The Swedish Competition Authority - Annual report 2014 · 4 swedish competition authority 2014...

SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY

2014 Annual Report

ContentsMessage from the Director General 4The year in brief 6Our mandate 10

Competition 14Law enforcement and supervision 16Examples of Competition Act cases 19Improvement measures 28Knowledge and communication 29Collaboration 32

Public procurement 34The consolidated procurement support function 36Government assignments 48Law enforcement and supervision 48Examples of procurement supervision 50Applications for procurement fines 56Knowledge and communication 62Improvement measures 64Collaboration 65

Research 66

International cooperation 72EU cooperation 74EU statistics 76Nordic cooperation 76Other international cooperation 76

Staff and organisation 80

Facts and financial statements 88Facts in brief 90Financial review 94Reports issued on government assignments 94Summary of significant information 95Income statement 96Balance sheet 97Statement of appropriations 98Notes 99

A year of progress and change2014 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 procure-

ment 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 out-

comes. We have worked on government

assignments, including guidelines for the

procurement of nontoxic goods for pre-

schools 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 apart-

ments. 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 adminis-

trative fines to be imposed in a total of 82

cases, 20 of which were in 2014. In one case,

concerning Falu Municipality, an adminis-

trative 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 violat-

ing 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.

4 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL

Dan Sjöblom Director General,

Swedish Competition Authority

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 5

6 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT YEAR IN BRIEF

YEAR IN BRIEF SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 7

2014 – Year in brief1 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 adminis-

trative 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 partner-

ship 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.

8 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 recommend-

ations 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 9

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 project-

based 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.

10 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT OUR MANDATE

Our mandateWe serve to promote effective competition among private and public operations to the benefit of consumers, and to achieve an effective public procurement pro-cess to the benefit of the general public and market participants. Read more about our service on the following pages.

OUR MANDATE SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 11

12 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT OUR MANDATE

Our mandate The Swedish Competition Authority is an

administrative authority for matters con-

cerning competition and public procure-

ment. We serve to promote effective com-

petition among private and public opera-

tions 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 con-

flicts 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 procure-

ment 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 appropria-

tion 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 certaintyOur continuous dedication to quality

assurance aims to ensure that our adminis-

tration 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 repre-

sentatives 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 proceed-

ings 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 13

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 workTip-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 frame-

work that we are tasked with enforcing.

Responding to enquiries is part of our core

operation and helps increase our under-

standing of our target groups’ needs and

helps us assign priority to the rights matters.

If we find that we are unable to resolve

competition or procurement-related

problems through the legislation in place,

following the conclusion of the investiga-

tion 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 procure-

ment 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.

14 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT COMPETITION

CompetitionPre-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.

COMPETITION SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 15


CompetitionLaw Enforcement and supervisionThe 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 activitiesPre-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 frame-

work which we are charged with enforcing,

our decisions, and how we approach the

task of assigning priorities. Among other

measures, we developed a new prioritisa-

tion 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 concern-

ing abuse of a dominant position, and a

third was our analysis illustrating that the

Swedish Bankers’ Association’s amortisa-

tion 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 Göteborgs-

Posten.

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 interna-

tional magazines. The Swedish Competition

Authority’s own newsletter and press

releases have helped raise further aware-

ness 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 concern-

ing 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 Competi-

tion 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 investig-

ations 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

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 cartelsEfforts 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 underscor-

ing the importance of paying attention to

the risks of bid rigging in the public procure-

ment 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.


Anti-competitive cooperation

Summons application:Data communications connections in GothenburgThe Swedish Competition Authority has

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 communica-

tions 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 radioIn 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 advertis-

ing time in certain broadcasting areas.

The companies have now made amend-

ments 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]

Summons applicationRemovals sectorThe 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 compa-

nies 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]

Active investigation:Questions raised concerning competition in the market for online hotel bookingsIn 2014, the Swedish Competition Authority

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]

Active investigation:Suspicion of anti-competitive collusion in the waste sectorThe Swedish Competition Authority has per-

formed 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

Examples of Competition Act cases Presented below is a selection of supervision matters that the Swedish Competition Authority has investigated during the year.


from the company that won the procure-

ment 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 FederationThe 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]

Dismissal due to corrective measures taken during the investigation: Swedish Bankers’ Association’s amortisation recommendationsThe Swedish Competition Authority has

investigated whether the Swedish Bankers’

Association’s distribution of amortisation

recommendations to its members constitu-

ted a violation of the rules governing anti-

competitive cooperation. Under the amortis-

ation recommendations, the member com-

panies 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]

Active investigation: Suspicion of anti-competitive cooperation in the environmen-tal and waste sectorBased on suspicions of anti-competitive

cooperation, the Swedish Competition

Authority performed unannounced

inspections at companies in the environ-

mental and waste sector. The raids constitu-

ted 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 FastighetsförmedlingIn 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 Fastighets-

förmedling. Under the terms of the transac-

tion, 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 Fastighetsför-

medling, would have jointly commanded

about 40 per cent of the property transac-

tions in Sweden, had the purchase been

completed. The Swedish Competition Autho-

rity 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 Fastig-

hetsförmedling 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 marketTeliaSonera 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 communica-

tions 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 acquisi-

tion, 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 communica-

tions 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 compe-

tition and decided not to take any action.

[Ref no.: 89/2014]

Gas springs for swivel chairsSpinnaker 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

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 manu-

facturers in Sweden. However, gas springs

comprise a minor share of the end produc-

tion and of the production costs. The

investigation did not result in evidence indi-

cating that, following the acquisition, it

would be profitable for Triton and SBS to

prevent competing swivel chair manufactu-

rers 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 DagbladThe Swedish Competition Authority

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


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, follow-

ing the acquisition, Martin & Servera, would

prioritise Galatea’s products to its custo-

mers, ahead of others in its supply. The

Swedish Competition Authority concluded

that there are several options available for

suppliers of alcoholic beverages in market-

ing 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 marketThe 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]

Active investigation: Abuse of dominant position – exclusion of competitorDuring 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 pro-

vides securities trading services is suspec-

ted 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

Dismissal due to corrective measures taken during the investigation: Helsingborg Municipality – Inport Intelligent Port Systems AB The Swedish Competition Authority

investigated whether InPort’s sales activi-

ties 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 Competi-

tion Authority concluded its investigation

and closed the case. [Ref no.: 535/2012]

Active investigation: Municipal association Tolkförmedling Väst Following market contacts and an analysis

of the municipal association’s sales activi-

ties, the Swedish Competition Authority

resumed its investigation of Tolkförmedling

Väst (a provider of translation and interpre-

ting services). The Swedish Competition

Authority is investigating whether the muni-

cipal 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 barsDuring 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 Competi-

tion Authority gathered an overall impres-

sion 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

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 effectsThe 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]

Swedish Competition Authority

Däckia Aktiebolag and Euromaster Aktiebolag22/11/2010. Ref. no.: 605/2010Petition for Däckia and Euro- master to pay SEK 4,397,000 and SEK 4,745,000 respectively, for anti-competitive collusion.

