Cooperation

Foto: Kersti Telve

The Estonian Competition Authority participates in the work of working groups and associations in various fields of activity. Most of the international communication takes place through various cooperation networks and organisations, but also in the form of bilateral relations.

The European Competition Network (ECN) is the forum for cooperation between the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission and the national competition authorities. The European competition rules are applied by all members of the network, and the uniform application of the rules requires the exchange of information and the sharing of best practices.

European Competition Authorities (ECA) is an informal network of competition authorities from the European Union, the European Commission, and the competition authorities of the EFTA States to discuss competition issues and share experiences.

The OECD Competition Committee is a committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that focuses on competition issues in the region covering all its member countries.

The International Competition Network (ICN) is a global network of competition authorities of very different sizes and capacities from every region in the world. The network is informal and aims to maintain contacts and a common understanding of competition rules and their implementation.

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has a key role to play in developing common EU network and market rules to increase competition. The Agency coordinates regional and trans-regional initiatives promoting market integration. It monitors the work of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas, in particular their EU-wide network development plans.

The Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) was established for the cooperation of the independent energy regulators of Europe. The Council seeks to facilitate the creation of a single, competitive, efficient, and sustainable EU internal energy market.

The Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) is an international association of energy regulators established in 2000 to exchange information between energy regulators.

The aim of the OECD Network of Economic Regulators is to exchange different regulatory practices in different sectors and to compare the effectiveness and independence of regulators.

The objective of Regional Gas Market Coordination Group is to develop a single Baltic and Finnish gas market. The aim of the regulators is to develop a unified pricing scheme based on input-output points.

The European Water Regulators (WAREG) was established under the leadership of 12 European water regulatory or development organisations. The WAREG working group on regulation monitors the implementation of benchmarking in the water regulation of different countries, and the institutional working group addresses the issue of affordability of water services.

The Independent Regulators’ Group-Rail (IRG-Rail) is a group of independent national rail regulators made up of representatives from 29 countries. The IRG-Rail analyses changes to the legislation planned by the European Commission and proposes the necessary additions or amendments.

The European Network of Rail Regulatory Bodies (ENRRB) is an institution set up by the European Commission to bring together national rail regulatory bodies and it includes representatives from the Member States of the European Union. The main task of the ENRRB is to assist the European Commission in the preparation of legislation and to facilitate active cooperation and exchange of information between national railway regulatory bodies.

The members of the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP) are EU Member States. The role of the ERGP is to advise the European Commission in the field of postal services and to promote cooperation and communication between the Member States and the European Commission.

The role of the European Committee of Postal Regulation (CERP) is to examine postal regulation issues in a European context, while also considering regulatory changes. The CERP also assesses the impact of international regulation on countries and liaises with relevant international postal regulatory organisations.

European Working Groups of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU is the main form of cooperation between the parties in the postal sector. The UPU also acts as an advisor and contact point, providing technical support as needed. The UPU establishes rules for international correspondence and makes recommendations to promote the growth of letter, parcel, and financial services and to improve the service quality for users.

The Estonian Competition Authority cooperates most closely with colleagues from neighbouring countries. Annual meetings are held with Latvian, Lithuanian, and Finnish colleagues from the corresponding competition authorities as well as energy and postal regulators.