European Competition Network (ECN)

Author Definition

Definition

The “European Competition Network” (ECN) is a network formed by the competition authorities of the EU Member States (NCAs) and the European Commission in 2004 at the time of the adoption of Regulation 1/2003. The ECN functions as a forum for discussion and close cooperation in the application and enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The ECN aims at ensuring the coherent application of competition rules across the EU. It also allows the European competition authorities to pool their experience, discuss competition related topics and identify best practices.

Commentary

Regulation 1/2003 introduced a system of parallel competences in which the European Commission and the NCAs have the power to apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU in full. The same Regulation established the ECN as the new form of close cooperation between the Commission and the NCAs in order to ensure both an effective and consistent application of EU competition rules and an efficient division of work.

The main principles on the functioning of the ECN are set out in the Commission Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities (ECN Notice) and the Joint Statement of the Council and the Commission on the Functioning of the Network of Competition Authorities. According to the case law in DHL and in Pfleiderer, the ECN does not adopt legally binding rules for NCAs or national courts.

The ECN is responsible to ensure the efficient division of work on the investigation of cases. The ECN members have agreed on flexible work-sharing mechanisms, including non-binding case allocation rules. The ECN Notice sets out the criteria that indicate when an ECN member is considered well placed to deal with a case. Neither Regulation 1/2003 nor the ECN Notice creates rights or expectations for an undertaking to have its case dealt with by a particular competition authority.

In addition, the NCAs and the Commission cooperate with each other through the ECN by various means, such as by: (i) informing the ECN members of new cases and proposed enforcement decisions; (ii) exchanging evidence and other information; (iii) helping each other with investigations; and (iv) discussing various competition law related issues.

At an early stage of an investigation under Articles 101 and/or Article 102 TFEU, the Commission and the NCAs need to inform each other in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation 1/2003 to ensure an efficient and quick (re-)allocation of cases and avoid multiple procedures.

The NCAs are obliged to inform the Commission of a proposed enforcement decision at least 30 days before its adoption in line with Article 11(4) of Regulation 1/2003. This consultation between the NCAs and the Commission is important to ensure the coherent application of the EU competition rules by all competition enforcers. This consultation is an internal process of the ECN and the exchanges between the Commission and an NCA are treated as ‘network internal documents’ and cannot be shared outside the ECN.

The NCAs and the Commission can also exchange information, including documents and digital information, and use this information in their investigations pursuant to Article 12 of Regulation 1/2003. Finally, an NCA and the Commission may ask another NCA to carry out an inspection or other fact-finding measures (e.g. requests for information or interviews) to collect information on its behalf in the context of the enforcement of EU competition rules.

Over time, the ECN has developed different fora in which its members discuss various issues at different levels, namely the meeting of the heads of the European competition authorities, the so-called DGs’ Meeting, the ECN Plenary, the meeting of the working groups of the ECN dealing with horizontal matters of legal, economic or procedural nature, as well as the meeting of the sectoral subgroups dealing with particular sectors. The work in these fora includes fruitful discussions, exchanges of views and the development of common positions and policies.

Since its creation, the ECN has published statements, reports, resolutions, best practices and recommendations on different matters (for example, the Joint statement on application of competition law during the Corona crisis in 2021 and the ECN Model Leniency Programme in 2012). These ECN documents set out the ECN’s position and are intended to be used mainly as advocacy tools.

Case references

Case C-469/15 P FSL Holdings and Others v European Commission, EU:C:2017:308

Case C-428/14 DHL Express (Italy) S.r.l. and Others v Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato and Others, EU:C:2016:27

Case T-355/13 EasyJet Airline v Commission, ECLI:EU:T:2015:36

Case T-201/11 Si.mobil telekomunikacijske storitve d.d. v Commission, ECLI:EU:T:2014:1096

Case C‑17/10 Toshiba Corporation and Others v Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže, EU:C:2012:72

Case C-360/09 Pfleiderer AG v Bundeskartellamt., EU:C:2011:389

Bibliography

B. Rayment and N. Grubeck, ‘The Enforcement of the Competition Rules by National Competition Authorities, The European Competition Network’ in D. Bailey and L. E. John (eds), Bellamy & Child: European Union Law of Competition (8th edn, Oxford University Press, 2019), Chapter 15.

