Council Decision To See Negotiations Open On Competition Addition To TCA

The European Council has released a decision confirming a mandate for the EU and UK to begin negotiations on reaching a more comprehensive agreement on cooperation than is currently laid down in the Trade and Cooperation Agreeement (TCA).

• Decision: "Following the withdrawal of the [UK] from the Union, the cooperation and information exchange possibilities with the United Kingdom’s competition authority in the context of the European Competition Network, through which the Commission and the national competition authorities of the Member States closely cooperate with each other, no longer exist"
• "The Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not provide for such close cooperation and allows only for cooperation in the field of competition that is permitted under domestic rules. [...] however, the Parties may enter into an agreement on cooperation and coordination [...] which may include conditions for the exchange and use of confidential information."
• The differentiation in EU and UK competition law and regulation has come to the fore most recently in the UK competition authority's refusal to allow Microsoft's acquisition of games developer Activision Blizzard, which was then approved by EU regulators.