EU and UK reached competition cooperation agreement

Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – An agreement on competition cooperation between the EU and the UK has been reached after technical negotiations

The European Commission and the UK concluded the technical discussions on a competition collaboration agreement between the EU and the UK. The competition cooperation agreement will be a “supplementing agreement” to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (‘TCA’), which envisions the possibility of entering into a separate contract on competition cooperation.

What are the main goals of the EU-UK agreement?

As reported by the EU Commission, the future competition cooperation agreement will authorise the Commission, the national competition authorities of the EU Member States (‘NCAs’) implementing EU competition law, and the UK Competition and Markets Authority to collaborate directly in competition investigations. It is the first EU competition cooperation agreement allowing also NCAs to cooperate directly with third-country competition authorities, as envisioned by the TCA for the UK.

Moreover, the cooperation agreement will ensure that important antitrust and merger investigations are carried to each other’s attention. It will also permit the coordination of investigations between the jurisdictions involved when necessary and outline clear principles of cooperation desired to avoid any disputes between jurisdictions. Concerning the exchange of confidential information, the approval of the undertaking providing the information will continue to be needed (so-called “waiver”).

What are the next steps for the EU-UK deal?

In the next step, the agreement will be functional after both the EU and the UK have concluded their ratification procedures. As a next step, the Commission will draft proposals for the Council’s decisions to mark and conclude the agreement. The consent of the European Parliament will also be needed.

This arrangement follows a Council Decision of June 2023 allowing the Commission to open negotiations with the United Kingdom. At the third conference of the TCA Partnership Council on 16 May 2024, both parties accommodated the start of negotiations on the competition cooperation agreement between the EU and the UK and desired the agreement would be concluded as soon as possible.