In the light of the outcome of the 23rd June 2016 UK referendum to leave
the European Union and the May government’s consequent approach to Brexit, this
paper explores the likely changes that these will bring to a key EU–UK relationship,
the competition policy relationship. It is suggested that changes are likely not only
in public enforcement and private actions but also in the need for a new competition
cooperation architecture between the EU and the UK. In order to appreciate how the
competition relationship is likely to change after Brexit, an understanding of the
current architecture in respect of the said areas is necessary and thus outlined early
in the paper. Thereafter, it is argued that, post the implementation period, as the UK
will no longer come under the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice or
indeed be a member of the Single European Market, a considerable loosening or
separation of the strands that shape the current EU–UK competition relationship
will occur. This unwinding of the currently intertwined EU and UK competition
regimes will affect both public enforcement and private actions, thereby opening up
the possibility of further regulatory divergence, unless consciously checked.
Moreover, as the separation will see the Commission’s jurisdictional remit no longer
include the UK, the domain will become the sole regulatory concern of UK institutions,
particularly the Competition and Markets Authority. This will lead to dual
regulatory capture, often of significant and complex antitrust and merger cases,
given the overlapping nature of EU and UK markets. Clearly, this necessitates the
UK regulator having the appropriate staffing to vet such cases, as it moves from
essentially a regional player to one on a par with the Commission and regulators in
the USA and China. In fact, the dual capture of such cases reinforces the importance
of effective cooperation between the EU and UK regulators.

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• Envisaging the Post-Brexit Landscape: An Articulation of the Likely Changes to the EU–UK Competition Policy Relationship