Retiring UOKiK head criticizes parliament for anti-competition legislation

Tadeusz Aziewicz, whose term as chairman of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) ended yesterday, has accused parliament of adopting legislation that is "poisonous" for the development of competition. He made particular mention of recent laws affecting the pharmaceuticals and sugar sectors. In a review of his three and a half years at the helm of the UOKiK, Aziewicz said that he was proud of having stood up to pressure from lobbies representing the interests of TPSA and PKN Orlen. However, he expressed concern that it had not been possible to break the monopoly of TPSA, with its competitors even now hardly able to operate. He also said he considered the possible merger between the country's two biggest petrochemicals producers, PKN Orlen and Rafineria Gdanska, to be a threat. Cezary Banasinski has been named as the new UOKiK chief. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) M.T.