The European Competition Network (ECN) consists of the 28
competition authorities within the
European Union (see below for details) and the
DG Competition
The Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, located in Brussels. The DG Competition employs around 850 officials, as well as a number of seconded national officials, among other from nat ...
of the
European Commission.
The ECN has no new authority and has consequently no rights over its members. The ECN merely constitutes a mechanism for an optimal allocation of cases and sets rules for the exchange of information amongst themselves.
Regulation 1/2003 is the foundation for its creation and in Article 11 and 12 sets out the principles according to which the national competition authorities and the Commission can exchange information. According to Article 33 I b) 1/2003 the Commission is allowed to set out additional rules. The Commission did this by publishing the Notice on Cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities.
Many favour ever more uniformity in the interpretation and application of EU competition norms and the procedures to enforce them under this system. However, when there are such differences in many Member States' policy preferences and given the benefits of experimentation, in 2020 one might ask whether more diversity (within limits) might not produce a more efficient, effective and legitimate competition regime.
[Se]
Townley, ''A Framework for European Competition Law: co-ordinated diversity'', (2018) Hart Publishing, Oxford
Members
The following national competition authorities, together with the European Commission's DG Competition, make up the ECN:
*
AustriaBundeswettbewerbsbehörde*
BelgiumMinistère des Affaires économiques*
BulgariaКомисия за Защита на Конкуренцията*
CroatiaAgencija za zaštitu tržišnog natjecanja (AZTN)*
CyprusΕπιτροπή Προστασίας Ανταγωνισμού*
Czech RepublicÚřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže*
DenmarkKonkurrencestyrelsen*
EstoniaKonkurentsiamet*
FinlandKilpailuvirasto*
France:
Conseil de la concurrence
*
Germany:
Bundeskartellamt
The Federal Cartel Office (, ; BKartA) is Germany's national competition regulatory agency. First established in 1958, BKartA comes under the authority of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The agency is headquartered ...
*
GreeceHellenic Competition Commission*
HungaryGazdasági Versenyhivatal*
Ireland:
Competition Authority
*
Italy:
Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato
The Italian Competition Authority ( it, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, AGCM) is the competition regulator in Italy. It is an Italian quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization established on the basis of Law №287 of 10 Oc ...
*
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
Konkurences padome*
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
Konkurencijos taryba*
LuxembourgInspection de la concurrence*
Malta:
Office for Fair Trading
*
NetherlandsAuthority for Consumers & Markets (ACM)*
PolandUrzęd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów*
PortugalAutoridade da Concorrência*
RomaniaConsiliul Concurentei*
SlovakiaProtimonopolný úrad*
SloveniaUrad Republike Slovenije za varstvo konkurence*
SpainTribunal de Defensa de la Competencia*
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Konkurrensverket*
TurkeyRekabet Kurumu*
United Kingdom:
Competition and Markets Authority
See also
*
European competition law
References
External links
* ECN homepage: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/ecn/index_en.html
Economy of the European Union
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