The long-term potential of an interim-solution : an assessment of the EU's bilateral competition cooperation agreements in context

Abstract:While forces of globalization have created a genuine global marketplace, global rules safeguarding the competitive process in this marketplace have not emerged. International cooperation among national regulators and enforcers is therefore needed to effectively and efficiently create a competitive global business-environment. The variety of legal instruments available to the EU in this regard led to this doctoral study, which undertakes an assessment of the EU's bilateral cooperation agreements in the field of competition law. It is analysed whether or not the EU should continue to invest in this type of agreements, which are often labelled as a mere 'interim-solution' awaiting a global agreement. As these agreements do not operate in a vacuum, additional focus is on competition provisions in free trade agreements as well as the main multilateral initiatives in this field, in order to determine their relative value.

Publication year:2017

Accessibility:Open