Translation of "Accord sur les principes en matière de concurrence " (French → English) :

agreement affecting competition | arrangement affecting competition | arrangement on matters of competition

agreement affecting competition

Agreement on Competition Policy and Law

Agreement between the European Communities and the Government of the United States of America on the application of positive comity principles in the enforcement of their competition laws

I was the lead competition lawyer, and one of my litigation partners, Neil Finklestein, was the lead litigation lawyer on the file.

F. whereas, according to the Treaty, direct taxation is mainly a competence of the Member States; whereas, to the extent that the EU has competence in taxation, the exercise of that competence is usually subject to the unanimity requirement within the Council; whereas this has resulted in no significant decisions being taken yet at EU level in the area of corporate taxation, despite recent developments in EU integration in connection with the internal market and other areas covered by the EU Treaties, such as international trade agreements, t ...[+++]he single currency, economic and fiscal governance and anti-money-laundering principles and legislation; whereas the Member States must comply with European competition law and ensure that their tax legislation is compatible with the principles of the internal market and does not create distortion of competition; whereas, by giving each Member State a veto right, the unanimity rule within the Council reduces the incentive to move from the status quo towards a more cooperative solution; whereas, unless he procedure laid down in Article 116 TFEU is used, Treaty change would be required to change the unanimity requirement in matters of direct taxation;

F. whereas, according to the Treaty, direct taxation is mainly a competence of the Member States; whereas, to the extent that the EU has competence in taxation, the exercise of that competence is usually subject to the unanimity requirement within the Council; whereas this has resulted in no significant decisions being taken yet at EU level in the area of corporate taxation, despite recent developments in EU integration in connection with the internal market and other areas covered by the EU Treaties, such as international trade agreements, t ...[+++]he single currency, economic and fiscal governance and anti-money-laundering principles and legislation; whereas the Member States must comply with European competition law and ensure that their tax legislation is compatible with the principles of the internal market and does not create distortion of competition; whereas, by giving each Member State a veto right, the unanimity rule within the Council reduces the incentive to move from the status quo towards a more cooperative solution; whereas, unless he procedure laid down in Article 116 TFEU is used, Treaty change would be required to change the unanimity requirement in matters of direct taxation;

8. Regards the main new provision introduced by this kind of ‘second-generation agreement’, i.e. the possibility for the Commission and the Swiss Competition Commission to exchange confidential information, as a positive step; believes that this agreement could be considered a model for future bilateral cooperation agreements in the area of competition enforcement where there is a high degree of similarity between the parties to the agreement as regards their substantive competition rules, investigative powers and applicable sanctions; is of the opinion that the EU should adopt a general framework establishing a minimum common and consistent basis for any future negotiations on competition enforcement cooperation, leaving to the Commissio ...[+++]n, however, a margin for manoeuvre to allow for more ambitious achievements on a case-by-case basis; notes that this framework should include rules on secure channels for transmitting confidential information;