Brussels (VNA) - Officials and experts from the EU andmember countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met inBangkok from May 8-9 to discuss cooperation on competition policy andenforcement.

Participants discussed international cooperation in antitrustand mergers, with a focus on the role played by innovation and pipelineproducts in the assessment of merger cases.

The meeting’s agenda also included cartel investigationtechniques for building an effective case, as well as State support with a focuson subsidy control and competitive neutrality principles.

The second EU-ASEAN Competition Week is hosted by the Trade CompetitionCommission of Thailand as part of a series of dialogues on competition policyand enforcement between the two sides. These dialogues provide an opportunityfor the European Commission, the ASEAN Member States Competition Authorities,and the ASEAN Secretariat to advance their technical cooperation and exchanges.

The meeting was part of the Competition Cooperation project,a 5-year EU-funded programme offering technical cooperation to competitionauthorities in Asia. The objective is to share experiences and strengthenconvergence in competition policy, to the benefit of citizens and businesses inboth the EU and in Asia./.