The UK-EU Competition Cooperation Agreement aimed at improving collaboration between competition authorities on either side of the channel.
It also hopes to enable greater levels of dialogue between the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the European Commission and the national competition authorities of the EU member states.
Once implemented, the agreement should ensure more effective enforcement of global competition laws, supporting businesses both in the UK and EU as well as protecting consumers.
The UK and EU negotiated the agreement with a view to it being signed in the coming year, although parliament will have the opportunity to consider the deal in more detail once the text is published for scrutiny.
As part of the announcement, the UK Government said it was “committed to promoting open and fair competition globally to ensure the best opportunities for UK businesses and consumers”.
The CMA is often involved in judging how food and drink industry mergers and acquisitions will impact competition within various categories.
Commenting on the negotiations, UK business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “This forthcoming agreement recognises the importance of our continued cooperation between UK and EU competition authorities. This milestone underscores our shared recognition of the importance of international cooperation in an increasingly globalised economy.
“When competition law is enforced well across global markets, it helps to ensure businesses and consumers are protected while supporting economic growth, which is why this agreement is so important.”
Meanwhile, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell added: “We welcome this cooperation agreement, which will allow us to work even more closely with EU competition authorities on shared cases and common competition issues – without unnecessary barriers.
“Effective competition has a key role to play in driving economic growth so, with many companies now operating globally, it’s important that competition authorities can cooperate more freely with each other to get the best outcomes for fair-playing businesses and consumers.”
In other news, the CMA has launched a phase 1 investigation into the proposed £3.3bn acquisition of Britvic by Carlsberg.
