The Competition Council said the publication of the report on the oil products market would be a serious violation of the legislation, which would enable the companies featured in the investigation to complaint to court about the illegal actions and to stop the adoption of a final decision. Moreover, the responsible persons who intend to publish the report are liable to punishment, including criminal one, IPN reports.

The Council makes reference to the provisions of the Competition Law under which the collected confidential information os used by the Competition Council for the purpose for which it was obtained and cannot be revealed, if only with the consent of the person from which it was obtained. It noted that in all its actions, it abides by the legal procedures and timeframes. The case is now at the stage when the parties can benefit from the right to defense. When the Council adopts the decision, this will be a public administrative document that can be subject to judicial control.

A number of politicians asked that the Competition Council should make public the report on the oil market. Also, the national agriculture and food employers and trade union federations demanded that the Council during ten days should publish the secret report presented to the Parliament’s commission on economy, budget and finance that could prove or refute the existence of cartel agreements between oil companies, and to impose penalties on oil companies if it is necessary. Otherwise, the federations reserve the right to picket the buildings of the National Agency for Energy Regulation and the Competition Council and to demand to dismiss their managers. According to them, the rise in fuel prices will inevitably lead to increases in the prices of national goods and services, mainly in the agrifood sector, and this will reduce the competitiveness of the Moldovan producers on the domestic market.