432 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM • Prepare and decide on anti-trust cases, using sanctions or preventive measures; • Identify and investigate practices detrimental to free competition on the basis of national and EU laws and to undertake studies, surveys and hearings to investigate those practices; • Propose laws to the competent entities and approve regulations required to enforce a competitive environment; • Issue recommendations and general directives about restrictive practices; • Contribute to the improvement of the legal Framework and carry out the studies requested by the Government; • Gather information and decide on administrative procedures related to anti-trust practices; • Decide on notifications of mergers and acquisitions; • Raise public awareness among economic agents and foster effective competition. Highlight should be made to the possibility provided in the Portuguese Competition Act (“Competition Act”)31 for the CA to “recommend the adoption of appropriate behavioural or structural measures to the Government and other entities” whenever the same “concludes that there are circumstances or behaviour that affect competition in the markets or economic sectors analysed” in the context of its powers to conduct market studies, examinations and audits. Projects of state aid or state aid measures which “restrict, distort or affect competition in the domestic market, as a whole or in a substantial part of it, and to a significant extent” may be assessed by the CA. The same may “formulate for the Government or any other public body its recommendations for eliminating any negative impact on competition” and “shall monitor the execution of its recommendations, and can request from any entities information relating to the implementationof suchmeasures”.TheCAshallmakepublic its recommendations on its website32. In order to carry out its mission, the CA “shall be guided by the criterion of public interest in competition enforcement and advocacy, and to this end it may define priorities in the handling of issues that it is called on to analyse”33. These 31 Law no. 19/2012, of 8 May, as amended. 32 Article 65 of the Competition Act, as translated by the CA in a bilingual version. 33 Article 7 of Law no. 19/2012, of 8 May, as amended.
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