On 20 March 2026, Regulation (EU) 2026/697 on cooperation between enforcement authorities responsible for the enforcement of Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices between businesses in the agricultural and food supply chain (hereinafter: the Regulation) was published in the Official Journal of the EU. The Regulation establishes a framework for cooperation between national authorities in investigating and sanctioning unfair trading practices with a cross-border dimension occurring on their territory.
The provisions of the Regulation shall enter into force in all Member States on 10 September 2027, and no transposition into national law is required. The Regulation brings additional powers to the Public Agency for the Protection of Competition of the Republic of Slovenia, which is competent under the Food Act to supervise and administratively sanction unlawful practices in the agricultural and food supply chain.
The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, adopted in 2019, sets a minimum standard of protection for suppliers against unfair practices by their buyers, with a view to rebalancing bargaining power in the agri-food supply chain. Five years later, the European Commission identified a structural weakness. The principle of territoriality, which means that laws, authorities’ powers or rights only apply within the territory of a given country, made it difficult for enforcement authorities to gather information, detect infringements and recover financial penalties when the buyer was established in another Member State.
The Regulation establishes a robust system of cooperation between enforcement authorities, based on several key pillars:
Mutual assistance mechanism: Enforcement authorities can now formally request competent authorities in other Member States to provide them with information or take investigative measures to establish whether a cross-border unfair trading practice has taken place.
Coordinated action for widespread infringements: Where there is a reasonable suspicion of a "widespread unfair trading practice with a cross-border dimension" involving at least three Member States, enforcement authorities can launch coordinated action. A designated coordinating enforcement authority will supervise and direct the joint investigation.
Proactive enforcement powers: To strengthen the protection of suppliers, the new rules explicitly empower national authorities to intervene and deal with cross-border unfair trading practices on their own initiative, even without a formal report from the supplier. This aims to combat the persistent "fear factor" where suppliers are reluctant to report infringements for fear of retaliation from buyers.
Voluntary cooperation with stricter national rules: The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive allows Member States to maintain national rules that are stricter than the basic EU rules. The Regulation does not impose cross-border enforcement of these rules, but allows Member States to allow their enforcement authorities to use a voluntary mechanism to cooperate with them. Obligations for non-EU buyers: The scope of the Regulation extends beyond the EU. Where an enforcement authority takes investigative measures against a buyer established outside the EU and considers that the buyer is not cooperating, it may require the buyer to appoint a “contact person responsible for the Union”. This person, established in the EU, acts as the main contact person for the enforcement authority and is responsible for facilitating the investigation.
Single enforcement area
Enforcement authorities are explicitly empowered to collect information, investigate and enforce national sanctions across borders, regardless of where the buyer is established.
Systematic exchange of information
The Regulation allows national enforcement authorities to inform each other about unfair trading practices or the risk of them through a dedicated information exchange system managed by the Commission. This exchange is intended to have a deterrent effect and ensure rapid and coordinated responses. Enforcement authorities can exchange evidence, including confidential information, subject to safeguards, which increases the likelihood that cross-border conduct is investigated and prosecuted consistently.
Faster enforcement deadlines
The Regulation introduces clear procedures for information requests, creating a more predictable and potentially faster cross-border enforcement sequence. Combined with ex officio powers, businesses can expect investigations to start and progress more quickly than is currently possible.
The text of Regulation (EU) 2026/697 in Slovenian is available at the following link: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/SL/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32026R0697