The European Commission and the United Kingdom have signed the EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement, the first dedicated EU-UK agreement fully focused on competition cooperation following the withdrawal of the UK from the Union.
The agreement sets a new and clear framework for cooperation on competition matters between, on the one side, the Commission and EU Member State competition authorities, and, on the other side, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
The agreement lays down clear principles of cooperation to ensure smooth interactions between the EU and UK on competition matters. For example, the EU and UK will notify each other of significant antitrust and merger investigations and coordinate efforts between them when necessary. In addition, the agreement sets out the duty of the competition authorities to protect the confidentiality of shared information. The consent of the companies that provided the confidential information will remain necessary before sharing it between competition authorities.
“It is a privilege to sign this agreement today on behalf of the European Union, reinforcing the current good cooperation on competition matters between the Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority,” said EC executive vice-president Teresa Ribera: “The agreement provides a clear framework for cooperation between the EU and the UK on competition matters, and reaffirms our shared commitment to maintaining fair and competitive markets to the benefit of consumers, businesses and innovation.”
The Competition Cooperation Agreement will be a ‘supplementing agreement’ to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provides in broader terms the basis for competition cooperation and coordination, while foreseeing the possibility to enter into a separate agreement on competition cooperation.
By signing the EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement today, the EU and the UK take an additional step in implementing the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The agreement will enter into force after both the EU and the UK have finalised their ratification procedures.
The EU has cooperation agreements on competition matters in place with the USA (1991), Canada (1999), Japan (2003), South Korea (2009) and Switzerland (2013). These agreements set out how the EU can cooperate with competition authorities from different jurisdictions.
