8 September 2017
Finland has entered into a cooperation agreement between the Nordic competition authorities, with the aim of improving the handling of cross-border competition cases and the enforcement of competition rules. Juhani Jokinen, Director General of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority, signed the agreement at the annual meeting of the Nordic Competition Authorities in Tuusula on 8 September 2017. The treaty process must be completed and the Competition Act amended for the agreement to enter into force.
Finland has not previously been a party to the cooperation agreement between Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Now, the 15-year-old agreement has been renewed and Finland is joining it to enhance cooperation with other Nordic authorities.
"The need to join the agreement is partly due to the integration of the Nordic markets and the cross-border implications of antitrust violations; in part, for Finland in particular, it also concerns improving dialogue and the exchange of information with Norway and Iceland, which are not EU members," says Juhani Jokinen of the FCCA.
In the Nordic countries, antitrust violations have traditionally arisen between the same industries and
companies. All Nordic authorities will benefit from exchanges of information in the case, for example, of cartel investigations and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to information exchange, cooperation between the authorities involves requests for information, notifications of investigation, the right to carry out inspections on behalf of another authority, and assisting the inspecting authority upon its request.
The revised cooperation agreement follows the OECD recommendation of 2014. The treaty process must be completed and the Competition Act amended for the agreement to enter into force in Finland. The Competition Act is currently being reformed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Agreement on Cooperation in Competition Cases
More information: Kilpailulain uudistamista koskevan työryhmän mietintö (Report of the Working Group on Reforming the Competition Act, in Finnish), publication of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment 16/2017
Further information: Juhani Jokinen, Director General, tel. 029 505 3389