On 29 October the European Commission and UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that they have concluded the technical discussion stage of a new UK-EU Competition Cooperation Agreement.  The 2021 UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement envisaged the possibility of a separate agreement in relation to competition matters, although formal negotiations on this did not start until earlier this year.  Discussions have progressed relatively swiftly since then, and the process will now move on to the scrutiny and ratification stage on each side.

Purpose of cooperation agreements

This type of international cooperation agreement typically acts as a framework to help establish how authorities work together with their overseas counterparts – this is particularly important in the context of competition law issues, which frequently span multiple jurisdictions.  A cooperation agreement does not replace the relevant legal provisions governing issues such as information exchange and the treatment of confidential information, but it marks a commitment to greater dialogue in order to improve cooperation on competition issues.  A cooperation framework can also help to minimise the risk of disputes between jurisdictions, or conflicting substantive approaches to the same issues.

This particular Agreement – the text of which has not yet been published – will mark a significant step in post-Brexit relationship building. Press releases from the European Commission and CMA indicate that the Agreement will allow the European Commission, the national competition authorities of the EU, and the CMA to cooperate directly in competition investigations.  It will ensure that competition issues of mutual interest (both antitrust and mergers) are brought to each other’s attention, and will set out principles of cooperation to allow coordination where necessary.  Importantly for companies who may be concerned about the sharing of sensitive data, the European Commission has stated that waivers (in the form of consent of the company in question) will continue to be required in relation to exchanges of confidential information.  

Next steps

The Agreement will now be considered by the relevant UK and EU bodies (including both the European and UK Parliaments), with a view to finalisation and signature in 2025.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article, including how the forthcoming Cooperation Agreement could affect you, please get in touch with us.

Authored by Chris Hutton and Karman Gordon.