Räddningstjänsten Dala Mitt30/05/2011. Ref. no.: 392/2011Petition 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.

Borås Municipality’s service office12/01/2012. Ref. no.: 45/2012Petition 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.

AB Strömstads Badanstalt09/11/2012. Ref. no.: 628/2012Petition for AB Strömstads Badanstalt to be prohibited from operating anti-competitive gym and spa activities. A fine of SEK 2 million was also requested.

Swedbank Franchise AB17/06/2014. Ref. no.: 426/2014Petition to prohibit Swedbank Franchise’s acquisition of Svensk Fastighetsförmedling. A fine of SEK 250 million was also requested if the transac-tion was completed.

Stockholm District Court

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.

30/01/2013. (T 7924-11)The District Court rejected the case. The Swedish Competition Authority appealed the matter to the Market Court.

31/03/2014. (T 911-12)The District Court sided with the Swedish Competition Authority and prohibited the activities.

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.

16/12/2014. (T 3629-14)The District Court upheld the Swedish Competition Authori-ty’s petition. Swedbank Franchise appealed the matter to the Market Court.

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 the Swedish Competition Authority’s petition.

Currently awaiting hearing in the Market Court (A4/14)




Court decisions and judgments in 2014


Swedish Competition Act in briefThe 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.

SanctionsTo stop ongoing violations, the Swedish

Competition Authority may decide on an

injunction, with or without imposing fines

for non-compliance. The Swedish Competi-

tion Authority may also file an application

with the Stockholm District Court seeking

an order for the company to pay an

administrative fine. The Swedish Competi-

tion 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. Munici-

pal 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.


The Swedish Competition Authority’s supervision of the Transparency ActThe Transparency Act is based on state aid

rules and imposes requirements on dis-

closures, predominantly in publicly owned

or financed companies. The Swedish

Competition Authority ensures compliance

with the Act. In 2013, the Swedish Competi-

tion Authority concluded that Sweden did

not have to submit a report to the European

Commission since the state and municipali-

ties 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 ActOur Appropriation Directions for 2014

stipulate that we are to report and com-

ment on the views of our stakeholders

regarding our law enforcement practices.

For the 22nd consecutive year, the Swedish

Competition Authority conducted a stake-

holder 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 con-

ducted by Institutet för kvalitetsindikatorer.

EffectsAll 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 counter-

acts serious violations of the competition

rules, the percentage of favourable respon-

ses from trade associations and authorities

and agencies has increased. For other

groups, the results remained unchanged

compared with 2013.

AttitudesThe share of those with a positive inclina-

tion 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 respon-

dents said that it was favourable, which is

an increase on last year.

ConfidenceWhen benchmarking the various stakehol-

der 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 percen-

tage 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).


Our stakeholders’ assessment of the Swedish Competition Authority’s case management, per cent

2014 2013 2012 Mergers Pos Neg Pos Neg Pos Neg

Made contact quickly and easily 91 0 89 3 94 0Service 87 0 91 3 88 0Expertise and knowledge of staff 55 9 74 6 56 9Understanding of your case/your query 60 16 60 9 65 6Information about how the case would proceed 54 7 49 9 56 9Quick/straightforward information about the progress of the case 62 9 51 3 56 9Decision was clear and well-reasoned 65 4 66 3 85 0Overall opinion of how your case was handled 75 2 80 0 77 0Would you contact the Swedish Competition Authority again? 63 7 71 6 94 3

2014 2013 2012 Competition and procurement cases Pos Neg Pos Neg Pos Neg

Made contact quickly and easily 70 11 61 11 71 11Service 79 6 65 9 69 10Expertise and knowledge of staff 66 9 56 11 51 13Understanding of your case/your query 62 16 46 25 45 24Information about how the case would proceed 46 18 40 19 38 21Quick/straightforward information about the progress of the case 49 17 40 21 42 26Decision was clear and well-reasoned 52 16 33 19 29 34Overall 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


Assessment of the Swedish Competition Authority’s case managementIn 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, understand-

ing 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 com-

petition in the public and private sectors.

We are to present proposals for pro-compe-

titive 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.

ReportsIn our reports, we analyse how different

markets work and submit proposals for

improvement measures.

Charting the sales activities of

municipal companies

The Swedish Competition Authority has

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 compa-

nies 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 governmentFollowing 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 under-

scored that the government should provide

guidance to the Swedish Sports Confedera-

tion to ensure that the rules are designed to

prevent the associations that use adminis-

tration systems other than IdrottOnline

from being placed at a disadvantage and

not to limit the ability of other administra-

tion systems to compete with IdrottOnline.

Responses to official consultationsBy 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 Compe-

tition 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 investiga-

tion’s proposal that aims to expedite

processing times in the planning and

building process (Ref. no.: 260/2014).

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 administra-

tion documents (Ref. no.: 200/2014).

Knowledge and communicationThe 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 competi-

tion issues to our stakeholders.


Konkurrensverket.seOur website, which received nearly 900,000

page views in 2014, is the Swedish Competi-

tion 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.

Almedalen WeekDuring 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 procure-

ment for welfare. The seminars, which

were also broadcast live via the Swedish

Competition Authority’s website, were

popular and enjoyed a high level of attend-

ance. A total of 1,255 individuals participa-

ted in the five seminars, either live on site

or via the webcasts.

Electronic newsletter:Procurement and competitionThe electronic newsletter on competition is

published once a month through the month

of July. As of August, the Swedish Competi-

tion 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.

Social mediaThe Swedish Competition Authority’s

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 communica-

tion channels. The Swedish Competition

Authority’s has also initiated an effort to

gain greater exposure in such channels as

LinkedIn, and begun developing communi-

cations in motion graphics.

Information meetingsDuring the year, employees have participa-

ted 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.

During the year, the Swedish Competition

Authority’s employees have held speeches

and presentations in more than 170

different forums. During the autumn of


also launched a series of breakfast semi-

nars 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 competitionThe Swedish Competition Authority is

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 Competi-

tion 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.

Our stakeholders’ knowledge of the Competition ActOur Appropriation Directions for 2014


ment 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.

Awareness Awareness of the Competition

Act remains high among all stakeholder

groups. As an overall group, 94 per cent

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 incre-

ased 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 autho-

rity in charge. As in previous years, aware-

ness of what authority is in charge of en-

forcing the Competition Act was the lowest

among SMEs at 34 per cent, and highest

among corporate lawyers at 88 per cent.

Knowledge Knowledge of the principal are-

as 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 stake-

holder groups and was essentially unchang-

ed 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.

