ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses soft forms of international cooperation between national competition authorities (NCAs) within networks. The histories of the NCAs reveal that international cooperation initially began with soft cooperation. This does not require a clear and precise legal basis; nor does it directly lead to the imposition of any formal obligations on NCAs. Soft cooperation is the first stage of international cooperation between NCAs. It begins with the enactment and application of domestic competition legislation, and with the relevant bodies and their staff becoming acquainted with each other. This enables them to learn from more advanced competition jurisdictions and to exchange experience and expertise. Once a certain level of mutual trust and understanding has been established and adequate domestic competition legislation has been enacted, the NCAs can move on to more sophisticated ways of working together. Work within transnational competition networks leads to the establishment of legislative aims and standards and the coordination of administrative practice (soft law). The last form of soft cooperation is verification of network members’ compliance with common standards. Such peer reviews send an important message to all members, as they show how committed they are to cooperation and whether they can be trusted as reliable network members.
