This presentation by the EU was made during a hearing on Enhanced Enforcement Cooperation held at the 119th meeting of the Working Party 3 of the Competition Committee on 17 June 2014. Find out more at http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/enhanced-enforcement-cooperation.htm

1. Blanca RODRIGUEZ GALINDO
Head, International Relations Unit
European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition
The views expressed in this presentation are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official
position of the European Commission
OECD WP3 Hearing on Enhanced Enforcement Cooperation, Paris, 17 June 2014
Cooperation between the EC and NCA's in
inspections

2. What tools does the EC possess to
collect information in the EU?
• 1. Written requests for information
• 2. Inspections
• 3. Interviews
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3. Inspections by the EC in the EU
Member States:
• 1. Legal basis: Art. 20 and 21 Reg. 1/2003
• 2. Business premises (Art 20):
• By Commission decision (mandatory), or
• Simple mandate (voluntary)
• 3. Private premises (Art 21):
• Reasonable suspicion that documents are present in
premises
• Needed: Court search warrant
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4. Inspections by the NCA requested by
the Commission
• Legal basis: Art 22 (2) Reg 1/2003.
• The EC may ask the NCA to do an inspection on
its behalf.
• These inspections are carried out under national
law!
• Commission officials or others may assist the
NCA during the inspection. 4

5. EC Inspections – Far reaching
Investigative powers:
1. enter any premises, land and means of transport of the
company under investigation;
2. examine the books/other records related to the business,
independent of the medium on which they are stored;
3. take or obtain in any form copies of or extracts from such
books or records;
4. seal any business premises and books or records;
5. ask any representative or member of staff of the company
for explanations on facts or documents relating to the
subject-matter and purpose of the inspection and to record
the answers.
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6. Always cooperation with NCA's prior,
during and after the inspections (1)
• First contacts with NCA well before the date of
inspection.
• NCA knows the language, the culture, the
market, the firms and special circumstances.
• This may affect e.g. the timing of the EC
inspection, the choice of the premises, the size of
the inspection team and the chosen strategy.
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7. Cooperation with NCA's prior, during and
after inspections (2)
• The EC consults the NCA on the draft Decision
ordering the inspection(Art 20(4)).
• Members of the NCA will always assist the EC
inspection team during the inspection (Art
20(5)): same powers as EC officials.
• In case of opposition, they will take over the
inspection (Art 20(6)) if needed, with assistance
of the police, on the basis of a court order. 7

8. Conclusion:
• Cooperation between the EC and the NCA in
inspections is a necessary ingredient for success.
• Cooperation makes the EC investigations more
effective and efficient
• This is only possible on the basis of mutual trust
and a good legal framework for cooperation
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9. Thank you for your attention!
• See all EU laws, Regulations, Guidelines and
Notices, decisions, press releases etc. on:
• http://ec.europa.eu/competition/index_en.html
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