Knowledge of the Competition Act, per cent 2014 2013 2012

Companies with 200 or more employees 72 72 71 Companies with less than 200 employees 80 77 76 Municipalities/county councils 79 75 74Corporate lawyers 88 84 85Trade associations 83 84 85 Public authorities and agencies 79 65 65


CollaborationsThe 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 competitionOn certain matters, there are several

authorities, committees and investigators

that must consult with the Swedish Compe-

tition 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 Competi-

tion Authority ahead of decisions on

issuing permits to broadcast TV, search-

able Teletext services and commercial

radio. [Ref. no.: 127/2014]

» The Swedish Energy Markets Inspector-

ate 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 collaborationsThe 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 improve-

ment 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-Corrup-

tion 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 regula-

tion 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).


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 procurementPublic 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 procure-

ment process. Read about public procurement on the following pages.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 35


Public procurementThe consolidated procurement support functionIn 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 integrat-

ing the operations, capitalising on the

shared knowledge available, and maintain-

ing 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 procure-

ment 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 prioritis-

ation 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 procure-

ment 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 procurementPublic procurement is a strategic resource

that can be used to achieve social objectives

and other values that are key to the opera-

tions 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 signific-

ant 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 lawThe regulatory framework governing public

procurement is based on EU directives. It is

vast and can occasionally seem inacces-

sible. 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 authori-

ties and suppliers understanding the

options available to them under procure-

ment 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.

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 con-

tract, environmental criteria, the applic-

ation 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 practicesA 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 require-

ments enables contracting authorities to

help contribute to sustainable development

and to achieving Sweden’s national en-

vironmental quality objectives.


support function helps contracting authori-

ties 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.


tion on the market availability of sustainable

goods, services and construction con-

tractors. 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.

The Swedish Competition Authority

provides criteria to make it easier for

contracting authorities to impose environ-

mental 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 procure-

ments 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 collabora-

ting with key stakeholders from the public

and private sectors, including purchasers,

suppliers, trade associations, environmen-

tal 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 deve-

loping new criteria and the active manage-

ment of existing criteria were both updated

and integrated into the new organization. Among other measures, the updates invol-

ved 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 Competi-

tion Authority can conduct support initiati-

ves 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 consolid-

ated 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 informa-

tion on the criteria. The Swedish Competi-

tion Authority also exchanges experiences

related to criteria development with foreign

authorities within the framework of inter-

national cooperation. Our broad mandate

allows sustainability matters to be highligh-

ted in more forums than in the past.

Statistics on downloaded criteria documentsTotal in 2014 10 487Total, July–December 4 967Total, July–December 2013 4 163Increase from autumn 2013 to 2014 19,3 %

The following work was con-ducted in the autumn of 2014Active management/administration: 58 subgroups of a total of 129.Requirements adjusted: 116 of 697Requirements 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.



The Swedish Competition Authority is currently developing criteria specific to the procurement of products for preschools. The main products encom-passed by the Nontoxic Preschools project are furniture, toys and textiles, as well as kitchen and serving equipment.


Nontoxic preschools


been commissioned by the government to

help municipalities draft procurement crite-

ria 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 non-

toxic environment. Children are considered

particularly sensitive to exposure to

hazardous chemicals, such as endocrine

disruptors. There is considerable interest

surrounding children’s exposure to chemi-

cals 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 prelimi-

nary study that will form the basis for the

work on outlining criteria.

The Swedish Competition Authority is

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 efficiency-

enhancement project


conducting a project aimed at completing

the energy efficiency-enhancement assign-

ment with which the Swedish Environmen-

tal Management Council was tasked from

2010-2014. The aim of the project is to

facilitate public sector usage of procure-

ment as a means to achieve energy efficien-

cy. The project is being financed by the

Swedish Energy Agency and involves

continuously updating the Swedish Compe-

tition Authority’s website for energy-

efficient 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 municipa-

lities 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 concer-

ning the ordinance (2014:480) on authori-

ties’ procurement of energy-efficient goods,

services and buildings. The Swedish Com-

petition Authority has initiated discussions

with the Swedish National Procurement

Services on energy-efficiency enhance-

ments 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.

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 guideli-nes for lighting.


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 contrac-

ting 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 procurementUnder the procurement regulations,

contracting authorities have the ability to

impose requirements on social considera-

tions 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 procure-

ment. 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 indivi-

duals 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 representa-

tives 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 proces-

ses. The core point of the project is to

investigate the degree of flexibility availa-

ble to contracting authorities to impose

requirements that are consistent with the

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 flexibili-

ty to impose labour law terms and condi-

tions 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]


Procurement methodologyDuring the year, the Swedish Competition

Authority initiated a number of projects

focusing on practical procurement metho-

dology. The work centres on describing how

the process works in practice, with particu-

lar 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 contract-

ing 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 sectorWork 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 govern-

ment. 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 procurementInnovation 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 econo-

mic, 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 procure-

ment practices to make the process easier

for contracting authorities and suppliers.

The support initiatives in the area aim to

both increase knowledge about the oppor-

tunities 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 procure-

ment 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 consump-

tion 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 procure-

ment processes is often associated with

substantial administrative burdens that

impede SMEs.

By improving the design of the procure-

ment 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, demonstra-

ting how the contracting authorities can

take SMEs into consideration or provide

support in matters of dividing contracts into

subcontracts, as well as identifying reason-

able qualification and financial require-ments. 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 accumu-

late knowledge and experience, while

keeping the perspective of SMEs, among

others, in focus. Our procurement support

efforts geared toward contracting authori-

ties, 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 Competi-

tion Authority participated in the procure-

ment 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.


Electronic purchasing process and standardisation effortsAn 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 procure-

ment 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 frame-

work 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 Competi-

tion 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 statisticsStatistics 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 organisa-

tions 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 Competi-

tion 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.


Pre-emptive measures on anti-corruption and conflicts of interestBoth national and international experiences

demonstrate that there is a risk of detri-

mental and improper influences such as

conflicts of interest, corruption and anti-

competitive practices in public procure-

ment 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 dissemi-

nation 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 detrimen-

tal and improper influences.

Government-commissioned procurement assignmentsIn 2014, the Swedish Competition Authority

worked on a number of government assign-

ments. 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]

» 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-enhan-

cing initiatives for the public procure-

ment of food. [Ref. no.: 461/2014]

Law enforcement and supervision in the field of procurementOur supervision activities remained priori-

tised in 2014, and the illegal direct award of

contracts was in focus. The Swedish Com-

petition 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 administra-

tive fines on our own initiative as well as

five applications for mandatory administra-

tive fines to the Administrative Court. In

addition, we processed and concluded 50

different cases under the Public Procure-

ment Act. We also enforced the Act on

System of Choice in the Public Sector.

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 supervisionOur 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 regula-

tory 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 supervisionDuring the year, the Swedish Competition

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 adminis-

trative fines. Through discussions and by

working together, we have subsequently

been able to help these contracting authori-

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 procedu-

res and self-correcting action.

During the year, we reached ten enforce-

ment decisions concerning violations of the

regulatory framework governing procure-

ment 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 suspen-

sion. 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.


