The South African Competition Commission and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition have signed a deal to strengthen cooperation in competition law enforcement between the two agencies.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), cemented this week in Brussels, unlocked technical cooperation initiatives for the development of competition policy, competition law and the enforcement thereof.
“South Africa and the European Union already cooperate in the area of competition regulation and this MoU gives us a firm basis to consolidate our relationship, with a particular focus on people-to-people contact,” said South Africa’s Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele in a statement.
The cooperation extended to experience- and knowledge-sharing on operational issues affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the respective agencies, as well as competition policy and enforcement in the respective jurisdictions, including investigations of competition law infringements.
The document also delved into multilateral competition initiatives, such as interactions with the International Competition Network, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.