File photo. [InTime News]
A team from the Greek Competition Authority conducted surprise inspections on Wednesday at the offices of a number of IT and related service providers, including three of the country’s telecommunications service providers, as part of an investigation into possible collusive public bid rigging.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Greek Competition Commission said that Article 1 of Law 3959/2011 and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, i.e. “prohibiting anti-competitive agreements and decisions of the European Union”, It said it was investigating whether there were any violations. Businesses that prevent, restrict or distort competition, unilateral actions that result in invitations to collusion or the announcement of future prices to competitors, and abuse of a dominant position. ”
The watchdog said the unannounced inspections were a preliminary step to an investigation into suspected anti-competitive conduct.
Kathimerini understands that the tenders in question are primarily those initiated by ministries (such as justice, education, environment and digital governance) and are related to digital upgrade projects funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund. There is.
According to the information, the agency’s team targeted five companies providing IT services and software (including Byte, Uni Systems and Kosmos Business Systems), telecommunications companies Cosmo, Vodafone and Nova (for the provision of equipment rather than telecommunications services). A search was conducted for those who had been tested. There are also two consulting companies. Inspectors collected a large number of files to examine.
Digital transition is one of the most important pillars of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, with €1.28 billion allocated to projects related to the state’s digital transition. There is also a budget of 522 million euros for projects related to connectivity between citizens, businesses and the state.