Supervision decision:A question of whether a foundation was a body governed by public lawAfter the Foundation for Strategic Research

had signed a contract for event services

without engaging in the public procure-

ment of said services, the Swedish Competi-

tion 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 founda-

tion had thus violated the regulatory frame-

work 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 ActThe Swedish Competition Authority

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]

Active investigation:Älmhult Municipality’s procurement of a partner for the purchase of unprepared meatThe Swedish Competition Authority is

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 similari-

ties with the construction industry’s model

for what is termed “partnering”. The

question is whether the structure is in viola-

tion 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 servicesThe 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

Examples of procurement supervision cases Presented below is a selection of the supervision cases the Swedish Competition Authority has investigated during the year.


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 acknowled-

ged the presence of larger structural issues

related to the procurement of staffing

services for healthcare personnel. Follow-

ing 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 yearThrough 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 adminis-

trative fines being filed with the Adminis-

trative 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 Competi-

tion 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

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 circumstancesIn 2011, Malmö Municipality conducted a

public procurement process for a frame-

work 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]


Malmö Municipality had previously – in

July 2012 – been convicted by the Adminis-

trative Court in Malmö of illegal direct award

of contracts for snow removal services, for

which it was ordered to pay an administra-

tive 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 administra-

tive fines.

Decision to dismiss case:The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration’s purchase of trucksFollowing authorisation by the government,

the Swedish Defence Materiel Administra-

tion (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

Swedish Competition Authority concluded 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 re-

medies. Accordingly, the Swedish Competi-

tion Authority decided that there was no

reason to pursue the matter further and

that the matter would be closed.

[Ref. no.: 761/2013]

Active investigation:Charting of construction collaborationsFollowing an application from the Swedish

Competition Authority, the Stockholm Admi-

nistrative 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 legisla-

tion 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 informa-

tion that has come to the Swedish Competi-

tion Authority’s attention, a number of


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 circum-stances 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.


enforcement cases have been launched

with the aim of both reviewing whether the

specific circumstances in these cases con-

stitute the illegal direct award of contracts,

and of investigating the procurement law

aspects and questions concerning collabo-

rations between a municipality or munici-

pally owned company and private organisa-

tions in carrying out a construction

contract. [Ref. no.: 573/2014, 405/2014,

403/2014 and 538/2013]

Supervisory project:Framework agreements and the waste sectorDuring the year, the Swedish Competition

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 applica-

tion 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 procure-

ment 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 amendmentsThe current legislation governing manda-

tory 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 Procure-

ment Act. In light of the Supreme Adminis-

trative Court’s judgment during the summer, the Swedish Competition Authority

has determined that its current application

is a trivial case, meaning that no adminis-

trative 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 re-

viewed 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 processThe Swedish Competition Authority has

submitted proposals suggesting improve-

ment measures in instances where legisla-

tion hampers an effective public procure-

ment process. These proposals have taken

the shape of official notices to the govern-

ment 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 opportu-

nities for what are termed socially respon-

sible companies and non-profit organisa-

tions 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

Court of Justice of the European Union. This

should ultimately lead to smaller contrac-

ting authorities also taking the chance to

impose such requirements in their procure-

ment processes, which the Swedish Compe-

tition Authority regards as positive.

The Swedish Competition Authority monitors legal developmentsThe Swedish Competition Authority is

tasked with monitoring and reporting on

developments in the field of public procure-

ment, both nationally and internationally.

Our database of court decisions encompas-

ses judgments from administrative courts,

appellate courts and the Supreme Adminis-

trative Court. Since 2010, it has been

mandatory for these courts to submit all

judgments and final decisions in procure-

ment 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 considera-tions will be clarified through the development of best practices and pre-cedents from the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Applications seeking administrative fines in 2014

Applications seeking administrative fines – own initiativeThe 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 Reason fine requested

Eskilstuna MunicipalityRef. no.: 64/2014 SEK 225,000 Direct award of contract for event organising services at a value of SEK 3 million.

Kronoberg County CouncilRef. no.: 65/2014 SEK 200,000 Direct award of consulting services at a value of SEK 2.7 million.

Herrljunga MunicipalityRef. no.: 364/2014 SEK 65,000 Direct award of staffing services at a value of SEK 1.6 million.

Malmö MunicipalityRef. 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 ABRef. no.: 473/2014, 474/2014, SEK 950,000 Direct award of services 475/2014, 476/2014, and construction contracts 477/2014, 478/2014 at a value of SEK 12 million.

Mullsjö MunicipalityRef. 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.

Stockholm County CouncilRef. 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 ABRef. no.: 853/2014 SEK 550,000 Direct award of contracting services at a value of about SEK 7.3 million.


Applications seeking administrative fines in 2014

Applications seeking administrative fines – mandatoryThe 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 Reason fine requested

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Chalmers University of TechnologyRef. 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 MunicipalityRef. no.: 709/2013 SEK 250,000 The contract was allowed to remain in effect due to overriding reasons relating to the public interest.

Nyköping MunicipalityRef. no.: 173/2014 SEK 80,000 The contract was allowed to remain in effect despite being reached in violation of the regulations governing standstill.

Solatum Hus & Hem ABRef. no.: 457/2014 SEK 85,000 The contract was allowed to remain in effect due to overriding reasons relating to the public interest.

Åsele MunicipalityRef. no.: 601/2014 - The contract was allowed to remain in effect due to overriding reasons relating to the public interest.


Court decisions and judgments in 2014 – administrative fines

The Swedish Administrative Supreme Admini-Competition Authority Administrative Court Court of Appeals strative Court

SJ AB 23/01/2013 10/01/2014 Being reviewed by the Ref. no.: 58/2013, 57/2013 (Stockholm Administrative CourtAmount 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.

Växjö Municipality 29/08/2013 11/03/2014 Ref. no.: 488/2013 (Växjö 3386-13) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 81,000 Authority’s request was granted.

Växjö Municipality 29/08/2013 11/03/2014 Ref. no.: 489/2013 (Växjö 3387-13) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 45,000 Authority’s claim was granted.

Växjö Municipality 29/08/2013 11/03/2014 Ref. no.: 490/2013 (Växjö 3388-13) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 101,000 Authority’s claim was granted.

Växjö Municipality 29/08/2013 11/03/2014 Ref. no.: 491/2013 (Växjö 3389-13) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 46,000 Authority’s request was granted.

Haninge Bostäder AB 12/10/2012 03/04/2014 Being reviewed by the Ref. no.: 461/2013 (Stockholm 20749-13) Administrative Court Amount requested: The Swedish Competition (Stockholm 2737-14)SEK 10,000,000 Authority’s request was granted. Eskilstuna Municipality 27/01/2014 23/04/2014 Ref. no.: 64/2014 (Linköping 589-14) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition SEK 225,000 Authority’s request was granted.

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 Authority’s request was granted.

Nyköpings Municipality 05/03/2014 06/05/2014 20/08/2014 29/09/2014Ref. no.: 173/2014 (Linköping 1505-14) (Jönköping 1686-14) (4860-14)Amount requested: The Swedish Competition Leave to appeal Leave to appeal SEK 80,000 Authority’s request was denied; previous denied; previous granted. decision upheld. decision upheld.