E. Arsenidou, J. Capiau, A. Sinclair, J. Stanciute, ‘Cooperation Within the ECN and Strengthening of National Competition Authorities’ in E. Rousseva (ed), EU Antitrust Procedure (1st edn, Oxford University Press, 2020), Chapter 19.

E. De Smijter and A. Sinclair, ‘The Enforcement System under Regulation 1/2003, Cooperation between Enforcers’ in J. Faull and A. Nikpay (eds), The EU Law of Competition (3rd edn, Oxford University Press, 2014), Chapter 2.

Richard Whish and David Bailey, Competition Law (10th end, Oxford University Press, 2021), Chapter 7.

The views expressed are purely those of the author and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.

Institution Definition

The European Competition Network (ECN) has been established as a forum for discussion and cooperation of European competition authorities in cases where Articles 101 and and 102 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union are applied. It should ensure an efficient division of work and an effective and consistent application of EC competition rules. The EU Commission and competition authorities from EU member states cooperate with each other through the ECN by: (i) informing each other of new cases and envisaged enforcement decisions; (ii) coordinating investigations, where necessary; (iii) helping each other with investigations; (iv) exchanging evidence and other information; and (v) discussing various issues of common interest.

The objective of the European Competition Network is to build an effective legal framework to enforce EC competition law against companies who engage in cross-border business practices which restrict competition and are therefore anti-consumer. The basic foundations of the functioning of the ECN are laid out in the "Commission Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities" and in the "Joint Statement of the Council and the Commission on the Functioning of the Network of Competition Authorities". Within the ECN, groups of experts in specific sectors (banking, securities, energy, insurance, food, pharmaceuticals, professional services, healthcare, environment, motor vehicles, telecommunications, media, IT & information & communication, Abuse of dominant positions, Competition Chief Economists and railways) discuss competition problems and promote a common approach. In this way, the ECN allows competition authorities to pool their experience and identify best practices. © European Commission

Case Comments

Ivo Janda, Magda Olyšarová, Eva Jíchová The Czechia Government amends its competition law, introducing greater discretion and powers for the national competition authority, clearer rules for fining associations of undertakings, greater protection for whistleblowers, and stricter criteria for settlement

Very soon, a long-awaited amendment to the Czech Act on the Protection of Competition will become law, implementing (after a long delay) the requirements of what is known as the ECN+ Directive (an EU directive designed to give greater powers to competition authorities). The primary objective (...)

Philipp Werner, Yvan N. Desmedt, Mario Todino, Donald McGahn, Philippe Laconte, Marta Delgado Echevarría, Charlotte Breuvart The European Competition Network issues a policy statement that permits "necessary and temporary" cooperation to address disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine

The European Competition Network ("ECN") issued a policy statement indicating that member agencies will not intervene in legitimate, cooperative efforts to address disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions. The ECN is a working group of competition authorities in (...)

EFTA Surveillance Authority The EFTA Surveillance Authority and the European Competition Network issue a joint statement on the application of competition rules in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Joint statement from the European Competition Network on applying competition law in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine* Today the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), the European Commission, and the EU/EEA national competition authorities issued a joint statement providing (...)

Richard Burton, Pietro Stella The European Competition Network considers that companies may need to cooperate to mitigate the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian war and the EU Commission adopts a Temporary Crisis Framework permitting more State aid

Russian invasion of Ukraine prompts ECN guidance on application of EU competition rules and European Commission’s adoption of State aid crisis framework The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has prompted European competition enforcers to reassess the application of the EU (...)

