The Office for Competition co-operates with the European Commission and other Member States national competition authorities within the European Competition Network (ECN). Following the Council Regulation (EC) No 1/ 2003 of 16 December on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty, the national competition authorities became empowered to apply Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to apply these articles concurrently with the national substantive competition law provisions where the agreement, practice or conduct may have an effect on trade between Member States.

The ECN provides the means to ensure the effective and consistent application of the EU competition rules. Through the ECN, the competition authorities can share experiences and discuss pertinent topics, address competition problems and seek convergence. Following Malta’s accession to the European Union in 2004, the Office for Competition attends regular meetings organised by the ECN under the auspices of the European Commission.

The Office for Competition also attends meetings organised by the Competition Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Competition Network (ICN) and seminars organised by other national competition authorities to keep abreast with the latest developments in competition policy.