The Swedish Administrative Supreme Admini-Competition Authority Administrative Court Court of Appeals strative Court

Region Gotland 06/08/2013 15/05/2014 19/09/2014 Ref. no.: 462/2013 (Stockholm 21274-13) (Stockholm 4062-14) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition Leave to appeal SEK 250,000 Authority’s request was denied; previous granted. decision upheld.

Akademiska Hus AB 11/09/2012 10/06/2014 23/01/2015Ref. no.: 476/2012 (Umeå 1643-12) (Sundsvall 1767-14) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition The Swedish Competition SEK 3,000,000 Authority’s request was Authority’s request was granted. granted.

Stockholm County Council 18/12/2013 27/06/2014 25/09/2014 Ref. no.: 765/2013 (Stockholm 30512-13) (Stockholm 5322-14) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition Leave to appeal SEK 3,000,000 Authority’s request was denied; previous granted. decision upheld. Malmö Municipality 12/06/2014 09/07/2014 20/11/2014 Ref. no.: 420/2014 (Malmö 5830-14) (Gothenburg 4402-14) Amount requested: The Swedish Competition Leave to appeal SEK 325,000 Authority’s request was denied; previous granted. 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 06/10/2014 Ref. no.: 601/2014 (Umeå 1617-14) Amount requested: Application rejected.SEK 0

Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) 06/12/2013 17/07/2013 02/12/2014 Awaiting hearing on Ref. no.: 688/2012 (Karlstad 5156-12) (Gothenburg 4915-13) leave to appeal to Amount requested: The Swedish Competition Appeal rejected. the Supreme SEK 1,100,000 Authority’s claim was Previous decision Administrative Court granted. upheld. (HFD 6888-14)

Falu Municipality 01/12/2011 13/02/2013 09/10/2013 30/10/2014Ref. no.: 739/2011 (Falun 5096-11) (Sundsvall 672-13) (7021-13) Amount requested: Granted part of the Granted part of the Granted part of the SEK 10,000,000 Swedish Competition Swedish Competition Swedish Competition Authority’s request. Authority’s request. Authority’s request. Amount: SEK 7,000,000 Amount: SEK 8,000,000 Amount: SEK 8,000,000 Lund Municipality 23/10/2014 24/03/2014 18/12/2014 Awaiting hearing on Ref. no.: 709/2013 (Malmö 758-14) (Gothenburg 2055-14) leave to appeal to Amount requested: The Swedish Competition The Swedish the Supreme SEK 250,000 Authority’s request was Competition Authority’s Administrative Court granted. request was granted. (HFD 6888-14)



Opinions given to courtsDuring the year, the Swedish Competition

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 Authori-

ty’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 contrac-

ting authority enters into an agreement

with a supplier in which certain ele-

ments 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 Competi-

tion 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 mono-

poly) 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 Procure-

ment 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 procurementOur Appropriation Directions for 2014


ment 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





EffectsOf all those surveyed, 56 per cent responded

that they believe that the Swedish Competi-

tion Authority is combating serious viola-

tions 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.

AttitudesIn 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


Swedish procurement rules in briefPublic 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, trans-port 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 finesSince 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 administra-

tive fines in the event of in the event of a violation of a standstill period or a suspension.


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 excep-

tion of corporate lawyers and trade associa-

tions, 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 managementThis year’s survey does not make a distinc-

tion between competition cases and procure-

ment 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 communicationDuring the year, we conducted a number of

initiatives aimed at disseminating informa-

tion on procurement issues to serve as

support for our target groups and to

improve our digital information channels.

Konkurrensverket.seThe Swedish Competition Authority’s

primary channel for external communica-

tions 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 communica-

tions 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’ Procure-

ment support function (upphandlingsstod.

se), the Swedish Environmental Manage-

ment 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 note-

worthy that all pages related to direct

awards of contract are very popular.

Social mediaAll of the website’s communications options

are accompanied by the Swedish Competi-

tion 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, presen-

tations 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 WeekDuring 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, konkurrens-

verket.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 newsletterAs 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 meetingsDuring the year, the Swedish Competition

Authority’s employees have held speeches

and presentations in more than 170 different

external settings, aimed at providing infor-

mation on legislation and on our supervisory

and support functions. Since the procure-

ment support functions were fully consoli-

dated 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

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 procure-

ment of health and medical care, as well

as the options available for early discus-

sions between suppliers and contracting

authorities.

Opinion pieces and presentationsThe 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 ActOur Appropriation Directions for 2014


ment 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 Procure-

ment Act. These findings are used when






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 procure-

ment rules increased across all stakeholder

groups. As in the preceding year, just under

one-third of respondents indicated that the

Swedish Competition Authority is respon-

sible for the enforcement of the Act. Aware-

ness that the Swedish Competition Autho-

rity is responsible for this enforcement

varied sharply among the different stake-

holder groups. Only one in ten small-busi-

ness 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 munici-

palities 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 per-

centage points.

Just over half of the respondents indica-

ted 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 MattersThe 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 develop-

ment 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 con-

tracts, 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

Competition Authority

Improvement measures and reportsIn our reports, we analyse how different

markets work and submit proposals for

improvements.

Responses to official consulta-tions on procurementBy commenting on proposals contained in

reports and other inquiries we can partici-

pate 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


Members of the Council on Procurement mattersDan 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

official consultations in the field of procure-

ment included statements on the proposal

for the implementation of new procure-

ment directives that have been adopted at

the EU level. (Ref. no.: 510 and 673/2014).

The Swedish Competition Authority also

commented on the proposal for amend-

ments 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 man-

datory procurement notice, which amount

to approximately SEK 600 billion annually,

a study of bidders and winners at the con-

tract 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)

CollaborationsThe 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 assign-

ments 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 Administrati-

ve 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 organisa-

tions 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 regar-

ding innovation in the public sector.

66 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT RESEARCH

ResearchThe Swedish Competition Authority’s 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.

RESEARCH SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 67


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 work-

shops during which we provide informa-

tion on our research and its findings. The

Swedish Competition Authority also holds

an annual essay contest for students.

Projects that received funding in 2014The 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 competi-

tion 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 researchPresented 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 procurementPresented 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 researchThe Swedish Competition Authority also

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 under-

stood by non-specialists.

A total of SEK 4 million was awarded to

commissioned research in the fields of

competition and procurement.


Commissioned research reports on competitionThe Swedish Competition Authority

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 competi-

tion 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”

Commissioned research reports on procurementThe Swedish Competition Authority

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 – “Procu-

rement of construction contracts: How

can contractors promote efficiency and

innovation by applying suitable procure-

ment 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”

Conferences, the Pros and Cons series and workshopsOn 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 compe-

tition. 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 research-

ers, 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 procurement-

related matters.


Working PaperIn 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 methodo-

logy 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”

Essay contestIn an effort to increase interest in competi-

tion 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.

Council for Research IssuesThe Council for Research Issues is tasked

with stimulating research in the fields of

competition and procurement, and provid-

ing 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 commissio-

ned research projects and the essay contest.

