Bundeskartellamt

the protection of competition is the key regulatory policy objective in a market economy. in germany the task of protecting competition is undertaken by the bundeskartellamt and the competition authorities of the länder. the bundeskartellamt is an independent higher federal authority assigned to the federal ministry of economics and technology. since 1 october 1999 it has been located in bonn, after operating for 40 years from berlin. the bundeskartellamt has a staff of about 300, half of whom are legal or economic experts. its activities are based on the act against restraints of competition, arc (gesetz gegen wettbewerbsbeschränkungen, gwb), also referred to as the cartel law, which came into force on 1 january 1958 and has since been amended seven times. the most recent amendment was in 2005. apart from german competition law the bundeskartellamt also applies european competition law in cases where the european commission, as the competition authority at european level, is not compe