The EU Commission has revised its regulations regarding cooperation agreements between competitors, so-called horizontal agreements. The regulations went into effect 1 January 2011 and include two block exemption regulations (for specialization as well as for research and development agreements) together with revised guidelines for horizontal agreements. A core element of the reform of the horizontal guidelines is the newly added section regarding information exchange.
The guidelines of the EU Commission apply not only to companies domiciled in the EU, but to all companies as long as their business affects competition in the EU market.
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