Better enforcement of competition rules in the WAEMU area: national court judges and heads of competition authorities from the eight Member States trained in Dakar

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Published On - September 1, 2026

Sadibou Sarr

A regional workshop on Community competition legislation opened in Dakar on Monday 18 June 2018. Organised by the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) with the support of the European Union (EU) through the Regional Economic Integration and Trade Support Programme (IERC), the meeting brings together, among others, judges from national courts and heads of competition authorities, with a view to better enforcement of Community rules.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Augustin Yakhar FAYE, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Senegal, in the presence of Dossolo DIARRA, Resident Representative of the WAEMU Commission in Dakar, and Ms Staziak KAROLINA, Chargée d’affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to Senegal.

In his address, Mr FAYE recalled WAEMU’s ambition to strengthen the competitiveness of the economic and financial activities of Member States within the framework of an open and competitive market and a rationalised legal environment. This seminar “is of particular importance because it reflects the partners’ determination to work with all Member States to consolidate the progress achieved and accelerate the reforms needed to build a dynamic regional market that drives growth and development for our respective economies,” he added.

For his part, the WAEMU Resident Representative, Dossolo DIARRA, explained that “this workshop will focus on the role of national judges in market regulation and will allow participants to discuss the thorny issues of evidence, sanctions and compensation for victims of unlawful practices.”

According to Ms KAROLINA, the European Union’s support involves, in particular, identifying the specific features of WAEMU Member States and adapting rules recognised as best practices in competition regulation.

The meeting aims, among other things, to:

  • inform participants about the issues involved in applying competition law and policy when handling competition cases;
  • highlight the respective roles of judges and heads of competition authorities in market regulation;
  • share good practices on evidence, sanctions and compensation for victims of anti-competitive practices in the market.

The Dakar seminar, which closes on 22 June, will conclude a series of activities organised by the WAEMU Commission in the eight Member States between 2017 and 2018. That series comprised assessment missions on the legislative, regulatory and institutional framework governing competition, and national information and awareness seminars on Community competition legislation.