EU and UK Formalize Competition Cooperation Pact Post-Brexit

The European Union and the United Kingdom have formally established a dedicated framework for collaboration on competition matters through the EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement. This accord functions as a specific supplement to the broader EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in December 2020.

Technical discussions concluded in October 2024, followed by the European Commission adopting proposals for the agreement's signing in May 2025. As of February 25, 2026, the pact awaits final ratification procedures from both the EU and the UK, with implementation anticipated in the first or second quarter of 2026. This development marks the first specialized post-Brexit instrument focused exclusively on competition cooperation, intended to strengthen effective law enforcement across both jurisdictions.

The framework formalizes cooperation involving the European Commission, the National Competition Authorities (NCAs) of EU Member States, and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). A novel feature of the pact is the establishment of a direct cooperation channel between the CMA and individual EU Member State enforcement agencies, a structure that extends beyond previous agreements, such as the one with the United States, by including NCAs directly alongside the Commission.

The agreement mandates mutual notification for significant antitrust or merger investigations deemed likely to affect the other party's interests, as stipulated in Article 3. It also permits the coordination of enforcement efforts concerning identical or related activities when deemed appropriate by the involved authorities. A strict obligation exists for authorities to safeguard the confidentiality of shared information, generally requiring prior consent from the originating companies before sensitive data can be exchanged.

The scope is precisely delineated, covering antitrust and merger control proceedings, but it explicitly excludes sector-specific regulation, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Crucially, the pact does not aim for substantive harmonization of competition laws, remaining constrained by the domestic legal frameworks of both the EU and the UK. The objective is to mitigate potential jurisdictional conflicts and support robust competition rule enforcement for the benefit of consumers and innovation.

For businesses, this enhanced procedural clarity is intended to reduce the risk of conflicting decisions that have occurred in past parallel investigations, such as those involving Microsoft/Activision Blizzard or Meta/Kustomer. The EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement is positioned as a pragmatic mechanism to sustain effective cooperation in the post-Brexit environment, offering structured coordination that surpasses earlier international models.