Competition Law Enforcement in Western Balkan Countries: Challenges Posed By Online Platforms

As the Digital Market Act became effective in 2023, the Western Balkan countries must transpose this regulation into their domestic legal system. Likewise, in the EU, the growth of digital platforms and e-commerce platforms has created new challenges for WBc National Competition Authorities in handling cases concerning online platforms. This research analyses the enforcement of competition rules in the digital market in Western Balkan countries. In addition, this paper discusses the main challenges that the WBc national competition authorities face with online platforms. This research argues that, rather than directly transposing the DMA provisions, the WBc must carefully assess them in order to understand their implications and transpose those that are relevant to candidate countries into the national legal system. As it stands, the DMA rules are more related to the EU rather than the Western Balkan digital market.