What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

8 unchanged paragraphs

on competition policy – annual report 2023

(2023/2077(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular to Articles 101 to 109 thereof,

– having regard to the relevant Commission rules, guidelines, resolutions, public consultations, communications and papers on the subject of competition,

– having regard to the Commission report of 4 April 2023 entitled ‘Report on Competition Policy 2022’ (COM(2023)0184) and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0076),

– having regard to its resolution of 13 June 2023 on competition policy – annual report 2022,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ (COM(2019)0640),

Added:– having regard to the Commission’s revised guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance investments, published on 6 December 2021,

14 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 13 July 2022 in Case T-227/21,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 24 March 2022 entitled ‘Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia’,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act),

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty,

– having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 18 February 2022 entitled ‘Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy 2022’,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 31 January 2023 entitled ‘Guidelines on State aid for broadband networks’,

– having regard to the draft Commission notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law,

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 1 December 2022 entitled ‘Evaluation of the State subsidy rules for health and social services of general economic interest (‘SGEIs’) and of the SGEI de minimis Regulation’ (SWD(2022)0388),

– having regard to the entry into force on 1 September 2023 of the package of measures adopted on 20 April 2023, designed to simplify and streamline the procedures for reviewing certain mergers that do not raise competition concerns (C(2023)2400, C(2023)2401, C(2023)2402),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market,

– having regard to the 2023 State of the Union Address by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen,

Changed:– having regard to the Commission’s decision of 6 September 2023 on the designation of gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act,Act (DMA),

4 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/914 of 20 April 2023 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 802/2004,

– having regard to the joint European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade of 23 January 2023 by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission,

– having regard to the judgment of the CJEU of 4 July 2023 in Case C-252/21,

– having regard to the document entitled ‘DG COMP Code of good practices for a transparent, inclusive, faster design and assessment of IPCEIs’ of 17 May 2023,

Added:– having regard to the report of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), entitled ‘Report on CRA Market Share Calculation’ of 15 December 2022,

– having regard to the Commission notice of 27 April 2004 on informal guidance relating to novel questions concerning Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty that arise in individual cases (guidance letters),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 21 July 2023 entitled ‘Guidelines on the applicability of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to horizontal co-operation agreements’,

Added:– having regard to the Commission decision of 25 September 2023 prohibiting the proposed acquisition of Flugo Group Holdings AB (‘eTraveli') by Booking Holdings (‘Booking’),

Added:– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A90000/2023),(A9-0427/2023),

Change 1

Changed:A. whereas EU competition policy hasplays an important role in addressingsetting fair conditions for doing business in the consequencessingle ofmarket crises,in settingorder fairto conditionsprotect markets against concentrations and the undue accumulation of market power and to encourage innovation and growth for the companies – especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – within the single market and, consequently, advancing consumer welfare and providing greater choice for consumers;consumers and businesses;

Change 2

Changed:B. whereas a fruitful interplay between competition policy and other sectoral policies is necessary; whereas competition policy could contribute to bolstering the resilienceresilience, integrity and competitiveness of the internal market, as well as achieving the goals of the European Green Deal and the Digital Compass;Compass and the EU’s objectives as enshrined in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU);

C. whereas international exchange and cooperation are essential to achieving a global and competitive level playing field and tackling the challenges of the twin digital and green transitions in a coordinated manner;

Change 3

Added:D. whereas the global geopolitical circumstances also require responsible, competitive solutions in the field of competition policy; whereas the EU should use all the political and legislative tools at its disposal to defend the integrity, resilience and competitiveness of its internal market in view of the challenges posed by the increasing number of conflicts around the world, trade tensions among competing countries, the climate change crisis and the pressure of inflation and low levels of economic growth; whereas there is a need to reduce the EU’s harmful dependencies on non-EU countries and global powers in areas such as energy, medicines, technology or raw materials;

Added:E. whereas the Commission and national competition authorities need to act in an impartial and objective way in order to preserve the credibility of the EU’s competition policy;

Added:F. whereas the global strength and importance of the EU single market derives from its internal competitiveness and equalised level playing field;

The role of competition and the policy response to the war in Ukraine, the US Inflation Reduction Act and the continuing challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

Change 4

Changed:1. Calls on the Commission to safeguard the integrity of the single market; recalls that the response to the US Inflation Reduction Act must not be solely based on the use of State aid, but also on creating a more favourable environment for doing business and a renewed competition framework, providing speed and flexibility for companies investing and competing fairly in Europe;Europe, while complying with the EU’s climate goals;

