Multi-Level Governance in Competition Policy: The European Competition Network

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Firat Cengiz, Tilburg Law School, University of Tilburg, Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) discusses Multi-Level Governance in Competition Policy: The European Competition Network.

ABSTRACT:This article analyses the general characteristics and practical cooperation mechanisms of the European Competition Network (ECN) as well as the initial experiences of policy enforcement through this network in the light of and in response to the European Commission Report on the Functioning of Regulation 1/2003. In general, this analysis is positive regarding the initial experiences of ECN. The article, however, finds significant accountability and due process problems caused in particular by the opacity of network management. Primarily, the article argues that, as an unintended consequence of Modernisation, EU competition policy has become vulnerable to the general systemic problems of multi-level governance.