Co-operation between the Swiss Competition authorities and other

Competition authorities concerning concentration activities

Presented by

Dr. Patrick Krauskopf

Vice-director of the Secretariat of the Competition Commission

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Structure of the panel

I. Introduction

II. Existing legal basis for co-operation on competition matters

III. Necessity of enhanced formal co-operation between Switzerland and its trading partners

IV. Concluding remarks

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I. Introduction

A. Tasks and aims of the Swiss competition authorities

B. Specific features of Switzerland• The geographical location

• The Swiss economy in comparison to the world economy

• Big companies located in Switzerland

Wettbewerbskommission Commission de la concurrence Commissione della concorrenza

A. Task and aims of the competition authorities

• The Competition The Competition Commission (Comco)Commission (Comco)– Takes decisions

– Addresses recommendations and reports

– Renders opinions

• The SecretariatThe Secretariat– Examines

– Prepares decisions

– Gives legal advice

– Observes markets

– Collects information

– Is responsible for Is responsible for contacts with other contacts with other authoritiesauthorities

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Figure 1 : Growth of headquarters transfers to Switzerland (1990-2001)

Figure 2 : Transfers of global headquarters by country of origin in %

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Figure 3: Overall productivity and productivity index :GDP (US $) per person employed and productivityindex (2001)

                                                                                         

        

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II. Existing legal basis for co-operation on competition matters

A. No specific agreement on co-operation on concentration activities with other authorities

B. OECD Recommendations1) Recommendation on co-operation between antitrust

authorities

2) Recommendation on co-operation against hard-core cartels

C. Bilateral agreement on air transport between Switzerland and EU

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B. OECD Recommendations

1) Recommendation on co-operation between antitrust authorities

• 1986, revised in 1995• basic tools for co-operation: notification of cases, exchange of

information, co-ordination of action, consultation, conciliation• Non-binding

2) Recommendation on co-operation against hard-core cartels

• 1998• Particular forms of co-operation: positive comity, document

sharing…• Non-binding

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C. Bilateral agreement on air Transport

• Between the EU and Switzerland• 06/01/2002• Reciprocal liberalization of air traffic rights• EU competition rules are also applied in

Switzerland by the EU Commission.• Switzerland remains competent concerning

state aids.• Cooperation for enforcement and procedural

measures.

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III. Necessity of enhanced co-operation between the Switzerland and its trading partners (EU/US/D/F)

A. Economical context: an increasing globalized economy

B. Swiss cases of recent concentration activities with international dimensions

C. Report

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A. Economical context: an increasing globalized economy

• Liberalization of the economy• Increasing inter-dependence between the

different countries• Competition on a worldwide scale• Growth rate of international cross-border

company mergers• Necessity of co-operation

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B. Swiss cases of recentconcentration activities with international dimensions

• Ernst&Young / Arthur Andersen • BP/E.On• IBM/PwC Consulting• GE/Honeywell

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C. Report

1) Co-operation is highly effective but insufficiently ruled out

– Lack of certainty for the parties– Lack of certainty for the authorities– Foreclosure effects in the world market

2) Remedies:a) Bilateral contacts:

• General: exchange of staff and experience• Case by case: intensive co-operation on the basis of waivers

b) Unilateral measures: procedural simplification for international mergers with insignificant effects on the Swiss market

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IV. Concluding remarks• Existing practices are still unsatisfactory• Need to set forth a formal legal framework in the

form of bi- or multilateral co-operation agreements with the following objectives:

– Provide better knowledge of the different competition policies

– Promote a convergent approach towards methodical issues

– Reduce burdens on merging parties– Reduce the inefficiencies of overlapping

investigations

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