An Academic View on the Role and Powers of National Competition Authorities / A Practitioner’s View on the Role and Powers of National Competition Authorities

This study provides background on the ‘ECN plus project’ by describing the European Competition Network (ECN) and the role of National Competition Authorities (NCAs). It investigates the decentralisation of the enforcement of EU
competition rules and the structure and the cooperation mechanisms of the ECN as well as the experiences with decentralised enforcement and the ECN during the last decade.

The ECN has functioned largely successfully as a platform for NCAs' cooperation and the voluntary harmonisation of national procedural rules. However, national regimes still differ in certain aspects, particularly in Member States that follow the judicial enforcement model and/or that impose criminal remedies on breaches of competition rules.

This study was provided by Policy Department A at the request of the ECON Committee of the European Parliament.

See also a related Study 'A Practitioner’s View on the Role and Powers of National Competition Authorities' (accessible via the related url hyperlinks below).

European Parliament: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union: Publications available via the EU Bookshop http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/directorate-general-for-internal-policies-of-the-union-cbf.cKABstF7wAAAEjwYYY4e5K/

European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service: Study, 2016: An Academic View on the Role and Powers of National Competition Authorities http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/578971/IPOL_STU(2016)578971_EN.pdf

European Commission: DG Competition: Policy areas: European Competition Network http://ec.europa.eu/competition/ecn/index_en.html

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