Members of the Council for Research IssuesDan 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

72 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS

International effortsThe Swedish Competition Authority is tasked with contributing to inter-national 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.

INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 73


International effortsThe Swedish Competition Authority is

tasked with contributing to international

development in the fields of competition

and procurement. We cooperate internatio-

nally with other authorities, networks and

international organisations.

EU cooperationWithin the framework of the European

Competition Network (ECN), the Swedish

Competition Authority maintains a close

working relationship with the European

Commission and the competition authori-

ties 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 Functio-

ning 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 Competi-

tion Authority regularly receives informa-

tion 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 informationCooperation within the ECN is also conduc-

ted 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 competi-

tion 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 international organisations.


Investigations on behalf of other authoritiesThe 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 controlThe Swedish Competition Authority has

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 ProcurementThe EU law cooperation on procurement

matters is largely conducted within the

framework of the European Commission’s

Advisory Committee under the Directorate-

General for the Internal Market and

Services. Working groups are associated

with the Committee. The Swedish Competi-

tion Authority’s employees have participa-

ted in these efforts in all forums.

The Commission’s Stake- holder Expert Group on Public Procurement – SEGPPThe SEGPP serves as a sounding board on

public procurement for the EU Directorate-

General 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

public procurement. The Swedish Competi-

tion 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 GroupThis 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 NetworkThe Public Procurement Network (PPN) is

an informal network comprising represen-

tatives from European authorities and is

specifically geared toward public procure-

ment. 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.


Other informationThe Swedish Competition Authority has also

participated in a working group on ethical

procurement, entitled the European Work-

ing Group on Ethical Public Procurement

(EWEPP), and in the EU-financed Electro-

nics 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 informa-

tion on procurement exceeding the thres-

hold value is based on information obtai-

ned 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 cooperationThe Nordic competition authorities have

enjoyed closed cooperation for many years.

The most recent meeting was held in Copen-

hagen, 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 implementa-

tion of the new procurement directives, the

Swedish government’s focus on procure-

ment 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 experien-ces about lifecycle costs, social requirements

and the monitoring of such requirements.

Other international cooperationThe 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 evalua-

ting 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 coopera-

tion regarding competition law investiga-

tions and proceedings; an effort in which

the Swedish Competition Authority was

involved. Since 2010, the Swedish Competi-

tion 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.


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 recom-

mendations and compendiums on green

public procurement, integrity and corrup-

tion in the public sector, as well as indica-

tors 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.

ICNCompetition 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 proceed-

ings in cartel cases, in which one of our

employees held a presentation. Employees

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 recommen-

dations on conducting impact assessments

when implementing competition rules. In

November, one of our employees participa-

ted 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 competi-

tion 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.

The 10 Year Framework Programme on Sustainable Public ProcurementThe 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 procure-

ment 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 informationDuring 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 procure-

ment authorities across the globe, including

Denmark, Belgium, the Faroe Islands, Italy,

Portugal, Taiwan and the US.

80 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT STAFF AND ORGANISATION

Staff and organisationDuring the year, we conducted a review of our core values, and the values that our employees and our management collectively pro-duced to represent the Swedish Competition Authority are: respect, commitment, expertise and clarity.

Read about our organisation and our approach on the following pages.

STAFF AND ORGANISATION SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 81


Staff and organisationThe Swedish Competition Authority

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 Compe-

tition 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 challeng-

ing. All new employees receive through

introductory training and are each assigned

a guide.

In its 2015 budget proposal, the govern-

ment announced that a new Procurement

Authority would be created as of 1 Septem-

ber 2015 and the mandate that was assig-

ned 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 oppor-

tunity to get involved in the broadened

range of tasks, to be assigned new profes-

sional tasks and to participate in courses,

seminars and workshops. Many employees

also participate in various types of collabo-

rations 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 exten-

sive 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 absenceWellness is something that the Swedish

Competition Authority views as an invest-

ment. All employees thus have the opportu-

nity, 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 collabo-

ration with Previa as our health service

provider.


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 main-taining 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).


RespectAll 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.

ExpertiseWe 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.

ClarityWe 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.

Core valuesDeveloping 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 depart-ment 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.


LEGAL

T1CARTELS AND

MERGERS

T2ABUSE AND VERTICAL

RESTRAINTS

T3COMPETITION NEUTRALITY

T4PUBLIC

PROCUREMENT – ILLEGAL DIRECT

AWARD OF CONTRACTS

DIRECTORGENERAL

COMMUNICATIONSTIP-OFFS & ENQUIRIES

INTERNATIONAL

CHIEFECONOMIST

ENFORCEMENTADMINISTRATION

T5PUBLIC

PROCUREMENT – GENERAL

SUPERVISION

S1PROCUREMENT

POLICY

S2PROCUREMENT

SUPPORT

S3PURCHASING

ANALYSIS

POLICY AND SUPPORT

S4POLICY EVALUATION

AND ADVOCACY


OrganisationThe Swedish Competition Authority is

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.

FactsIn 2014, the Swedish Competition Authority

has had 170 full-time equivalents, represen-

ted 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 postgra-

duate degrees, most of which are in law or

economics. Among our lawyers, 40 per cent

have court experience. Among our econo-

mists, just over 40 per cent hold postgradua-

te 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.


The Swedish Competition Authority’s management team as of 1 January 2015The 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

88 SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT FACTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FACTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SWEDISH COMPETITION AUTHORITY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 89

Facts and financial statementsIn the ‘Facts in brief’ section, we present statistics relating to the Swedish Competition Authority’s law enforcement and supervision cases, as well as official consulta-tions. The Swedish Competition Authority also works on proposals for regulation amendments and other improvement measures, and provides support for research projects and international efforts.


Case statistics Costs include indirect costs and are reported by cases concluded 2014 2013 2012

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 16 22 27Concluded 14 19 23

Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 398 234 260 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 9 12 Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 246 159 287 Average number of hours spent per case 4 1 667 364 1 358 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 1 007 217 815 Anti-competitive public sales activities 2

Registered 13 4 8 Concluded 9 4 11 Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 182 463 240 Average number of hours spent per case 4 595 1 843 690 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 359 1 098 414

Notifications of mergers

Registered 67 48 36 Concluded 65 45 42 Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 26 31 29 Average number of hours spent per case 4 124 221 257 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 75 132 154 In 2012 and 2013, there were three cases concluded in each year that became in-depth investigations, while two cases were concluded in 2014.

Facts in brief


2014 2013 2012 Other merger cases

Registered 42 28 30 Concluded 44 28 30 Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 37 38 32 Average number of hours spent per case 4 25 24 41 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 15 14 25 Court cases

Registered 7 5 4 Concluded 5 6 3 Concluded cases: Average time to complete cases at court, calendar days 6 743 806 300 Average number of hours spent per case 4 889 2 612 482 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 537 1 557 289 In 2013, the case that was launched against TeliaSonera in 2004 was concluded. Total number of Competition Act cases

Registered 150 119 111 Concluded 145 111 121

2014 2013 2012

Public Procurement Act Estimated annual cost, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 1 22 273 21 182 18 962 Time spent (of total time) per cent 13 16 14 Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 258 218 187 Supervision cases etc.

