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Competition

6. International cooperation

Within the global economy, international cooperation on competition policy has become essential. Companies, mergers and cartels are increasingly international and activities of companies based outside the EU often affect competition within the EU.

To cope with this, the European Union has established bilateral agreements regulating competition, particularly with its main trading partners. Cooperation agreements with the United States, Canada and Japan dictate that competition authorities on both sides exchange information and coordinate their enforcement activities. With China, the Commission shares views and experiences on competition related issues. The EU has also been active in multilateral cooperation efforts, such as trade talks under the World Trade Organization, and in the International Competition Network and at the OECD Competition Committee.

Competition policy has been a key element of enlargement negotiations with new member states. The European Commission has fostered competition policy in these countries.