OECD/ICN Report on International Cooperation in Competition Enforcement
OECD/ICN Report on International Co-operation in Competition Enforcement
21 January 2021 – The ICN and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have published their first Joint Report on International Enforcement Co-operation (Report).
Improving effective enforcement co-operation between competition authorities has been a priority for the ICN and OECD for many years. Both organisations have engaged in initiatives to build international competition enforcement co-operation and developed a substantial body of resources and policy guidance designed to improve both formal and informal enforcement co-operation.
Key findings of the Report
The Report outlines key aspects of the current state of international enforcement co-operation between competition authorities. The key findings regarding the past and current status of international enforcement co-operation are:
- There has been an overall increase in international enforcement co‑operation across all enforcement areas;
- Authorities use various legal bases for enforcement co-operation, although there are some long-standing legal barriers to effective international enforcement co‑operation;
- Authorities derive significant benefits from international enforcement co-operation, regardless of their respective size and level of maturity;
- Enforcement co-operation within regions (including through specific regional arrangements) is one of the most significant and successful types of co-operation for authorities, including for those outside highly developed and mature regional enforcement co-operation arrangements; and
- Key challenges and limitations to effective enforcement co-operation remain (e.g. legal limitations, resourcing, co-ordination/timing, trust/reciprocity and other practical issues such as language and time differences) and while some are an inherent and ongoing part of engaging in international enforcement co-operation (such as managing limited resources).
The findings are enriched by case studies of successful cooperation, examples of cooperation agreements and provisions, ICN and OECD resources and tools for cooperation, as well as an overview of several regional cooperation networks.
The Report follows a first survey on international enforcement co-operation by the ICN and OECD in 2012, which resulted in two separate reports, one from the ICN and one from the OECD.
Proposed future areas of focus and development
The Report also proposes future areas of focus and development for consideration by competition authorities, the ICN, the OECD and other interested parties to address the challenges identified. These include:
- Developing further enforcement co-operation work-products and networks;
- Improving transparency and trust;
- Providing policy and practical support for further developing effective regional enforcement co-operation; and
- Removing substantive and legal barriers to co-operation.
Your feedback and suggestions
Following the approval of the Report, the ICN Steering Group has created a special project group to consider and co-ordinate issues relating to international enforcement co-operation with ICN working groups. This special project group includes the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Hungarian Competition Authority, the Italian Competition Authority, the Portuguese Competition Authority and the US Federal Trade Commission.
If you have questions, comments or would like to engage in the ICN’s work on international co-operation and competition, please contact: [email protected], [email protected].
2020 ICN Work Product
Now presenting the ICN’s 2019-2020 work. ICN work product is finalized and posted within Working Group portfolio webpages following membership approval.
Cartel Seminar
The ICN Cartel Working Group Presents a Webinar on
‘Leniency perspectives from the private bar’
Wednesday, 11 November 2020
8.00 (EST) / 13.00 (GMT) / 14.00 (CET)
The webinar intends to provide a new angle to the previous work on leniency by giving an insight from NGA perspectives into the factors that are taken into consideration when deciding to submit a leniency/immunity application; why a client might decide against it and also what factors go into the decision to grant or not grant waivers to jurisdictions to exchange information with one another.
Moderator:
Mr Zoltán MAROSI
Attorney at Law / Partner, Oppenheim Law Firm, Hungary
Speakers:
Mr Mateo DIEGO-FERNÁNDEZ
Partner AGON, Mexico
Mr Raimundo ORTEGA
Partner, Antitrust & Competition Law, Energy, Jones Day, Spain
Mr Manuel CONTRERAS
Senior Associate specialized in competition law Herbert Smith Freehills, Spain
Mr Christof SWAAK
Head of the competition and regulation practice of Stibbe in New York and Amsterdam, EU
Mr Eric MEIRING
Partner, Antitrust, Winston & Strawn LLP, US
Interested agencies and NGAs can contact the CWG SG1 Co-chairs and ask for the dial-in details.
2019-2020 ICN/WBG Competition Advocacy Contest
The 2019-2020 ICN-WBG Competition Advocacy Contest
Competition as a tool to reap the benefits and mitigate the costs of the new economy: Jobs, industry and data
For more information on the contest, visit the World Bank Group’s contest webpage.
Congratulations to the 2019-2020 Winners!
Theme 1: Unleashing competition for more and better jobs
Awarded authorities:
U.S. Federal Trade Commission (Winner)
U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (Winner)
Theme 2 – Aligning industrial policies with competition principles
Awarded authorities:
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Australia (Winner)
Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), Colombia (HM)
Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS), Russia (HM)
Theme 3 – Promoting pro-competition data regulation
Awarded authorities:
Portuguese Competition Authority (Adc) (Winner)
Theme 4 – Boosting policy effectiveness through better coordination between enforcement and advocacy
Awarded authorities:
Hong Kong Competition Commission (Winner)
Competition Commission, Mauritius (HM)
Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE), Mexico (HM)
Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Zambia (HM)
ICN 2020 Fall Seminar Series
The ICN’s 19th annual conference was held 14-17 September. Materials are online on the conference webpages.
