The Swiss Council of States has opted not to impose stricter restrictions on competition watchdogs in their fight against cartels, despite opposition from business circles. This decision was made during a contentious debate about the revision of the antitrust law, which is considered the “backbone” of Switzerland’s market economy.
Critics argue that competition authorities should provide quantitative and qualitative explanations of the harmfulness of cartel agreements in each case, citing instances where fines were imposed based on insufficient evidence, such as in the sanitary wholesale trade sector. However, opponents counter that this could make it harder to combat cartels and lead to lengthy legal proceedings.
Despite calls for stricter regulations, the Council of States narrowly rejected proposed changes and voted to maintain the current system. They also rejected requiring a statement of harmfulness in cases of abuses by market-dominating companies. However, they did vote in favor of relaxing the antitrust law to allow agreements on wage caps in professional sports leagues.
This relaxation would primarily apply to ice hockey and football clubs, allowing them to implement wage caps to curb increasing salaries and reduce financial losses. While supported by a majority of ice hockey clubs, it faced opposition from some members of the Council who argued it was biased towards sports clubs and did not represent all sectors.
The antitrust dossier will now be handed over to the National Council for further discussion, where there will likely be more debates on proposed changes to the antitrust law.
