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Competition and trade law: Notice on co-operation with national authorities

United Kingdom
10/02/1998
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Notice on co-operation with national authorities

The Commission is seeking to decentralise the application of EC competition rules. To this end, it has published a Notice setting out the ways in which DG IV and national competition authorities will co-operate in handling cases which fall within Article 85 and Article 86 of the EC Treaty. This Notice complements the 1993 Notice on relations between national courts and the Commission.

Both national authorities and the Commission are responsible for applying Article 85 and Article 86, although it is only the Commission who can grant an individual exemption under Article 85(3). The Commission's aim is to have the competition rules applied more widely by national authorities because of their more detailed knowledge of local markets and businesses. The hope is that businesses will start to approach national competition authorities more frequently.

Generally speaking, national authorities will deal with those cases whose effect is mainly national and which, at first glance, are unlikely to be exempted under Article 85(3). The Commission, however, reserves the right to handle cases displaying a "particular Community interest" even if they could be dealt with by a national authority. These might include those cases which:

  • raise a new point of law; or
  • involve alleged anti-competitive behaviour by a public undertaking or an undertaking interested with the operation of services of general economic interest.

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