ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses regional competition networks. Regional transnational competition networks (TCNs) present the widest spectrum of solutions and offer members the greatest opportunities to shape cooperation as they wish. The chapter presents a subjective selection of regional networks according to their relevance to the region and their specific features. A distinction is made between networks based on binding international agreements and networks based on informal agreements between national competition authorities (NCAs). At the same time, the ephemerality of many regional networks cannot be overlooked: the ease with which informal TCNs can be set up is matched by their tendency to disappear. When this happens, it most often does not involve an official end to the network’s activity, but rather results from the cessation of cooperation within the network. The chapter analyses regional TCNs from Europe, such as the Nordic Cooperation, the Central European Competition Initiative, the Marchfeld Competition Forum and the Interstate Council for Anti-monopoly Policy. In the case of non-European regional competition networks, the analysis is limited to the most important ones. The means of international cooperation among NCAs within regional competition networks reflects the development of competition laws in particular regions. Regional competition networks are good incubators for more advanced forms of international cooperation among NCAs (eg, continental and global networks).
