The European Commission has adopted proposals for Council decisions to sign and conclude the EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement, marking a key step in strengthening collaboration on competition enforcement between the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The agreement establishes a robust framework for cooperation between the European Commission and EU Member State competition authorities, and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It will ensure that significant antitrust and merger investigations are communicated between parties, enable coordination of investigations when necessary, and provide clear principles to prevent jurisdictional conflicts.
Notably, the agreement also outlines safeguards for the exchange of confidential information—specifying that such exchanges will require the consent of the company involved.
Functioning as a supplementing agreement to the existing EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, this new arrangement builds upon the foundation for structured and transparent cooperation in the field of competition policy.
The agreement will enter into force once both the EU and the UK have completed their respective ratification procedures. The Council is now invited to adopt decisions to:
- Formally sign the agreement, and
- Conclude it with the consent of the European Parliament.
This initiative follows the Council's authorization in June 2023 to open negotiations, which were concluded at technical level in October 2024.
(European Commission – 20.05.2024)
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