EC/Japan agreement: cooperation on anticompetitive activities

PURPOSE : to conclude the Agreement between the EC and Japan concerning cooperation on anti-competitive practices. COMMUNITY MEASURE : Council Decision 2003/520/EC. CONTENT : The Agreement referred to above is approved on behalf of the European Community and the text of the Agreement is attached to the Decision. The Agreement came about because of the increasingly pronounced international dimension to competition problems. International cooperation in this field must be strengthened. The sound and effective enforcement of competition laws is a matter of importance to the efficient operation of the markets and to international trade. (Please see the summary dated 08/05/02). Article 308 of the Treaty is invoked owing to the inclusion in the text of the Agreement of mergers and acquisitions which are covered by Council Regulation 4064/89/EEC, on the control of concentrations between undertakings, which in turn is essentially based on Article 308.