17
Short-term liabilities to other public authorities (SEK ’000)
20142013
Liability to the Swedish Tax Agency (employer’s contributions, etc.)
2 620
1 766
Accounts payable
1 227
1 083
Other short-term liabilities to other public authorities
215
202
Total
4 062
3 051
Note 18
Other short-term liabilities (SEK ’000)
20142013
Employee withholding tax
2 461
1 714
Other liabilities to staff
3
Other short-term liabilities
2
Total
2 466
1 714
Note 19
Cut-off items (SEK ’000)
Accrued holiday pay liability, including social security contributions
Accrued salary payments
Other accrued costs, governmental
Other accrued costs, non-governmental
Total accrued expenses
Unappropriated grants from other public Authorities
Total unappropriated grants
Total cut-off items
20142013
10 366
0
125
1 237
11 728
3 337
3 337
15 065
6 873
56
165
1 300
8 394
523
523
8 917
Note 20
Sickness absence (per cent)
105
20142013
Total
1,81,3
Women
2,41,4
Men
1,11,0
Employees aged 29 and under
1,3
0,9
Employees aged 30-49 2
1,4
Employees aged 50 and over
1,6
1,0
Long-term sick leave as a percentage of the total number
on sick leave (60 days or more)
20,6
16,6
Stockholm, 12 February 2015
I hereby certify that this annual report provides a fair and accurate illustration of
operational performance, as well as the income and expenditure of the Swedish
Competition Authority and its financial position.
Dan Sjöblom
Director General
GENERALDIREKTÖREN HAR ORDET KONKURRENSVERKET ÅRSREDOVISNING 2014
Project owner: Kristina Geiger
Project manager: Rose-Marie Kellquist Sundström
Editor: Katarina Bentzer Berglind and Cecilia Tollefeldt
Project staff: Christofer Näsholm
Project assistant: Marcus Lind
Design and production: Mari Forsell Design Åre
Images: Photographer Andreas Eklund AB and photo agency Matton
Print: Wikströms, Uppsala
106
Address SE-103 85 Stockholm
Phone +46 8-700 16 00
Fax +46 8-24 55 43
[email protected]

The Swedish Competition Authority - Annual

Transcription

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