CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ ADDRESSEES OF ANTITRUST AND STATE AID LEGISLATION IN EUROPEAN… undertaking, which is to be interpreted in the same way as in EU law. Conversely, when the agreement is concluded with countries that do not aspire to be associated with the EU or when the material law is not covered, the term undertaking (or any alternative thereof ) is typically omitted. Cooperation agreements are a typical example of the latter category. The EU has concluded several cooperation agreements aimed specifically at competition law. It shall be observed first that such agreements cover only the antitrust provisions, not state aid, as that regulation is peculiar to the EU legal order. It is also worth mentioning that most of such agreements are of procedural character, and the exact content of competition law is not discussed. For example, the cooperation agreement with the United States 31 only lists the legislation constituting competition law of the respective parties, without defining it and thus without employing the term undertaking; 32 the same applies to other such agreements, for example with Japan 33 and others. 34 The only exception is the cooperation agreement with Switzerland, 35 which uses the term undertaking, but does not further explain it. On the other hand, there are only a few agreements which attempt to define competition law; a nice example is the recent Comprehensive Economic andTrade Agreement with Canada (hereinafter referred to as “CETA”). When defining the prohibited agreements and abuse of dominance, it refers to (without any clarification) “enterprises”. 36 It is obvious that from the point of view of the EU, this term is to be interpreted in the same way as “undertakings”; it is not clear however, whether Canada would use the same interpretation. International Organizations Concerned with Competition Law For the purposes of this article, two international organisations play a crucial role in promoting competition law: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (hereinafter referred to as “OECD”) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (hereinafter referred to as “UNCTAD”). 1. OECD OECD considers competition policy among its priorities; twice a year, delegates from national competition authorities meet within the OECD Competition Committee to discuss the current issues of competition policy and enforcement, and once a year, the Global Forum on Competition, where all the competition authorities from around the world are invited, takes place. 31 Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Commission of the European Communities regarding the Application of their Competition Laws; OJ L 95, 27. 4. 1995 pp. 47-52. 32 Ibid , Art. I (2). 33 Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Japan concerning cooperation on anti- competitive activities, OJ L 183, 22. 7. 2003, pp. 12-17. 34 For the list of other cooperation agreements in the area of competition law, see the DG Competition web site < http://ec.europa.eu/competition/international/legislation/agreements.html> [accessed 25 June 2018]. 35 Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation concerning cooperation on the application of their competition laws, OJ L 347, 3. 12. 2014, pp. 3-9. 36 CETA, Art. 17 (1). IV.

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