The competition authorities of the EU and its Member States have, through the European Competition Network (ECN), announced they recognise there may be a need for businesses to cooperate to address the business challenges they face as a result of the war in Ukraine.
The ECN statement identifies the acknowledgement that such cooperation may be anti-competitive but the benefits to remedy the challenges can outweigh the anti-competitive effects. The authorities will not actively seek to investigate such cooperation, and will provide informal guidance to businesses who, after self-assessment, still have doubts as to the compatibility of proposed cooperation.
This initiative by the ECN, which is similar to a communication issued in relation to challenges business faced due to COVID-19, will be welcomed by businesses. It would be additionally supportive of business in this difficult time if the UK's competition authority is able to issue a similar communication offering comfort to businesses that are seeking to balance the challenges they face in the supply chain with important issues, such as the safety and wellbeing of their employees in Ukraine.
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