THE OECD RECOMMENDS PROMOTING COMPETITION IN DIGITAL MARKETS AND ENSURING THEIR OPENNESS

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), together with the Lithuanian Competition Council and the competition authorities of Poland and Latvia, has completed the nearly two-year European Union technical assistance project “Competition Market Study: Digital Sector – Poland, Latvia and Lithuania” and presented recommendations on how to strengthen competitiveness in the digital markets of these countries.

To mark the conclusion of the project, OECD representatives presented the results of the online marketplace study conducted in Lithuania, Poland, and Latvia at an event held in Warsaw. Together with experts from the national competition authorities, they discussed the challenges of strengthening competition in digital markets and explored opportunities for further cooperation.

According to the OECD report, each of the three countries currently has one leading online marketplace with a significant market share and a few smaller competitors. In Latvia and Lithuania, Pigu holds the leading position among online marketplaces offering products across various categories, while in Poland the platform Allegro leads both in terms of users and sellers (business customers). Nevertheless, the OECD notes that the Lithuanian market is less concentrated than those of Latvia and Poland, as the online marketplace Varle competes more actively with Pigu in Lithuania. In the OECD’s assessment, the competitive pressure exerted by foreign platforms such as AliExpress or Temu on the leading online marketplaces in Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland remains limited for the time being.

Although the degree of market concentration and the level of competition differ somewhat across the three countries, the OECD recommends strengthening the role of the national competition authorities, ensuring they have sufficient resources, and taking various measures to manage risks related to the market power of platforms. As these marketplaces continue to grow and expand their services, it becomes increasingly difficult for new market entrants to overcome this competitive advantage, while the risk of other companies being pushed out of the market also increases.

To promote competition and ensure long-term market openness, it is recommended to monitor online marketplaces and assess their compliance with the requirements of the EU Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services. It is also proposed to consider the need for a code of conduct for online marketplaces, which could serve as a basis for regulating relations between large digital marketplaces and sellers.

Jolanta Ivanauskienė, the Chairwoman of the Lithuanian Competition Council, who participated in the project’s closing event, stated that the project provided valuable insights into digital markets at the regional level. She added that the study results help to better understand the risks existing in these markets and identify where institutions should focus their efforts even more.

“This project has clearly demonstrated how valuable close regional cooperation can be not only in exchanging information, but also in building a shared understanding of the challenges we face – challenges that are not unique to us, but are also common across our neighbouring countries,” said the head of the institution. She added that the shared objective of the institutions remains the same: to ensure effective competition, both for businesses that rely on digital platforms and for consumers who benefit from them.

Having identified digital markets as one of its strategic priorities, the Lithuanian Competition Council has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Platform-to-Business Regulation, ensuring fairness and transparency in relationship between platforms and businesses. The institution’s experts seek to help platforms better understand how to ensure that the rules and practices applied to their business customers are clear, transparent, and fair, while also informing businesses using platform services about their rights.

According to Ms Ivanauskienė, the OECD study results provide evidence-based insights and concrete recommendations that can support better policymaking, both at national and regional level.

“Digital markets are dynamic and constantly evolving, and no authority can fully address these challenges alone. This is why continued cooperation – at regional, EU and international level – will remain essential. I am confident that the results of this project will help us all to better promote fair, open and competitive digital markets – to the benefit of businesses and consumers alike,” said the Chairwoman.

The full OECD report containing the conclusions and recommendations is available here.