Just before the arrival of spring, we had the pleasure of welcoming our clients to our traditional Antitrust Refresh business breakfast dedicated to competition law.

Our guests were welcomed by partner Hanka Nevřalová.

The seminar was opened by external speaker Michal Frankl, who highlighted the pitfalls of competition rules from the perspective of both large and small market players.

Michal Petr then shed light on the most important competition updates from the past year –particularly the necessity of addressing vertical agreements, the most interesting competition decisions of the previous year, and the European Commission's oversight of mergers that do not meet notification criteria.

Vladěna Svobodová followed with insights into this year's upcoming developments, including the planned expansion of the competition authority's regulatory powers and the potential personal liability of company managers for cartel agreements. She also prepared a practical guide on how to navigate unexpected competition authority inspections. Additionally, she addressed no-poaching agreements and wage-fixing in the labour market, as these have become a priority for competition authorities across Central Europe this year.

The final session, dedicated to public procurement, was led by Hanka Nevřalová, who succinctly summarised the most common mistakes in public tender submissions. She provided practical guidance on how to avoid them and successfully meet qualification requirements, as well as how to navigate changes in qualification criteria or the cancellation of a tender procedure. Do you think an ongoing police investigation is a valid reason to cancel a public contract? In the closing discussion, we also explored how and when to properly file objections and why it is crucial to monitor the payment date of the administrative fee associated with submitting objections to the competition authority.

Michal Petr expanded on the topic of public procurement with a key question at the intersection of competition and procurement law: information exchange between suppliers. Do you know under what conditions forming a consortium for a public contract bid is considered anti-competitive and when it is actually necessary?

A big thank you to everyone who joined us both in person and online – we look forward to Antitrust Refresh 2026!