Denmark's Competition and Consumer Authority now has the authority to conduct market investigations into behavior or structures in one or more industries to identify anti-competitive practices harming consumers or other businesses. If issues are found, the Competition Council can, after a thorough consultation process and meeting certain conditions, require relevant companies to change their behavior.

The amendment also allows the authority to demand notification of potentially anti-competitive mergers, even if they fall below the usual thresholds for competition authority approval.

Furthermore, the new principles for calculating fines for competition law violations aim to ensure that fines better reflect the economic impact of the breach, aligning with methods used by the EU Commission and other EU countries.

The Competition and Consumer Authority has released a draft guidance on the new merger rules, outlining conditions and deadlines for when and how mergers falling below the usual thresholds should be notified. The guidance also explains the process for mergers likely to require notification.

Interested parties can provide feedback on the draft guidance on the new merger rules by emailing kfst@kfst.dk with the subject 'Comments on the draft new merger rules' by the deadline of August 30, 2024.