Germany: Published Draft 11th Amendment to Act against Restraints on Competition including new powers for Federal Cartel Office

On 20 September 2022, the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection (BMWK) published a draft Bill, the 11. Amendment to the Act against Restraints on Competition. The draft Bill aims to give the national antitrust authority more powers to intervene after a sector enquiry. In particular, the Bill would enable the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) to issue orders requiring entities to address significant distortions of competition identified by the agency during its inquiry. Furthermore, the Bill would create a legal basis for the FCO to cooperate with the European Commission in enforcing the Digital Markets Act.