# Romanian Competition Council expands antitrust fines

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/romanian-competition-council-fines
> Updated: 2026-08-13T00:00:00.000Z. Sources: 16. Developments: 3.

In late July 2026, the Romanian Competition Council demonstrated a widening enforcement of competition rules across different sectors. On 21 July, it fined Euro Parts Distribution SRL and 15 franchisees €881k for imposing uniform pricing on auto-parts retailers, marking an early test of the authority’s scrutiny of franchise pricing practices. A week later, on 28 July, the Council imposed a much larger €4 million penalty on media group Pro TV for breaching commitments on retransmission fees, highlighting continued focus on price-related compliance in the broadcasting market. Pro TV announced it will contest the decision.

The Council’s enforcement expanded significantly on 13 August, when it imposed fines totaling approximately €15.87 million (83.2 million lei) on 21 companies. These sanctions target the production and commercialization of agricultural seeds and crop protection products. Investigations found that major producers, including Pioneer Hi-Bred România S.R.L., Corteva Crop Solutions ROM S.R.L., and Maisadour Semences România S.R.L., used contractual provisions and a voucher system to control resale prices. 

Council President Bogdan Chirițoiu noted that while voucher systems are not inherently problematic, recommended prices must not function as mandatory fixed prices, emphasizing that distributors must be able to set independent resale prices. Together, these cases show a pattern of the Council targeting price-fixing and pricing-discrimination issues across the automotive, media, and agricultural industries.

## Claims

- The fine was imposed for Pro TV’s failure to comply with commitments made in 2021 regarding the prices paid by cable and satellite operators for retransmitting its channels. (corroborated by 5 sources)
- The commitments were accepted in Decision No. 102 dated 20 December 2021, which closed an investigation into a possible abuse of dominant position. (corroborated by 5 sources)
- The investigation was launched in June 2014 after complaints by UPC Romania and Focus Sat. (corroborated by 5 sources)
- The Competition Council fined Pro TV four million euros. (corroborated by 3 sources)
- The 2021 commitments required Pro TV to adopt a commercial offer in which the price gap between the discount given to RCS&RDS and that offered to other operators would be smaller than in the previous‑ (corroborated by 3 sources)
- UPC Romania was later absorbed by Vodafone Romania. (corroborated by 3 sources)
- The deliberation concerning the fine took place on 4 July 2026. (corroborated by 3 sources)
- The €4 million fine represents about 1.8 % of Pro TV’s 2025 revenue and around 6.6 % of its net profit. (corroborated by 2 sources)

## Timeline

### 2026-08-13: Romania Competition Council fines 21 companies 83.2 million lei

The Romanian Competition Council fined 21 companies 83.2 million lei for price-fixing agricultural seeds and crop protection products through producer-distributor agreements.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/romania-competition-council-fines-21-companies-832-million-lei

### 2026-07-28: Romanian Competition Council fines Pro TV €4.1 million for breaching 2021 commitments

Romania’s Competition Council fined Pro TV €4.1 million for breaching 2021 discount‑gap commitments, a sanction covering ~1.8 % of revenue; the firm will contest the decision.

11 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/pro-tv-fined-4-million-by-romanias-competition-council

### 2026-07-21: Romanian Competition Council fines Euro Parts Distribution network €881k for price fixing

Romania's Competition Council fined Euro Parts Distribution and 15 franchisees about 4.5 million lei (~€881k) for fixing resale prices of auto parts from 2018‑2023.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/romanian-competition-council-fines-euro-parts-distribution-network-881k-for-price-fixing

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Cite as: Romanian Competition Council expands antitrust fines. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/romanian-competition-council-fines