Missing ICN content already? No need! The ICN is announcing a 2020 Fall Seminar Series. Stay tuned for these ICN Events every Tuesday into November!
The link to attend the first session on 22 September on the 2019-2020 ICN-World Bank Competition Advocacy Contest is available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf5WKbz7TiI
Links and participation information for future sessions will be made available by working groups.
ICN FALL WEBINAR SERIES |
||
| Date | Time |
Session |
| Tuesday,
22 September |
8:00 EDT / 14:00 CEDT | Advocacy Working Group: ICN World Bank Competition Advocacy Contest |
| Tuesday,
29 September |
8:00 EDT / 14:00 CEDT | Merger Working Group: Procedural Infringements |
| Tuesday,
6 October |
8:00 EDT / 14:00 CEDT | Cartel Working Group: Horizontal Agreements on Sustainability in a World on Fire |
| Tuesday,
13 October |
8:00 EDT / 14:00 CEDT | Agency Effectiveness Working Group:
Enforcement Priorities in Action: Agency Effectiveness Perspective |
| Tuesday,
20 October |
8:00 EDT / 14:00 CEDT | ICN Framework for Competition Agency Procedures: Participant Perspectives |
| Tuesday,
27 October |
9:00 EDT / 14:00 CEST | Unilateral Conduct Working Group:
Dominance/Substantial Market Power in Digital Markets Report |
| Tuesday,
3 November |
8:00 EST / 14:00 CEST | Merger Working Group: Sound Decision Making |
| Tuesday,
10 November |
8:00 EST / 14:00 CEST | ICN Training on Demand Showcase |
News Release: ICN 2020 Annual Conference
Quality, Spirit and Professionalism
International Competition Network discusses digital economy and announces full self-evaluation of ICN
The International Competition Network (ICN) held its 19th annual conference on September 14-17, 2020. The conference was the ICN’s first virtual conference. Originally planned as an in-person conference in Los Angeles in May, the conference transitioned to a virtual format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ICN is the most important network of competition authorities worldwide. It comprises 140 competition agencies from 129 jurisdictions. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, has been the ICN Steering Group Chair since September 2013.
Andreas Mundt, ICN Chair and President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Over 2500 delegates from around the world participated in the conference. I want to thank our host agencies FTC and DOJ, the ICN working group co-chairs and everyone involved.”
Andreas Mundt opened the conference and spoke on a panel on remedies in unilateral conduct cases involving digital markets. Other sessions dealt with competition enforcement in the digital economy, big data and cartelization, competition advocacy in the digital age, merger investigations in the digital sector, and competition agencies’ strategies to address the challenges of the digital economy. Additional sessions dedicated to younger agencies, ICN Non-Governmental Advisors and economists took place on conference day four.
The ICN also announced plans for a full self-evaluation of the network, the “Third Decade Review”. Andreas Mundt: “ICN will turn 20 next year and we will look at tools, structure and topics to shape the ICN for its third decade. The ICN is well equipped to keep on improving and developing, maybe the most important skill these days. Quality, spirit and professionalism will enable the ICN to tackle the issues that matter for its members.”
A recording of the conference will be available on the ICN conference webpage after the close of the conference. Supplemental annual conference programming will be held throughout the fall.
ICN work products, the ICN working group work plans and additional information on future events are available on the ICN website.
2020 Annual Conference
19th Annual International Competition Network Conference starts today
The International Competition Network’s (ICN) 19th annual conference opens today at 8:00am EDT/2:00pm CEST and runs through Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. The network’s first-ever virtual annual conference will be co-hosted by the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
Originally planned as an in-person event in Los Angeles in May, the multi-day conference features discussions across a range of competition enforcement and policy issues, particularly those that involve the digital economy, and highlights the progress of the ICN working groups on mergers, cartels, unilateral conduct, advocacy and agency effectiveness. Conference participants include leaders and staff of ICN member agencies, competition experts from international organizations, and non-governmental advisors (NGAs) from the legal, business, and academic communities.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt and ICN Chair said, “The 2020 ICN Annual Conference has a clear focus: the digital economy. This is where we as enforcers are in the spotlight and have to deliver results. We are on track but we need to carry the momentum into our agencies and multiply it in the ICN. Our co-hosts did a great job transforming the L.A. conference into a virtual event.”
Registration is not required. The web address to attend is available on the ICN 2020 Virtual Annual Conference’s website.
2020 ICN Working Group annual work plans
Now presenting the ICN’s 2020-2023 future work plans. Also available on individual working group webpages.
2020 ICN Virtual Annual Conference
The first virtual ICN Annual Conference will take place from 14-17 September 2020. Our joint virtual hosts, the US DoJ and US FTC, together with the ICN Working Group Co-chairs have organized a compact conference week and a series of additional sessions that are linked to the main conference week but will take place later this year.
2020 ICN NGA Toolkit
The ICN has created a new guide for NGA engagement. This NGA toolkit has been produced to provide guidance to member agencies and to existing and prospective NGAs on NGA engagement. NGAs are competition experts from all backgrounds – lawyers and economists in private practice, inhouse
counsels, representatives of non-governmental international organizations, members of industry and consumer groups, academics and judges – who volunteer to contribute to the ICN’s work.