The Main changes and dynamics of competition law rules in Poland and Lithuania in the period of 1990-2004

The last twenty-five years of changes of the past-communist societies led to the creation of a free-market competition and development of regional markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The competition law in such countries like the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania have been developing under the strong influence of supranational and international law. The legal system have been changing from rather chaotic and incomplete to fairly sophisticated and rigid structure model. Nowadays Polish and Lithuanian competition law is based on the same rules as the competition principles which already exist in European Union law. On a practical level, Poland and Lithuania had to change the rules of a centrally planned economy and become a democratic country with a fully developed market economy. The process of harmonization of national competition principles with the European Union law was not a simple task. The process of implementing of European Directives into Polish and Lithuanian law, consumer protection aspects, the block and individual exceptions and the forms of state aid determined changes in law and the way of thinking about competition and consumer rights. Impact of adaption to the European Union system (and same accession) on the structure, administration, rules of procedure and practise of the national system was tremendous. The number of newly adopted regulations was enormous, but a major problem was still inadequate enforcement of law. Compatibility of legal systems with “Western” standards was finished after the day of accession into the European Union and transitional period. This article is aimed at presenting the main changes and dynamics of competition law rules in Poland and Lithuania in the period of 1990–2004. Keywords: competition policy, law, European Union, Lithuania, Polan