Change 5

Changed:2. Takes note of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), as well as of the update of the State aid rulebook that allows investments for the green and digital transitions; welcomestakes note of the 2023 reviewadoption and inclusion of the TCTF‘matching toclause’; introducecalls on the ‘matchingCommission clause’to andcarefully avoid creating the conditions for a subsidy race towardsand subsidies;to use the tools at its disposal to prevent and counteract unfair subsidy competition; stresses that any additional state support must be targeted and temporary in nature; upholds that State aid should be consistent with EU policy objectives such as the Green Deal and the European Pillar of Social Rights; calls on the Commission to investigate the lack of harmonisation of clawback mechanisms in the Member States;

Change 6

Removed:3. Stresses that additional public and private investment will be needed to face new challenges; underlines that a European Sovereignty Fund financed by additional fresh money will address the fragmentation of the internal market, support the EU’s industrial strategy, reduce our critical dependencies and ensure our open strategic autonomy;

Added:3. Calls on the Commission to ensure that all temporary State aid instruments are sufficiently targeted to avoid fragmentation of the single market;

Removed:4. Calls on the Commission to look into the ‘shrinkflation’ phenomenon and its consequences for markets and consumers’ welfare;

Added:4. Stresses that additional public and private investment will be needed to face new challenges; underlines that the EU budget needs to be properly equipped to address the challenges of the future, including the fragmentation of the internal market, supporting the EU’s industrial strategy, reducing our critical dependencies and ensuring our open strategic autonomy; highlights that these challenges cannot be addressed by public spending alone;

Removed:5. Underlines the importance of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) for financing large transnational projects and achieving the EU’s strategic priorities, but deplores the process and time required as being too burdensome for SMEs; calls on the Commission to ensure that any notification is completed within six months at the latest;

Added:5. Recalls that a fragmented approach to State aid has the potential to create an uneven playing field within the EU internal market as not all Member States have the same fiscal space to provide support; calls, therefore, for the monitoring of potential distortive effects and for any flexibility of the public support to be applied solely to support provided at EU level;

Added:6. Calls on the Commission to look into how inflation impacts competition by creating incentives for companies to cooperate with competitors to coordinate prices ,as well as its consequences for markets and consumers’ welfare; highlights the need to improve the data on profits in order to efficiently address potential consequences, as research by the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund suggests that corporate profits have been important temporary drivers of inflation; calls on the Commission to closely monitor, along with the national competition authorities, the consequences of anticompetitive conduct and its role in inflation developments; reiterates that the Commission must make use of all the available tools under competition law to tackle the cost-of-living crisis;

Added:7. Welcomes competition authorities’ initiatives across several Member States to introduce new market investigation powers as long as they do not lead to the fragmentation of the internal market; calls on the Commission to introduce a similar market investigation tool to avoid enforcement gaps where the practices occur across national borders within the EU and to adopt sector-wide remedies when necessary to effectively address anticompetitive behaviours; recalls the Commission’s initiative for a ‘New Competition Tool’, which aimed to address gaps between EU competition rules and intervention tools against structural competition problems across markets; notes that, with the new competition tool, the Commission would be able to investigate competition issues across entire sectors; calls on the Commission to reassess the ‘New Competition Tool’;

Added:8. Underlines the importance of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) for financing large transnational projects and achieving the EU’s strategic priorities; takes note of the specific criteria for IPCEIs for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal market of State aid; deplores that the lengthy and complex procedures required are often too burdensome for SMEs; calls on the Commission and Member States ensure that any notification is completed within six months at the latest; stresses that IPCEIs should have genuine European added value;

Added:9. Calls on the Commission to assess how EU competition principles have affected the supply of services of general economic interest (SGEI), also in the light of the COVID-19 crisis and increased costs of living; calls on the Commission to assess the position of social services of general interest and an SGEI exemption for affordable housing;

Added:10. Welcomes the Commission’s ‘Guidelines on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements’, clarifying that EU competition law does not prevent solo self-employed workers from engaging in collective bargaining; recalls that self-employed workers often have limited or no access to collective bargaining, which may lead to precarious working conditions;

Added:11. Recalls the integral connection between competition policy and the internal market, which is clear from the text itself of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU governing EU competition policy; welcomes the fact that the Commission, in both its legislative and policy work, has recognised the need to integrate competition policy with the internal market objectives which frame it;

Added:12. Points out the need to effectively address market distortions and market failures, and to enhance competition by removing existing unjustified regulatory barriers and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens to facilitate entry for new competitors;

Added:13. Stresses the relevance of the CJEU’s judgments in cases C-555/21 (UniCredit Bank Austria) and C-383/18 (Lexitor sp. z o.o.) for ensuring a level playing field in the consumer credit market and avoiding its competitive distortion;

Competition policy enforcement and global trends