Competition: Commission agrees framework for dialogue on competition policy issues with Mexico

Commissioner Vestager, responsible for competition policy, said: “We can all benefit from working with other competition authorities to promote fair global competition. This new framework for dialogue will give further impetus to our excellent cooperation with Mexico’s competition authority. We have now formalised the basis for this cooperation and are committed to intensifying our ties, to the benefit of consumers and companies in Mexico and the EU.“

The arrangement between the EU’s and Mexico’s competition authorities provides a framework for dialogue on competition policy issues and for sharing views, as well as non-confidential information on individual cases.

In particular, the arrangement provides for:

• the exchange of information on competition laws and policies, on multilateral initiatives and advocacy efforts;
• coordination of the enforcement activities of the two competition authorities when working on the same or related matters. This is increasingly important, for example in merger assessment, where a merger can be subject to review in several jurisdictions;
• the possibility for one of the two competition authorities to refer a case to the other, if it involves anti-competitive practices carried out in the latter’s territory;
• cooperation on technical matters, for instance through training or exchange of officials.

The signing of this framework for a dialogue on competition policy issues reflects the ambition of enhanced cooperation on competition matters between the EU and Mexico, to the benefit of both.

Background

The European Commission has been cooperating closely with competition authorities in countries outside the EU for many years.

At bilateral level, the Commission has engaged in a wide range of cooperation activities with competition authorities in a number of non-EU countries on the basis of agreements or memoranda of understanding. Moreover, in its Free Trade Agreements, the Commission also negotiates a Competition Chapter which provides rules and disciplines on antitrust, mergers and subsidies.

In addition, the Commission participates actively in the competition-related activities of a number of multilateral organisations such as the International Competition Network (ICN), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UNCTAD, the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The main objective of this bilateral and multilateral cooperation with competition authorities is to promote convergence of competition policy instruments and practices across jurisdictions, exchange views on broader policy and enforcement issues, and facilitate cooperation with competition authorities in other jurisdictions on enforcement activities.

More information is available on the Commission’s Competition website.