Alain Ronzano Competition policy: The European Competition Network publishes a joint paper arguing for integration of national competition authorities in the implementation of the regulation

On 23 June 2021, the European Competition Network (ECN) published a joint paper of the heads of the EU’s national competition authorities (NCAs) on the Commission’s proposed MAD. In this pro domo plea, which recalls how much the DMA owes to competition law, the issue of coordinating the (...)

Alain Ronzano Competition policy: The French Government publishes the ordinance transposing the ECN+ Directive proposing a flawed solution to remedy the declaration of unconstitutionality of the power to sanction obstruction practices

On May 26, 2021, theorder No. 2021-649 of May 26, 2021 on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to provide Member States’ competition authorities with the means to enforce competition rules more effectively and to ensure (...)

Articles

Christopher Kerse, John Cook EC Merger Control (ed.5)

This section selects books on themes related to competition laws and economics. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey of themes important in the area. The survey usually covers publication over the last three months after publication of the latest issue of (...)

Wouter Wils Principles of European Antitrust Enforcement

This section selects books on themes related to competition laws and economics. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey of themes important in the area. The survey usually covers publication over the last three months after publication of the latest issue of (...)

Andreas Mundt, Thomas Vinje Andreas Mundt : Giving back to digital consumers

Interview conducted by Thomas Vinje, Partner, Co-Chair, Global Antitrust Group, Clifford Chance, Brussels. You have been president of the Bundeskartellamt since 2009 and worked in competition law for several years before that. In recent years, we have seen a few companies gain such (...)

Ronan Scanlan UK: Brexit - The need for a special approach to EU mergers

The United Kingdom (UK) is expected to leave the European Union (EU) in the near future. When it does so, mergers affecting both the EU and the UK will lose the benefit of the “one stop shop” under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) and the European Commission (the Commission) will have no right (...)

Ekaterina Rousseva Article 13 of Regulation 1/2003 animated

Article 13 of Regulation 1/2003 entitles a national competition authority or the Commission to suspend proceedings or reject a complaint on the grounds that the same agreement, decision of an association or practice brought to its attention, is being dealt, or has already been dealt with, by (...)

Events

Books

Frederic Jenny, Nicolas Charbit EU Competition Digest 2013

The purpose of this book is to compare and contrast EU competition case law with European Members States competition case law, and Members States competition case law with each other. To the best of our knowledge, no such a study had been carried out until today at this level, topic by topic, (...)

Chapters

François-Charles Laprévote Frédéric Jenny Liber Amicorum Volume II - Standing Up for Convergence and Relevance in Antitrust International Competition Policy Cooperation in Times of Trade Tension: A Proposal for EU Action

21 International Competition Policy Cooperation in Times of Trade Tension: A Proposal for EU Action François -C harles laPrévote *1 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Abstract While years ago competition cases tended to be viewed mainly as national issues, most elements of competition law (...)
Nathalie Jalabert-Doury Competition Inspections under EU Law - A Practitioner’s Guide Chapter 1 - Inspections Upon Decision (Regulation 1-2003, Article 20(4))
I. Nature, Agents and Scope

Competition Inspections under EU Law – N. Jalabert-Doury7 Chapter  1 Inspections Upon Decision (Regulation  1/2003, Article  20(4)) Most EU inspections are carried out on the basis of a Commission decisio\?fi?n, which may be appealed ex post but is mandatory for the undertakings concerned. (...)
Nathalie Jalabert-Doury Competition Inspections under EU Law - A Practitioner’s Guide Chapter 4 - European Competition Network Inspections
I. Implementation of Article 22 by-for the French Competition Authority (Inspections)

Competition Inspections under EU Law – N. Jalabert-Doury181 Chapter  4 European Competition Network  Inspections The European Competition Network (ECN) was created in  2004 comprising the European Commission and National Competition Authorities (NCAs) in ord\?fi?er to exchange information, (...)
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