In 2026, the Competition Council of Latvia (CC) has identified the detection and prevention of the most serious infringements of competition law, in-depth market monitoring in sectors affecting significant public interests, as well as the modernisation and digitalisation of institutional processes as its main operational priorities. At the same time, the CC will continue to reduce bureaucratic burdens in the regulatory framework and strengthen public understanding of competition culture. By defining these five priorities, the CC has also set specific performance indicators to ensure targeted work and measurable results.
Detection and Prevention of the Most Serious Competition Law Infringements
In 2026, the CC plans to review and adopt decisions in at least 10 high-priority infringement cases, with particular focus on cartels in public procurement, the food retail sector, and breaches of competition neutrality. At the same time, the CC aims to maintain a high quality of adopted decisions, forecasting that at least 82% of CC decisions will enter into force, including in cases where they are appealed and examined by different court instances.
In addition, the CC will continue to address less significant competition law infringements through warnings and preventive measures. The CC has set a target that at least 75% of identified competition restriction cases will be resolved through preventive action without initiating formal infringement proceedings.
Through the implementation of these tasks, the CC also aims to ensure significant public benefit amounting to at least EUR 30 million on average over a three-year period.
Market Monitoring
The CC’s second priority is in-depth market monitoring. In 2026, the CC plans to complete market monitoring in the food retail, healthcare, waste management, energy and financial sectors, as well as in the field of public procurement in the information technology sector.
The CC’s objective is to promote competition-enhancing changes in the analysed markets through market monitoring. Therefore, a target has been set that at least 50% of the CC’s recommendations will be taken into account and implemented in practice.
Modernised and Digitalised Institutional Processes
The CC will continue the digitalisation of its processes and the development of data-driven market monitoring in order to strengthen institutional efficiency and identify competition risks across sectors in a more timely manner.
In 2026, special importance will be given to the Sector Competitiveness Review – the first data-based analytical tool for economic indicators, which will provide a comprehensive overview of the competitive situation and business environment across sectors nationwide. The findings and proposals for individual sectors will be presented in the first quarter of 2026. Prior to that, the CC plans to meet with representatives of the sectors concerned and other stakeholders to discuss improvements to the review and opportunities for data use. The full publication of the review is scheduled for the second quarter of 2026.
At the same time, the CC will further develop a cartel screening tool which, with the help of artificial intelligence, will analyse public procurement documentation. The project is being developed in cooperation with the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau, the University of Latvia and Riga Technical University. A prototype of the screening tool has already been developed, and it is currently undergoing refinement, testing and machine learning. Testing of the tool in the existing procurement environment is planned to begin in the second quarter of 2026 and to be completed by the end of the year.
The CC is also continuing work on the digitalisation of merger notification submissions. The aim of this project is to simplify the merger notification process, enabling businesses to save both time and financial resources.
In addition, the CC continues the implementation of the e-case system, supported by European Union funding. Completion of this project is planned by December 2029.
Reducing Bureaucracy in the Regulatory Framework and More Effective Competition Law Enforcement
In order to reduce bureaucracy in regulation and improve the effectiveness of competition law enforcement, the CC plans to advance at least two legislative initiatives in 2026.
It is expected that amendments to the Competition Law will continue this year, providing for greater accountability of officials for company involvement in competition infringements. Amendments are also envisaged to the Unfair Trading Practices Prohibition Law in order to limit the timeframe for changes in product assortments, clarify rules on the imposition of sanctions, and adjust payment terms for fresh fruits, berries and vegetables.
At the same time, improvements to the merger control framework are planned by setting higher thresholds and expanding the application of the simplified notification procedure. The CC also plans to harmonise national regulation on vertical and horizontal agreements with the European Union framework.
Furthermore, the CC will continue to contribute to the improvement of the competition neutrality framework, with the aim of establishing clearer conditions for public entities’ participation in capital companies, defining liability for infringements, and providing the possibility to claim damages in cases of competition neutrality violations.
In addition, the CC will continue to actively submit objections and proposals regarding draft legislation in order to reduce competition restrictions in regulatory initiatives, with a target that at least 30% of CC proposals will be taken into account.
Effective Competition Culture and Public Education
The CC aims to increase public awareness of the importance of fair competition. Therefore, the CC has set a target of achieving at least a 5% increase in public understanding of the significance of fair competition compared to the results of the 2024 public opinion survey.
The CC also plans to continue actively informing society about its operational results, thereby increasing its social media audience and the number of followers.
At the same time, press conferences on the most important CC decisions, training events for various target groups, Competition Law Week, and participation in international events are planned for 2026.