Co-operation between the Swiss Competition authorities and other Competition authorities concerning concentration activi

1. Co-operation between the Swiss Competition authorities and other Competition authorities concerning concentration activities Presented by Dr. Patrick Krauskopf Vice-director of the Secretariat of the Competition Commission

2. Structure of the panel • Introduction • Existing legal basis for co-operation on competition matters • Necessity of enhanced formal co-operation between Switzerland and its trading partners • Concluding remarks

3. Introduction • Tasks and aims of the Swiss competition authorities • Specific features of Switzerland • The geographical location • The Swiss economy in comparison to the world economy • Big companies located in Switzerland

4. The Competition Commission (Comco) Takes decisions Addresses recommendations and reports Renders opinions The Secretariat Examines Prepares decisions Gives legal advice Observes markets Collects information Is responsible for contacts with other authorities Task and aims of the competition authorities

6. Figure 1 : Growth of headquarters transfers to Switzerland (1990-2001) Figure 2 : Transfers of global headquarters by country of origin in %

7. Figure 3: Overall productivity and productivity index: GDP (US $) per person employed and productivity index (2001)

8. Existing legal basis for co-operation on competition matters • No specific agreement on co-operation on concentration activities with other authorities • OECD Recommendations • Recommendation on co-operation between antitrust authorities • Recommendation on co-operation against hard-core cartels • Bilateral agreement on air transport between Switzerland and EU

9. OECD Recommendations • Recommendation on co-operation between antitrust authorities • 1986, revised in 1995 • basic tools for co-operation: notification of cases, exchange of information, co-ordination of action, consultation, conciliation • Non-binding • Recommendation on co-operation against hard-core cartels • 1998 • Particular forms of co-operation: positive comity, document sharing… • Non-binding

10. Bilateral agreement on air Transport • Between the EU and Switzerland • 06/01/2002 • Reciprocal liberalization of air traffic rights • EU competition rules are also applied in Switzerland by the EU Commission. • Switzerland remains competent concerning state aids. • Cooperation for enforcement and procedural measures.

11. Necessity of enhanced co-operation between the Switzerland and its trading partners (EU/US/D/F) • Economical context: an increasing globalized economy • Swiss cases of recent concentration activities with international dimensions • Report

12. Economical context: an increasing globalized economy • Liberalization of the economy • Increasing inter-dependence between the different countries • Competition on a worldwide scale • Growth rate of international cross-border company mergers • Necessity of co-operation

13. Swiss cases of recentconcentration activities with international dimensions • Ernst&Young / Arthur Andersen • BP/E.On • IBM/PwC Consulting • GE/Honeywell

14. Report • Co-operation is highly effective but insufficiently ruled out • Lack of certainty for the parties • Lack of certainty for the authorities • Foreclosure effects in the world market • Remedies: • Bilateral contacts: • General: exchange of staff and experience • Case by case: intensive co-operation on the basis of waivers • Unilateral measures: procedural simplification for international mergers with insignificant effects on the Swiss market

15. Concluding remarks • Existing practices are still unsatisfactory • Need to set forth a formal legal framework in the form of bi- or multilateral co-operation agreements with the following objectives: • Provide better knowledge of the different competition policies • Promote a convergent approach towards methodical issues • Reduce burdens on merging parties • Reduce the inefficiencies of overlapping investigations