Cooperation between National Competition Authorities: An overview of EU and national case law

The European Competition Network (ECN) is almost 20 years old. Its foundational statute, Regulation 1/2003, came into effect in May 2004, and its members had their powers and responsibilities enhanced by the ECN+ Directive in 2019. The most integrated competition enforcement network in the world, its membership consists of 27 national competition agencies (NCAs) from each of the Member States and the European Commission. All members have the power to apply the same competition rules: Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Recognised by the Court of Justice of the EU, nonetheless, its core function of case allocation is not a formal legal decision that can be subject to judicial review. Although the European Commission has the power to pull a case from a national agency and decide the matter itself, it has not done so. Instead, what has emerged is increasing cooperation between member agencies. Cooperation is most common among agencies that share borders, business and cultural links: the Nordic states, Latvia and Lithuania, Spain and Portugal. A counter-trend is a consolidation of power under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Commission despite the clear willingness of NCAs to assume greater responsibility in this significant field. This Foreword highlights key developments in cooperation between NCAs since 2020. While our focus is on cooperation between the members of the ECN, it is worth noting that cooperation between the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the EU and Member State NCAs has taken place since Brexit despite the absence of a formal cooperation agreement. There has been cooperation (including dawn raids) with the European Commission in relation to investigations on fragrances, construction chemicals and the automotive (end-of-life vehicles) sectors.