Registered 123 98 96 Concluded 107 89 102 Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 210 177 184 Average number of hours spent per case 4 67 65 33 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 39 38 19 Court cases

Registered 19 23 24 Concluded 24 20 14 Concluded cases: Average time to complete cases at court, calendar days 7 471 403 207 Average number of hours spent per case 4 58 94 46 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 34 55 27

Act on System of Choice in the Public Sector Estimated annual cost, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 1 656 1 862 733 Time spent (of total time) per cent 0,4 2 1 Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 150 154 304

Registered 5 4 1 Concluded 6 3 2 Concluded cases: Average processing time for concluded cases, calendar days 3 150 154 304 Average number of hours spent per case 4 64 543 392 Estimated cost per case, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 38 318 230 Concluded government assignments are reported separately, and are not included in this summary.

Improvement measures in public procurementTime spent (of total time) per cent 13 2 -Estimated annual cost, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 1 23 353 2 542 - 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.

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.



2014 2013 2012

Responses to official consultations Official consultations responded to 126 211 167 Time spent (of total time) per cent 3 4 3 Estimated cost per matter, including indirect costs, (SEK ‘000) 5 37 22 26 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.


Activities financed by appropriations and contributions (SEK ‘000) Appropriations Other income Costs Year 2014 2013 2012 2014 2013 2012 2014 2013 2012

Competition 1 116 936 104 769 104 012 772 1 562 2 478 116 847 106 331 106 490Public Procurement 1 27 430 28 491 30 035 1 181 977 - 28 408 29 468 30 035Procurement support function 2 - - - 31 489 - - 32 553 - -Total 144366 133 260 134 047 33442 2 539 2 478 177808 135 799 136 525

1) The distribution of costs and appropriations is based on registered time2) Personnel and premises costs are actual costs; other costs were allocated on the basis of registered time.

Revenue collection (SEK ’000) Income Contributed to Central Government budget Year 2014 2013 2012 2014 2013 2012

Competition fines 2 479 35 000 11 390 2 479 35 000 11 390 Procurement fines 13 704 7 287 883 13 704 7 287 883 Total 16 183 42 287 12 273 16 183 42 287 12 273

Transfers (SEK ‘000) Received from Central Government Contributions paid Financial costs budget/other public authorities Year 2014 2013 2012 2014 2013 2012 2014 2013 2012

Competition 7 310 16 267 6 461 7 300 16 267 6 459 10 0 2 of which, court costs 1 457 9 000 256 1 447 9 000 254 10 0 2 of which, research 5 853 7 267 6 205 5 853 7 267 6 205 0 0 0Public Procurement 3 870 3 272 3 848 3 870 3 272 3 848 0 0 0 of which, research 3 870 3 272 3 848 3 870 3 272 3 848 0 0 0Total 11 180 19 539 10 309 11 170 19 539 10 307 10 0 2

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 554246/2014 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

Financial review

Reports issued on government assignments


(SEK ‘000) 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

Credit line granted by the Swedish National Debt Office 12 000 12 000 12 000 12 000 12 000Credit 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 79724 01:16 Competition research 411 411 405 430 39524 01:21 Financing of litigation costs 1 800 1 800 1 800 1 000 1 000 Appropriation credit drawn - - - - - Appropriation savings 24 01:15 Appropriation envelope 1 711 7 368 3 235 2 025 3 76924 01:16 Competition research 103 257 900 361 21024 01:21 Financing of litigation costs 16 542 9 000 17 744 19 823 28 626 FTEs 170 132 134 124 121Average number of employees 197 152 154 138 136Annual operating cost per employee 1 033 1 007 996 1 069 1 039 Change in capital for the year - - - - 700Change in capital brought forward - - - - -700Transfers according to Note 10 Authority Capital - - - - -Closing authority capital - - - - -

Summary of significant information


(SEK ‘000) Note 2014 2013

Operating income Income from appropriations 144 366 133 260Income from charges and other payments 2 853 1 352Income from grants 3 32 489 977Financial income 4 100 210Total 177808 135 799 Operating expenses Employee benefit expenses 5 -133 278 -100 014Expenses for premises -17 833 -14 290Other operating costs -24 447 -18 851Financial expenses 4 -20 -54Depreciations and impairments 6 -2 230 -2 590Total -177808 -135 799

Operational results 0 0 Revenue collection work 7 Unappropriated income from charges and other payments 16 183 42 287Funds contributed to Central Government Budget -16 183 -42 287Balance 0 0 Transfers 8 Funds received from Central Government Budget to finance grants 11 180 19 539Financial costs -10 0Grants paid -11 170 -19 539Balance 0 0

Change in capital for the year 0 0

Income statement


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 855Total 4 808 2 834 Short-term receivables Accounts receivable 9 2 3Receivables from other public authorities 10 3 394 1 739Other short-term receivables 11 58 59Total 3 454 1 801 Cut-off items Prepaid expenses 12 6 304 4 240Total 6304 4 240 Settlement account with the government Settlement account with the government 13 -933 -6 784Total -933 -6 784 Cash and bank balances Balance in interest account with Swedish National Debt Office 14 19 917 18 922Total 19 917 18 922

Totalassets 33550 21 013

Capital and liabilities (SEK ’000) Authority Capital Change in capital brought forward 0 0Change in capital as per income statement 0 0Total 0 0 Provisions Provisions for pensions and similar obligations 15 1 270 1 258Total 1 270 1258 Liabilities etc. Loans from Swedish National Debt Office 16 4 995 2 735Short-term liabilities to other public authorities 17 4 062 3 051Accounts payable 5 692 3 338Other short-term liabilities 18 2 466 1 714Total 17215 10 838 Cut-off items 19 Accrued expenses 11 728 8 394Unappropriated contributions 3 337 523Total 15 065 8917

Totalcapitalandliabilities 33550 21 013

Balance sheet


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 envelope24 01:16 ap.1 Competition research, 257 13 685 13 942 -13 839 103 appropriation envelope 24 01:21 ap.2 Financing of litigation costs, 9 000 18 000 -9 000 18 000 -1 458 16 542 appropriation envelope Totalappropriations 16 626 169 577 -12 339 173 864 -155507 18357

Statement of revenue title (SEK ’000) as of 31 December 2014 Revenue title 2714 Financial penalties, etc. Income

Administrative fines 2 479 Procurement fines 13 704 Totalfinancialpenalties 16 183

Statement of charge activity where the income is appropriated (SEK ’000) through 2012 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014Activity +/- +/- Income Expense +/- +/-

Charge income, Swedish Post and Telecom 0 0 723 -723 0 0Charge income, SIDA 0 0 89 -89 0 0Charge income, other - - 41 - - -Total charge income 853 -812

