The Lithuanian Competition Authority fines undertakings for an anticompetitive joint bidding agreement in twenty-four public tenders for construction services (PST / Irdaiva)

On 20 December 2017 the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania adopted a decision finding that Panevėžio statybos trestas (PST) and Irdaiva concluded anti-competitive agreement by submitting joint bids in 24 public tenders for construction services. At the moment of adoption of the Competition Council’s decision there was no specific case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the issue of joint bidding in public procurement. Vilniaus vystymo kompanija (VVK) is a body which organised 30 tenders for renovation of schools and kindergartens in Vilnius in 2013-2015. PST and Irdaiva had stipulated in contracts that they would participate in 24 of these tenders by providing joint bids. Both of these undertakings had been major players in the construction sector in