Protecting competition within the European Union

In today’s globalised economy, companies increasingly engage in cross-border business practices. Effective enforcement of competition law therefore requires close cooperation with other authorities and international organisations within and outside the European Union.

Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission

Competition in Europe is overseen by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. Its task is to enforce the competition rules of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and any related regulations, directives and other European rules.

The Commission takes action against cartels in cases where illegal agreements have cross-border effects. It intervenes at a European level when individual companies abuse their dominant market position and examines mergers between companies whose turnover is above certain threshold values.

In addition, the Directorate-General for Competition also ensures that state aid in the Member States complies with European rules. In 2023, it was given a new important task, the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Click here for more information on the Directorate-General for Competition. More information on the Digital Markets Act can be found here.

European Competition Network (ECN)

The national competition authorities in the European Union and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition work closely together in a joint network, the European Competition Network (ECN), to enforce the ban on cartels and in the area of abuse control. The authorities use the network, for example, to exchange information on cases and decisions and to provide mutual official assistance in investigations, by conducting dawn raids at company premises or exchanging evidence. The authorities also cooperate closely in the area of merger control and in the context of the DMA. Within the ECN, the authorities help to evaluate and revise European legal texts relating to the protection of competition.

The ECN Directors General meeting brings together the heads of the authorities on a regular basis to determine the network’s remit. Within the ECN, working groups regularly exchange information about the authorities’ experiences in specific fields (such as merger control, cartel prosecution, vertical restraints, digital markets, energy, telecommunications, food, etc.).

Relevant legal framework:

• Joint Statement of the Council and the Commission on the Functioning of the Network of Competition Authorities
• Commission Notice on Cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities
• Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers

ECA – European Competition Authorities

“European Competition Authorities” (ECA) is a discussion forum established by the competition authorities within the European Economic Area, the European Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

International cooperation

The Bundeskartellamt also cooperates closely with competition authorities outside Europe. This cooperation is either conducted on a bilateral basis or within international networks and institutions.

International Competition Network (ICN)

At the international level the national competition authorities work together within the International Competition Network (ICN). Since its foundation in 2001, the ICN has grown to include 140 competition authorities around the world. Andreas Mundt, the President of the Bundeskartellamt, has chaired the ICN’s Steering Group since 2013.

The ICN offers competition authorities around the world an informal, project-oriented network to enhance their cooperation in matters of competition law application. The ICN’s working groups deal with issues covering all areas of competition law (merger control, cartel prosecution, abuse of a dominant position) as well as a host of cross-cutting issues. The working groups collaborate electronically, through conference calls and workshops. The results of the working groups are presented for discussion once a year in a plenary session at the ICN Annual Conference and published on the ICN website. In 2022 the Bundeskartellamt hosted the 21st ICN Annual Conference in Berlin. Overall, 450 representatives from over 80 countries attended the event. The results and a recording of the conference are available here. In October 2023 the Spanish Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) hosted the 22nd ICN Annual Conference in Barcelona.

For more information on the ICN, the ICN’s work products and upcoming events click here.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

An important forum for discussing competition policy issues is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The main forums are the Competition Committee and the two working groups on “Competition and Regulation” and “International Cooperation”. The Competition Committee and its working groups meet twice a year. The Global Forum on Competition is also held once a year. It is organised on the occasion of the Competition Committee meeting and is attended by an extended group of participants. In this context, OECD members exchange views and experiences with delegates from emerging and developing countries. The Bundeskartellamt and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action take an active part in the Competition Committee. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, is also a member of the Bureau of the OECD Competition Committee.

Current contributions from the German delegation (for more contributions vist the archive):

• Competition Committee: Algorithmic competition – Note by Germany (June 2023)
• Working Party No. 3 on Co-operation and Enforcement: The Future of Effective Leniency Programmes – Note by Germany (June 2023)

The OECD's Annual Reports on Competition Policy Developments in Germany can be found here.

More information is also available on the OECD’s website.

UNCTAD

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) assists developing countries in their integration into the global trading system. In doing so it also addresses competition law and policy issues. The Bundeskartellamt regularly participates in the annual meetings of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy.
More information on UNCTAD is available here.

Judicial assisstance

In addition to consultation and informal cooperation between competition authorities at the international level, there is also the possibility of formal cooperation, such as the provision of international judicial assistance. This means that on request an authority or court in one country can provide active assistance in a specific case handled by an authority in another country.

The relevant instruments for this purpose are particularly well developed within the system of the European Competition Network (ECN). Mechanisms of formal cooperation between the Bundeskartellamt and the competition authorities of other countries also exist outside the ECN.

International cooperation is based on the following legal framework:

• Section 50e GWB – Other Cooperation with Foreign Competition Authorities
• Agreement between Germany and the US on mutual cooperation regarding restrictive business practices (the binding German and English texts are set out in: Federal Law Gazette II 1976, no 55 of 23 October, pp. 1712 ff.)
• OECD Council Recommendation concerning cooperation between Member States on anti-competitive practices affecting international trade
• Notice on the entry into force of the agreement on cooperation between the German Bundeskartellamt and the Swiss Competition Commission (German version)