Brussels, 28/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 28 November, the European Commission welcomed the entry into force, on Monday 1 December, of a cooperation agreement in the field of competition signed with Switzerland in May 2013. This is the first agreement of its kind (known as “second generation”) concluded between the EU and a third country, which will allow the Commission and the Swiss Competition Commission to exchange information obtained in the framework of their investigations.
The agreement will provide a framework for the coordination of control activities on the competition rules and will step up cooperation between the two authorities, through regular contact, amongst other things. The two authorities will notify each other of control measures which will affect each other's major interests. The authority receiving the information will be able to use it only to apply its own competition rules, and no evidence can be used to impose sanctions on individuals. (EL)