What is

The European Competition Network (ECN) consists of the 27 competition authorities within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the DG Competition of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Relevant law

Council Regulation 1/2003 replaced the centralised notification and authorisation system with a decentralised system that is based on the parallel competence of the Commission and the national competition authorities and national courts of the Member States to enforce EU antitrust rules. It has created the European Competition Network (ECN), a forum for cooperation and coordination between the EU competition authorities (i.e. the Commission and the national competition authorities) on enforcement work and the basis for the creation and maintenance of a common competition enforcement culture in the EU. Since 2004, the Commission and national competition authorities have adopted approximately 1500 decisions, investigating a broad range of cases in all sectors of the economy. From 2004 till 2021, more than 90% of the decisions that applied EU antitrust rules were taken by national competition authorities. Thus, it's essential that national competition authorities operate independently and have the powers to apply the EU antitrust rules effectively. 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.

Member Authorities

The following national competition authorities, together with the European Commission's DG Competition, make up the ECN: *

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde
*

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Autorité Belge de la Concurrence
*

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Комисия за Защита на Конкуренцията
*

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Agencija za zaštitu tržišnog natjecanja (AZTN)
*

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Επιτροπή Προστασίας Ανταγωνισμού
*

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže
*

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen
*

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Konkurentsiamet
*

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Kilpailuvirasto
*

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

: ww.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr/en Autorité de la concurrence*

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Bundeskartellamt
*

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Hellenic Competition Commission
*

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Gazdasági Versenyhivatal
*

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

ompetition and Consumer Protection Commission *

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato
*

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Konkurences padome
*

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Konkurencijos taryba
*

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Conseil de la concurrence
*

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority
*

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM)
*

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Urzęd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów
*

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Autoridade da Concorrência
*

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Consiliul Concurentei
*

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Protimonopolný úrad
*

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Urad Republike Slovenije za varstvo konkurence
*

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia
*

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Konkurrensverket

Relevant articles and books

Regulation 1/2003 and EU Antitrust Enforcement: A Systematic Guide.https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/regulation-12023-and-eu-antitrust-enforcement-a-systematic-guide/01t4R00000OjQEmQAN?srsltid=AfmBOop_9vIHGEUhWURsVM7BsJECElv-D524oN9GYOyLJjhmCnB2iChG ''In'' Regulation 1/2003 and EU Antitrust Enforcement: a Systematic Guide, (Dekeyser, Gauer, Laitenberger, Wahl, Wils and Prete eds.), Wolters Kluwer. Contributors: A. Scordamaglia-Tousis, A. La Pergola, C. Ritter & G.C. Rizza, L. Prete & M. Scholz, J. Holzwarth & T. Woolfson, E. Arsenidou, G. Meeßen, E. Barbier de la Serre, B. Lasserre, I. Pereira Alves, A. Bogdanov, K. Dekeyser & E. Van Ginderachter, C. Emin & M. Kadar, K. Strouvali & A. Vernet, F. Kaiser & S. Szekely, A. De Moncuit, M. Jaspers & C. Moriarty, J.P. Christienne, M. Kellerbauer, J. Jourdan, O. Guersent, S. Albaek & P. Régibeau, W. Wils, K. Lenaerts, M. van der Woude, I. de Silva, M. Matos Rosa, A. Mundt & A. Palacios Prieto, F. Jenny, E. De Smijter, P.A. Brink, R. Whish, P. Ibáñez Colomo, B.E. Hawk, L. Ortiz Blanco & A. Lamadrid, I. Daems, J. Padilla, A. Reyna & V. Turner

References

External links

* ECN homepage: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/ecn/index_en.html Economy of the European Union {{EU-stub

Relevant law

Member Authorities

Relevant articles and books

See also

References

External links