International competition law enforcement: different means, one goal?

This paper addresses one of the intricacies of international competition law enforcement, namely the diversification of legal instruments used for bilateral cooperation. To name only a few: why are memorandums of understanding, dedicated competition cooperation agreements, competition law provisions in free trade agreements, and policy dialogues used in parallel to attain bilateral cooperation on competition law enforcement? What is the added legal value of each instrument? Is their added value to be found in political considerations? The argument put forward in this paper is that a parallel can be drawn between the internal and external functions of competition law. As competition law is not a goal as such within the EU, but in general serves the optimal functioning of the Single Market, the function of international cooperation on competition law matters is not solely to be found in competition considerations, but serves other goals as well. Therefore, the fact that a number of different objectives are pursued may explain the use of several distinct instruments for cooperation on competition law issues

Which future for competition in the global trade system: competition chapters in FTAs

Globalization increases international competition, but it also entails an intensified risk for abusive and anti-competitive behaviour. The European Union's (EU's) capacity to rise to this challenge depends on the international mode of governance it decides to pursue and the determination with which it does so. The EU has always been a strong advocate of competition law within a WTO context. Recently, however, it has been far more active on a bilateral level, embedding competition provisions in a wide array of agreements. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) constitute one of the venues the EU has chosen to include competition provisions. The evolution of the global trade system, and in particular the place of competition law within this system, is complex and uncertain. This article aims to contribute to the debate on whether, and if so, how competition regulation should fit into the global trade scheme, by focusing on competition chapters in FTAs. In order to fully assess their value, this contribution first analyses the need for such provisions, following which the past attempts of integrating competition in a trade context are studied, finally proceeding to an analysis and assessment of competition chapters in a selection of bilateral FTAs