• Today, representatives of the Autorité de la concurrence, the French Competition Authority, began their visit in UOKiK.
• During the meeting, representatives of the two institutions will discuss, among other things, the authorities’ proceedings concerning digital and labor markets, as well as actions taken in connection with the crisis.

Today UOKiK is hosting a visit by Benoît Cœuré, President of the French Competition Authority, who, together with representatives of the French Autorité de la concurrence, including Vice Presidents Fabienne Siredey-Garnier and Henri Piffaut, visited the Office at the invitation of UOKiK's President Tomasz Chróstny. This is the first visit of representatives of the French antitrust authority to UOKiK.

During the meeting, the competencies of the two institutions were presented and current topics in the area of antitrust were discussed, including, among others, the implementation and application of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as well as the use of digital tools to detect anticompetitive practices in public procurement and cooperation with law enforcement agencies in this area. The issue of the most important problems in court proceedings in connection with appeals against decisions of authorities was also addressed. 

The representatives of the two authorities also touched on proceedings conducted by the Authorities, including those relating to digital markets and the labor market, as well as actions taken in connection with the crisis. Representatives of the French Competition Authority shared their experiences in integrating sustainability issues into the antitrust authority's activities.

The meeting was also an opportunity to address the topic of possible joint activities in the implementation of cooperation projects.

The Autorité de la concurrence is France's competition regulator, an independent body serving competition and consumers. The Authority has been operating under its current name since 2008, when it was transformed from the Competition Council, whose powers were expanded to include the control of mergers and acquisitions. Outside of this area, the tasks of the Autorité de la concurrence include: combating cartels and abuse of dominant position, formulating opinions and issuing recommendations (advisory activities) and regulating some of the legal professions. As of January 2022, the French Competition Authority is headed by economist Benoît Cœuré.