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A single body of law does not apply itself
The Commission’s competence is exclusive, but its exercise is shared. Directive No. 02/2002/CM/UEMOA gave this cooperation what it calls, in its own words, a “dynamic and effective” character: the Commission decides; the national bodies monitor, investigate and relay; and the Advisory Committee brings the voice of the States into the decision-making process.
National competition bodies
Each Member State has a national competition body — an institution with general or sector-specific competence in the field of competition control. These bodies carry out a general investigative mission, on national initiative or under an express mandate from the Commission, and continuously monitor the market to detect malfunctions linked to anti-competitive practices.
Five cooperation obligations
- Receive and forward to the Commission applications for negative clearance, notifications for exemption and complaints from natural or legal persons;
- send quarterly reports or briefing notes on the state of competition in the sectors investigated;
- monitor the enforcement of decisions imposing a financial obligation on persons other than the State, and report on it periodically;
- record state aid and report on it quarterly;
- produce an annual report on the state of competition in the country.
When an investigation is launched on their own initiative, national bodies inform the Commission without delay. They also assist Commission officials when the Commission conducts investigations itself.
The eight national focal points
National focal points relay the Community’s competition policy and guide its application on the ground. Their local roots ensure that the realities of each Member State are taken into account in case investigations and market monitoring.
Benin
National competition body
Burkina Faso
National competition body
Côte d’Ivoire
National competition body
Guinea-Bissau
National competition body
Mali
National competition body
Niger
National competition body
Senegal
National competition body
Togo
National competition body
The Advisory Committee on Competition
The Advisory Committee on Competition (CCC) is the body through which Member States take an effective part in decision-making. Established by Article 28 of Regulation No. 03/2002/CM/UEMOA, it operates under Implementing Regulation No. 007/2005/COM/UEMOA.
Two per Member State, chosen for their expertise in competition matters and acting with full independence.
Members’ term of office, renewable once.
Rotating chair, following the alphabetical order of the Member States.
Ordinary sessions held in the Union’s various capitals.
The Committee is consulted before any decision of the Commission concerning the practices referred to in Article 88 of the Treaty. On unlawful agreements, abuse of a dominant position and economic concentration, it gives its opinion on any decision relating to negative clearances, individual or block exemptions, findings and termination of infringements and financial penalties, before the decision is adopted by the Commission. It may also discuss any general question of Community competition law.
Recent sessions of the Advisory Committee
- 32nd ordinary session — Ouagadougou, 19 to 21 May 2026;
- 28th ordinary session — Lomé, 19 to 23 June 2023;
- Niamey session — 14 to 18 June 2021;
- 19th ordinary session — Lomé, 4 to 8 June 2018.
Regional cooperation
Regional Competition Authority
ECOWASThe harmonisation of Community competition frameworks is the subject of sustained dialogue between the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions. A meeting held in Lomé from 29 to 31 March 2021 examined the draft ECOWAS–UEMOA cooperation agreement on the application of competition rules. The national information and awareness seminar on competition law and policy in West Africa, held in Abidjan from 2 to 4 June 2026, was co-organised by the UEMOA Commission and ERCA.
Protocol on Competition Policy
African Continental Free Trade AreaThe adoption of the Protocol on Competition Policy of the African Continental Free Trade Area opens a third level of coordination, beyond the national and Community levels. The reform of the Union’s legal framework is explicitly set in this context, as are exchanges of experience and good practice with the other regional economic communities.
Technical and financial partners
UNCTAD
UN Trade and DevelopmentCooperation framework agreement; technical support for the reform, including the preliminary draft regulation on merger control; advanced training in international competition law.
European Union
PACoSPro programmeSupport Programme for Competition and Consumer Product Safety in sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa component (UEMOA/ECOWAS). Contribution to funding the programme for the reform and implementation of the legal and institutional framework for competition.
OECD
Global Forum on CompetitionSharing of experience within the Global Forum on Competition.
Belgian Competition Authority
Capacity buildingCapacity-building partnership for Commission staff. A mission was carried out in Brussels from 19 to 23 February 2024, with the Authority and the European Commission.
COMCO
Swiss Competition CommissionSupport for building the capacity of Commission staff through immersion placements.
WIPO and OAPI
Intellectual propertyImplementation of cooperation agreements, as part of the promotion of intellectual property entrusted to the Directorate.
Capacity building
Training the people who administer competition law is an outcome in its own right of the Directorate’s programme. It takes three main forms.
Advanced training in international competition law
Successive cohorts each year bring together staff from the Commission, the Court of Justice and the national bodies of the Member States.
National information and awareness seminars
Held in the Union’s capitals for economic operators, legal practitioners and consumer associations.
Regional workshops
For judges of national courts and heads of the Member States’ competition authorities.
Are you a national competition body?
The collaborative environment of the Digital Competition Ecosystem gives you a workspace shared with the Directorate.
