REINFORCEMENT OF COOPERATION AMONG COMPETITION AUTHORITIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

On 29 June 2026, the ARCC (ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority) began a series of benchmarking visits to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) in brussels,  the UK’s Competition and Markets (Competition and Markets Authority — CMA) of the United Kingdom, the French Competition Authority, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in Paris as part of its continuing efforts to strengthen institutional capacity, improve regulatory effectiveness, and deepen international cooperation in competition and consumer protection matters.

The ERCA delegation was led by Dr Simeon Koffi, Executive Director of ERCA, together with the President of the ERCA Council. These exchanges provided a high-level platform for discussions on institutional design, investigative practice, merger control, antitrust enforcement, consumer protection frameworks, inter-agency coordination, and emerging challenges in modern competition regulation.

“We also view this engagement not merely as a benchmarking exercise, but as the beginning of a structured and strategic partnership,” said Dr Simeon Koffi, Executive Director of ERCA, during the DG COMP visit in Brussels.

During the visit to DG COMP in Brussels on 29 July 2026, the ERCA delegation held substantive discussions on institutional structure, antitrust enforcement, cartel investigations, merger control procedures, and cooperation mechanisms within the European competition system. Additional exchanges with the French Competition Authority and the CMA UK on 30 July 2026 enriched the programme with practical experience in enforcement cooperation, governance, and market oversight. In France, the delegation engaged with France Competition President Benoit Coeure. At the CMA, discussions included Eleni Gouliou, Director of International at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, who previously served as a Director and Case Handler in the CMA’s Mergers team and at the European Commission’s DG Competition.

Finally, the visit to the OECD, held on 2 July 2026, further broadened the delegation’s international exposure and strengthened ERCA’s understanding of global policy approaches and best practices.

These visits reinforced the importance of sustained collaboration among competition authorities working to promote fair competition, protect consumers, and support well-functioning markets. They also gave the ERCA delegation the opportunity to inform its interlocutors about the upcoming Inaugural Annual Conference of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA), to be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 15 to 17 September 2026, as a platform for dialogue, exchange of experience, and strengthened regional and international cooperation. ERCA considers such partnerships essential for identifying good practices capable of informing ongoing reforms, strengthening institutional capacities, and improving service delivery across the region.