Statement of appropriations

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 3 yearsOther office equipment 5 yearsFurniture 6-10 yearsCost of improvements to leased property 6 years Other

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) 2014 2013

Publication sales under Section 4 of the Fees Ordinance 10 14Income under Section 15 of the Fees Ordinance (copies etc.) 26 18Payments from SIDA for aid projects 89 720Payments from the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority 723 600Other income 5 -Totalincome 853 1 352

Notes



Note 3 Income from grants (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs – evaluate the care choice 1 000 977system in the field of primary care and specialised outpatient care

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs – develop and proactively 554spread 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 728the procurement of health and medical care for the elderly

The Ministry for Rural Affairs – skills-enhancing initiatives for 158the public procurement of food

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 960lists of energy-efficient goods as a form of support for contracting parties

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 Totalincomefromgrants 32489 977

Note 4 Financial income and expenses (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Interest income linked to interest account at the Swedish National Debt Office 88 193Other financial income 12 17Total financial income 100 210 Interest expenses linked to loans with the Swedish National Debt Office 13 46Other financial expenses 7 8Total financial expenses 20 54

Note 5 Employee benefit expenses (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Payroll expenses (excl. employer’s contributions, contract premiums and other statutory and contractual charges) 85 624 64 258Other employee expenses 47 654 35 756Totalemployeebenefitexpenses 133278 100 014


Note 6 Tangible assets (SEK ’000) 31/12/2014 31/12/2013

Cost of improvements to leased property Opening balance – costs 4 300 4 300The year’s acquisitions 500 -The year’s disposals - -Closing balance – costs 4 800 4 300 Depreciations Opening accumulated balance 3 321 2 528The year’s depreciations 792 793The year’s disposals - -Closing accumulated balance 4 113 3 321

Bookvalue 687 979 Other Opening balance – costs 8 502 8 446The year’s acquisitions 1 753 90The year’s disposals 0 -34Closing balance – costs 10 255 8 502 Depreciations Opening accumulated balance 7 369 6 805The year’s depreciations 417 598The year’s disposals 0 -34Closing accumulated balance 7 786 7 369

Bookvalue 2469 1 133 Computers Opening balance – costs 4 199 4 202The year’s acquisitions 1 950 99The year’s disposals 0 -102Closing balance – costs 6 149 4 199 Depreciations Opening accumulated balance 3 477 2 380The year’s depreciations 1 021 1 199The year’s disposals 0 -102Closing accumulated balance 4 498 3 477

Bookvalue 1 652 722


Note 7 Revenue collection activities (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Unappropriated income from charges etc. Administrative fines 2 479 35 000Procurement fines 13 704 7 287Totalrevenuecollectionactivities 16 183 42 287

Note 8 Transfers (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Research grants 9 723 10 539Compensation for litigation costs 1 457 9 000Totaltransfers 11 180 19 539

Note9 Accounts receivable (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Accounts receivable 2 3

Note 10 Receivables from other public authorities (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Receivable in respect of input value added tax 2 671 1 684Receivable from other public authorities 723 55Total 3394 1 739

Note 11 Other receivables (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Receivable from the European 35 59Commission 23Total 58 59

Note 12 Cut-off items, prepaid expenses (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Rent paid in advance 4 991 3675Other prepaid expenses 1 313 565Total 6304 4 240


Note 13 Settlement with the government (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Revenue collection Opening balance 0 0Recognised under revenue title -16 183 -42 287Revenue collection funds paid to non-interest-bearing flow 16 183 42 287Funds 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 0 0Recognised against appropriations 1 458 9 000Funds attributable to transfers paid to non-interest-bearing flow -1 458 -9 000Receivables relating to appropriations in non-interest-bearing flow 0 0 Appropriations in interest-bearing flow Opening balance -7 626 -4 135Recognised against appropriations 24 01:15 Appropriation envelope 140 210 130 185 24 01:16 Competition Research, appropriation envelope 13 839 13 834Totalrecognisedagainstappropriations 154049 144 019Appropriated funds added to interest account 24 01:15 Appropriation envelope -137 892 -134 319 24 01:16 Competition Research, appropriation envelope -13 685 -13 686Totalappropriatedfundscontributingtotheinterestaccount -151 577 -148 005Repayment of appropriated funds 24 01:16 Competition Research, appropriation envelope 3 339 495Totalappropriatedfundsrepaidtointerestaccount 3 339 495 Liabilitiesrelatingtoappropriationsininterest-bearingflow -1814 -7 626 Receivables relating to holiday pay liability that have not been recognised under appropriations Opening balance 842 1 062Recognised against appropriations over the year under the exception clause 39 -220Receivables relating to holiday pay liability that have not been recognised under appropriations 881 842

Totalsettlementwiththegovernment -933 -6784

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 7 368Appropriation savings on the appropriation 24 01:16 Competition research 103 257Other funds 18 103 11 297

Totalbalanceininterestaccount 19917 18922


Note 15 Provisions for pensions and similar obligations (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Opening balance, pensions 1 258 1 854Provision for pensions -195 -1 000Special payroll tax for pension provisions -47 -242Provision for skills transfer 254 646Closing balance 1 270 1 258

Note 16 Loans from Swedish National Debt Office (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Credit line granted 12 000 12 000Opening balance 2 735 5 235New loans raised over the year 4 303 90Repayments over the year 2 043 2 590Totalclosingbalance 4995 2 735

Note 17 Short-term liabilities to other public authorities (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Liability to the Swedish Tax Agency (employer’s contributions, etc.) 2 620 1 766Accounts payable 1 227 1 083Other short-term liabilities to other public authorities 215 202Total 4062 3 051

Note 18 Other short-term liabilities (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Employee withholding tax 2 461 1 714Other liabilities to staff 3 -Other short-term liabilities 2 -Total 2466 1 714

Note19Cut-off items (SEK ’000) 2014 2013

Accrued holiday pay liability, including social security contributions 10 366 6 873Accrued salary payments 0 56Other accrued costs, governmental 125 165Other accrued costs, non-governmental 1 237 1 300Totalaccruedexpenses 11728 8394Unappropriated grants from other public Authorities 3 337 523Totalunappropriatedgrants 3 337 523Totalcut-offitems 15065 8917


Note 20 Sickness absence (per cent) 2014 2013

Total 1,8 1,3Women 2,4 1,4Men 1,1 1,0Employees aged 29 and under 1,3 0,9Employees aged 30-49 2 1,4Employees aged 50 and over 1,6 1,0Long-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 106

Project owner: Kristina GeigerProject manager: Rose-Marie Kellquist SundströmEditor: Katarina Bentzer Berglind and Cecilia TollefeldtProject staff: Christofer NäsholmProject assistant: Marcus LindDesign and production: Mari Forsell Design ÅreImages: Photographer Andreas Eklund AB and photo agency MattonPrint: Wikströms, Uppsala

Address SE-103 85 StockholmPhone +46 8-700 16 00Fax +46 8-24 55 [email protected]

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