EU, UK sign landmark competition cooperation agreement

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The European Commission and the UK on Wednesday signed a competition cooperation agreement, establishing a framework for collaboration on competition matters between EU authorities and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

This marks the first agreement focused solely on competition since the UK left the EU, according to a statement by the Commission.
It sets out clear principles for cooperation, including notifying each other of major antitrust and merger investigations and coordinating efforts when necessary.

The agreement also reinforces the duty to protect confidential information, requiring companies’ consent before sensitive data can be shared between authorities.

The Competition Cooperation Agreement acts as a “supplementing agreement” to the broader EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which already provides a general framework for competition cooperation while allowing for separate dedicated agreements.

The agreement will enter into force once both sides complete their ratification procedures.

The EU already has similar cooperation agreements with other major economies, including the United States (1991), Canada (1999), Japan (2003), South Korea (2009) and Switzerland (2013), outlining how competition authorities can work together across borders.