In its pursuit of Telekom Serbia, Pristina violates all principles of the rule of law

In its pursuit of Telekom Serbia, Pristina violates all principles of the rule of law

The campaign being waged against Telekom Serbia is entirely contrary to the rule of law and all international standards.
This can be deduced from research conducted by Kosovo Online following the official statement from the Kosovo Competition Authority that the "Telekom Serbia branch in Kosovo (MTS) acted contrary to the applicable law," and that "MTS did not provide the necessary documentation to the Antitrust Authority and on that basis acquired at least four small operators, whose total value is over 20 million euros," as reported by the portal.

"The case is in the final stage of the investigation process," stated Seljadin Beqai, the acting director of the Competition Authority, in an interview with RTK.

With this, the campaign of pressure on Telekom Serbia in Kosovo continues, now entering its second week, even with the announcement that this largest telecommunications company in the Western Balkans region will be prohibited from operating in Kosovo.

According to insiders, Telekom finds itself in the center of an absurd legal persecution where the rule of law, sound judgment, and basic logic are absent. They add that the retroactive application of the law is completely out of line with all European and international legal standards.

They particularly emphasize that the actions of Kosovo regulatory bodies against MTS d.o.o. cast a shadow over the climate for normal business operations and investments in Kosovo. Now, one company that has been declared unwanted is under attack; the same fate might befall another company in the future.

Namely, at the end of November 2022, the Kosovo Competition Authority initiated an investigation regarding the acquisition of four small cable operators by Telekom\'s company "MTS d.o.o." In the period 2019-2021, MTS acquired the following operators: VGN Net from North Mitrovica (December 2019), Impuls from Leposavić (December 2019), Lika from Zvečan (March 2020), and Herc International from Štrpce (March 2021).

During that period, the Law on the Protection of Competition (No. 03/L-229) was in force in Kosovo, under which MTS conducted its operations properly and had no obligation to report these acquisitions.

In fact, according to that law, the necessary condition for reporting to the Competition Authority is not met, which is that at least two participants in the capital concentration have annual revenues exceeding 3 million euros. None of the cable operators acquired by MTS meets that condition.

The absurdity lies in the fact that authorities in Pristina, namely their Agency, initiated an investigation against MTS based on the new Law on Protection of Competition, which came into effect in June 2022 – a full six months after the last acquisition and two and a half years after the first acquisitions.

Therefore, the law under which Telekom is being charged was not in force at the time the acquisitions were carried out, as stated by this portal.