Europe and international

This permanent dialogue at international and European level has two main purposes: to contribute to the dissemination of best practice and the convergence of tools and analysis frameworks; and to provide a forum for joint reflection and the development of harmonised responses to new challenges posed by the economy.

Aware of the importance of this cooperation between competition authorities, the Autorité joined the various international and European networks at a very early stage, and has also signed bilateral agreements with different competition authorities to foster the spread of a competition culture and support the development of the most recently created agencies.

France, a driving force within Europe

Since the European Competition Network (ECN) was created, the Autorité has been heavily involved in its development and operation. This discussion forum, the rules of which were established by Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, is a key factor in the uniform enforcement of European competition law throughout the single market.

The Autorité participates actively in the ECN’s work. It is one of the most active members in terms of European competition law enforcement, in particular being the authority that has opened the largest number of investigations based on EU law.

See the statistics on the European Commission’s ECN website

European Competition Network (ECN)

The ECN is used by the national competition authorities (NCAs) and the European Commission mainly to:

• keep each other informed of new cases involving cartels or abuses that could affect trade between Member States, and share problems encountered in the enforcement of European competition law. Pooling information enables members to identify potential cross-border cartels, and ensures that cases can be assigned to the authority best placed to investigate;

• coordinate with one another and provide mutual assistance with investigations, and exchange information on open cases. The Autorité may seek assistance from its counterparts with dawn raids outside France. It can also perform dawn raids on their behalf in France. In addition, it can assist the European Commission when the Commission conducts investigations in France;

• guarantee the coherence of EU competition policy. All the NCAs have direct powers to enforce European competition law (Articles 101 and 102 TFEU). Mechanisms have therefore been set up to ensure they interpret and apply these measures consistently and to involve the NCAs in the adoption of the European Commission’s decisions on competition matters, through advisory committees. Within this framework, the NCAs are called upon to give their opinion on any draft decision imposing fines, making commitments binding or imposing periodic penalty payments concerning anticompetitive practices, or any draft Phase 2 merger control decision;

• work together on general or sector-specific topics within working groups, for example on merger laws, fighting cartels, abuses of dominant position, procedural safeguards, or digital, healthcare and telecommunications.

International reach

The Autorité de la concurrence plays a high-profile, influential role within the international competition community. It maintains close relationships with many competition authorities in the context of bilateral and multilateral activities, and works with them to promote convergence of approaches and tools.

Multilateral exchanges

France has a strong presence within international competition forums and networks. In particular, the Autorité participates actively in the work of the OECD Competition Committee, and the International Competition Network (ICN).

International Competition Network (ICN)

The Autorité is a founding member of the ICN, set up in 2001, which represents more than 140 competition authorities. The ICN aims to promote convergence between competition laws and policies as well as cooperation between competition authorities, to improve the effectiveness of competition regulation internationally.

The Autorité has been a member of the Steering Group since the network was set up and has co-chaired the Unilateral Conduct Working Group since October 2021, after having co-chaired the Cartel Working Group for three years (prior to this, the Autorité had co-chaired the Merger Working Group and the Advocacy Working Group).

For more information, see the Appendix to the 2021 Annual Report of the Autorité (page 58) (in French).

More information about the ICN

OECD Competition Committee

The Autorité is active within the OECD Competition Committee and the Global Forum on Competition, which every year brings together experts from more than 100 competition authorities across the world. The Autorité participates in the Forum by making written contributions, which are published, and by speaking during sessions.

Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) at UNCTAD

Every year, the Autorité participates in the meeting in Geneva of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy, set up within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Bilateral exchanges

The Autorité de la concurrence cooperates with many competition authoritiesacross the world. For example, it regularly hosts foreign delegations that come to attend training courses lasting one or more days within its different services, and responds to requests from newly-formed agencies throughout the world that want to enhance their expertise.

The Autorité also participates in twinning programmes jointly financed by the European Commission in the field of technical assistance on competition law and policy.