EU Law and Practice Contributed by: Andrzej Kmiecik, Richard Burton and Catherine Gordley, Van Bael & Bellis
3.2 Amnesty/Immunity As there is no personal liability for cartel con - duct under EU law, there is no separate amnesty regime at EU level. 3.3 Whistle-Blowers Individuals that suspect that their employers are engaged in any form of cartel conduct may con - tact the European Commission to communicate such suspicions and to provide relevant evi - dence. The Commission has a dedicated team to receive and process such information from whistle-blowers. It also has procedures in place to protect the anonymity of whistle-blowers who do not wish their identity to be revealed to the Commission. Whistle-blowers that are current or former employees and have acquired relevant information in the context of their employment are protected under EU law. In particular, such whistle-blowers may not be the subject of any form of retaliatory measures by their employers. 4. Procedural Framework for Cartel Enforcement 4.1 Obtaining Evidence From Employees The European Commission is empowered to question company employees directly. The Commission may request that employees pro - vide explanations on facts or documents relat - ing to the subject matter and purpose of the inspections, and can also conduct interviews of broader scope where the employees consent (see 2.2 Dawn Raids/Search Warrants ). The Commission usually permits employees to be accompanied by external counsel (see 2.4 Role of Counsel ).
4.2 Obtaining Documentary Evidence From Subject/Target Companies The European Commission may seek documen - tary information directly from a company subject to investigation. The Commission may request information by simple request (ie, response is voluntary) or by formal Commission decision (ie, response is mandatory) (see 2.5 Obtaining Evi- dence/Testimony ). 4.3 Obtaining Evidence From Entities Outside the Jurisdiction The European Commission considers that it has the power to issue requests for information to companies located outside the EU, and regularly does so in practice (see 2.5 Obtaining Evidence/ Testimony ). A request for information may cover evidence located in a third country and/or cloud storage if such evidence is accessible to the company to which the request is addressed. 4.4 Domestic Inter-Agency Co-Operation The European Commission co-operates with the national competition authorities of the EU mem - ber states through the European Competition Network (ECN). ECN members can exchange information and use the information received from other ECN members under certain condi - tions, as provided by the Commission’s Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competi - tion Authorities. The ECN Directive, adopted in 2018, is designed to strengthen the operation of national competi - tion authorities, and includes express provisions for mutual legal assistance among national com - petition authorities. In particular, a national com - petition authority must be empowered to search businesses, interview employees, request infor - mation and enforce decisions imposing fines on behalf of another national competition authority.
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