Under ‘The Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ between the European Union (“EU”) and the United Kingdom (“UK”) (the “TCA”) (effective as of 1 January 2021), the UK will be able to establish its own competition regime and will no longer be part of the EU’s regime. The EU and UK will each have the right to set their own competition laws, policies and priorities and to determine the levels of protection each deems appropriate - subject to the broad constraints of the TCA.
In what the Conservative Government will deem a big success, the TCA affords the UK its sovereignty and freedom from the remit of the European Court of Justice. Nonetheless, it is clear from the TCA that the UK will not have an entirely free hand in its competition law policy and enforcement.
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