Why is association work important?

Trade associations serve as legitimate intermediaries between business and politics. Thanks to their internal democratic structure, they are able to consolidate interests and articulate them to policymakers. They enable small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, to bring their concerns into political decision-making processes. The legislative and executive branches also rely on the pooled expertise of the relevant business communities.

Representatives from companies in the same industry regularly come together in associations and umbrella organizations. Professional exchange and joint advocacy for political interests are permissible and essential for effective association work. At the same time, associations and their members must ensure that their cooperation is not used for anti-competitive agreements or the exchange of competitively sensitive information.

Common Understanding Between the Federal Cartel Office and Industry Associations

Against this backdrop, it was important to the BDI that the Federal Cartel Office clarify the significance of association activities that comply with antitrust law. In September 2018, Federal Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt, then-BDI Chief Executive Joachim Lang, and other association and corporate representatives discussed the antitrust framework governing association activities.

In a jointly agreed memorandum, they set forth their shared understanding that association activities conducted in compliance with antitrust law are a substantial element of the social market economy. At the same time, Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, made it clear that proceedings by the Federal Cartel Office—including those in which associations were also under investigation—were not directed against association activities as such. Rather, he emphasized the special significance and responsibility of associations in the political process.

The basic understanding reached jointly remains relevant today: associations fulfill important functions in the economic and political process. They bring together interests and expertise, support the formation of political will, and can serve as points of contact for policymakers, government agencies, and competition authorities. The prerequisite is that association activities are carried out in accordance with German and European competition law.

Association activities and competition law are fully compatible

Association work inevitably involves contacts between companies that may be competitors in their respective markets. However, this alone does not raise any antitrust concerns. The line is crossed when the association becomes a framework for anti-competitive agreements or the exchange of competitively sensitive information.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, has also explained this shared understanding in his article “Association Activities and Competition Law Are Highly Compatible.” In it, he emphasizes the important roles associations play in economic and political processes and makes it clear that German and European antitrust law allows ample room for cooperation that complies with antitrust law and for a permissible exchange of information within associations.