ABSTRACT
This last chapter offers some conclusions stemming from the considerations presented in the book. It shows that transnational competition networks (TCNs) play a key role in the development of competition law and international cooperation among national competition authorities (NCAs). The development of TCNs is possible precisely because of their diversity, the flexibility of cooperation within them and the freedom to adapt the forms and scope of this cooperation to the current needs of member NCAs. The majority of NCAs now treat the transnational network environment as a natural sphere of activity, regardless of whether current domestic law fully permits such activities. TCNs tend to move from informational activities to harmonisation activities by adopting soft law acts aimed at achieving de facto convergence and changing the administrative practice of NCAs without formally revising national law. The variability in the lifecycles of TCNs is a result of their flexible structure and the often informal arrangements that underpin their establishment and operation. The cooperation of NCAs within TCNs has become a shining example of, and an argument for, the legitimacy of distinguishing transnational forms of cooperation as an intermediate route between traditional forms of national and international cooperation.
