From 19 to 23 February 2024, Commissioner Filiga Michel SAWADOGO led a mission in Brussels to the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) and the European Commission, with a view to strengthening the partnership.

This working visit is part of the strategy to diversify technical and financial partnerships and to build the competition capacity of the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

The Commissioner in charge of the Department of Regional Market and Cooperation and his delegation held productive working sessions with the Belgian Competition Authority and the European Commission.

At the Belgian Competition Authority, the delegation was received by its President, Yves VAN GERVEN, in the presence of Damien GERARD, Prosecutor General, and Griet JANS, Director of Economic Affairs.

Given the similarities between the Belgian and WAEMU models of competition regulation, the working sessions provided an opportunity to share experience on, among other things, the conduct of competition investigations, the implementation of leniency and compliance programmes, and cooperation with sector regulators and other competition authorities.

As a next step in the partnership, the WAEMU Commission and the Belgian Competition Authority plan to sign a cooperation agreement that will facilitate the BCA’s technical support for the Commission’s capacity-building activities.

At the European Commission, the delegation was received by Inge BERNAERTS, Director for Policy and Strategy at the Directorate-General for Competition, and Hans STAUSBOLL, Director for Africa at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships.

Discussions focused in particular on EU support to WAEMU under the EU’s new cooperation instrument, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). This covered PARCI III and capacity building for regional competition bodies, the next meeting of the EU-WAEMU-ECOWAS tripartite consultation framework under the NDICI, and closer cooperation between the EU and WAEMU on competition.

During the working sessions, Commissioner SAWADOGO was accompanied by Ousmane KONE, Resident Representative of the WAEMU Commission in Brussels, and by the Directors responsible for Competition and for Cooperation.