Sweden adopts major reform of its competition law regime

On 6 May 2026, the Swedish Parliament adopted a far-reaching package of competition law reforms that will significantly expand the Swedish Competition Authority’s (“SCA”) enforcement toolbox and reshape the legal landscape for both private and public market participants. The new rules will enter into force already on 1 August 2026.

The reform package consists of three main parts:

• a new competition tool enabling market interventions without a prior infringement finding,

• a new act on public commercial activities, and

• substantial amendments to the Swedish merger control regime.

Taken together, the reforms represent one of the most significant overhauls of Swedish competition law in decades and reflect a broader European trend towards more interventionist competition enforcement.

A new competition tool for markets where competition is not functioning effectively

One of the most notable reforms is the introduction of a new competition tool allowing the SCA to intervene where competition is considered not to function properly, even absent a proven infringement of the competition rules.

The new tool enables the SCA to investigate structural or behavioural features of markets that may restrict effective competition and, following such investigations, impose remedies on one or several undertakings. The available remedies are extensive and may include behavioural obligations and to some extent also structural measures.

The reform is inspired by similar tools in other jurisdictions, including the UK market investigation regime and the European Commission’s ongoing discussions around “New Competition Tools”. At the same time, the Swedish regime differs in important respects.

Most notably, the threshold for intervention appears comparatively low. Unlike certain other jurisdictions, the new rules do not require that the distortion of competition reaches a particular degree of severity before the SCA may intervene. The SCA may instead act where competition is considered not to function effectively, even absent any infringement of the competition rules. This is likely to increase regulatory uncertainty for companies operating in concentrated or structurally problematic markets.

It is also worth noting that the original legislative proposal included the possibility for the SCA to order divestitures of companies or parts of businesses. However, those powers were ultimately not included in the legislation adopted by Parliament. On the contrary, the final legislation expressly prevents the SCA from ordering the divestiture of property.

Overall, the reform marks a clear shift away from the traditional enforcement model focused exclusively on cartels and abuses of dominance.

A new regime for public commercial activities

The Parliament also adopted a completely new Act on Public Commercial Activities, replacing the current conflict resolution provision in the Swedish Competition Act.

The reform is based on the view that public entities may enjoy structural advantages unavailable to private operators when engaging in commercial activities. Public entities may, for example, benefit from tax funding, operate without profit requirements, be protected from insolvency risks or cross-subsidise commercial operations through publicly funded activities. While the new rules do not prohibit public entities from engaging in commercial activities as such, they aim to prevent public actors from using such advantages in ways that distort competition.

Under the new regime, public actors are prohibited from conducting commercial activities or applying procedures that unduly distort private operators’ ability to compete on the market.

Importantly, the new regime applies broadly to the state, municipalities, regions and publicly owned companies. The prohibition covers conduct such as predatory pricing, discriminatory treatment and other practices that provide public actors with competitive advantages unavailable to private undertakings.

The concept of “commercial activities” is aligned with the concept of “economic activity” under EU competition law and therefore covers all activities consisting in offering goods or services on a market but excludes the exercise of public powers.

The legislation also contains important exceptions. Activities that follow from decisions by Parliament or the Government, for example where activities are mandated by law, are exempted from the prohibition. The same applies where activities are considered justified from a public interest perspective, for example where public involvement is considered necessary to address market failures, ensure preparedness or protect other important public interests. However, the mere fact that a particular activity is mandated or permitted by legislation does not necessarily exempt all conduct connected to that activity from scrutiny. Public entities may still be caught by the prohibition where they adopt commercial practices or measures that are not a necessary consequence of the legislative framework and which risk distorting competition.

The reform also significantly strengthens enforcement. Unlike the current system, where the SCA must bring proceedings before the Patent and Market Court, the Authority will now be able to issue binding prohibition decisions itself and impose fines of up to SEK 20 million for intentional or negligent infringements.

The change is significant also from a substantive perspective. Under the current regime, the rules are primarily forward-looking in nature: the court may prohibit a certain activity or procedure if it finds that it risks distorting competition going forward, but the provision itself does not impose a standing prohibition or have retroactive effect. In practice, this has meant that public entities have often been able to adapt or discontinue problematic conduct only after proceedings have been initiated.

Under the new regime, the prohibition applies continuously and directly by operation of law. Public entities operating commercial activities will therefore need to assess proactively whether their conduct complies with the rules, rather than waiting for judicial intervention or guidance from the SCA.

For public entities, the reform represents a clear signal that commercial activities will be subject to substantially increased scrutiny. Public actors operating on competitive markets should therefore carefully assess whether existing business models, pricing structures and governance arrangements comply with the new rules before they enter into force.

The reform also introduces new governance and transparency obligations. Public entities engaged in commercial activities will, among other things, be required to evaluate such activities at least every four years and assess whether they remain compatible with the legislative framework and justified from a public interest perspective. In addition, separate accounts must be maintained for commercial activities in order to increase transparency and facilitate the assessment of potential cross-subsidisation and other competition concerns.

At the same time, the new regime is expected to lower the threshold for private companies seeking to challenge anti-competitive conduct by public entities. Since the prohibition now applies directly by operation of law, private operators will no longer need to rely on lengthy court proceedings before unlawful conduct can effectively be addressed. Combined with the SCA’s expanded enforcement powers and the possibility to impose fines directly, the new framework is likely to make complaints to the SCA a considerably more effective tool for private parties affected by potentially distortive public commercial activities.

Revised merger control rules

The Parliament has also adopted important amendments to the Swedish merger control rules aimed at strengthening the SCA’s ability to intervene against harmful concentrations.

One important change is that the prohibition test will no longer require that a concentration affects competition within a “substantial part of Sweden”. This means that the SCA will be able to prohibit mergers affecting smaller or local markets, even where the competitive effects are geographically limited.

The reform does not, however, fundamentally change the SCA’s existing ability to call in below-threshold mergers for review. Under the current regime, the SCA may already require notification of concentrations that fall below the ordinary notification thresholds, provided that the undertakings concerned together exceed a turnover of SEK 1 billion in Sweden. The new rules instead introduce the possibility for the SCA to impose reporting obligations on certain undertakings through specific decisions requiring them to notify future acquisitions that they would otherwise not be required to notifiy. Such reporting obligations may remain in force for a maximum period of two years.

In addition, the reform extends the procedural timelines for complex merger investigations and related court proceedings. The amendments are intended to address situations where the SCA previously faced difficulties completing investigations within the statutory deadlines.

Taken together, the changes considerably strengthen the SCA’s merger control powers and increase scrutiny of acquisitions affecting smaller or highly concentrated markets.

A more interventionist competition regime

The reforms adopted by Parliament reflect a broader policy shift in Swedish competition law towards earlier intervention, increased regulatory oversight and expanded enforcement powers for the SCA.

For businesses operating in Sweden, the reforms are likely to have significant practical implications. Public entities engaging in commercial activities face materially increased compliance risks, while private companies may encounter a more interventionist enforcement environment, including increased scrutiny in merger control and reduced legal predictability in relation to general market conduct.

At the same time, the reforms are likely to create new strategic opportunities for complainants and private parties seeking to challenge anti-competitive behaviour.

With the new rules entering into force already on 1 August 2026, companies and public entities alike should begin assessing how the reforms may affect their operations without delay.