Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the application of Commission Regulation (EC) No 906/2009, on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between liner shipping companies, to shipping lines and services serving ports in the UK.
Following the European Commission's decision earlier this year, the application of the Regulation has been renewed in respect of the European Union until April 2024. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the Competition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 preserve the Regulation in the UK as a retained exemption. This means that, after the end of the Transition Period, the retained Regulation will operate as an exemption from the prohibition against anti-competitive behaviour in UK law until it expires in April 2024. The Secretary of State will have the power, after the Transition Period, to vary or revoke the retained exemption, acting in consultation with the Competition and Markets Authority.