Changes between two versions
What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report
From · draft committee report· 11 Dec 2024
on competition policy – annual report 2024
AI:What changed, in short
The report broadens the scope of competition policy to include sustainability, energy, defence, and innovation, and adds references to the Draghi and Letta reports.1234 It strengthens State aid conditions, including bans for tax haven companies and a European Competitiveness Fund, and adds deadlines for IPCEI notifications.9 It expands merger control scrutiny to killer acquisitions and digital markets, and adds calls for a new competition tool and structural remedies.10111213 It adds numerous sector-specific concerns, including digital concentration, AI, financial sector, food supply chains, and payments, and calls for investigations.14 It increases Parliament's role in competition policy and updates the explanatory statement.1516
14 changes of substance · 1 formal · 1 of wording only
Written by AI from the two texts only · read the changes before relying on it · 4 Sept 2026 · Report a problem
+52 added · −21 removed · 13 changed paragraphs, packaging included.
Part 3 of 3: EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Change 16
Removed:According to Rule 56(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the explanatory statement will be included closer to the vote.
Added:The 2024 Annual Competition Report serves as a key instrument to take stock of competition policy in the Union and is drawn up against the backdrop of a challenging economic and geopolitical context.
Added:The first section of the report, general considerations, recalls that EU competition seeks to shield against excessive levels of concentration and accumulations of market power. It acknowledges the key role of European competitiveness and welcomes the input of the Draghi and Letta reports.
Added:The ‘a competitive union’ section stresses that State aid granted should be consistent with EU policy objectives. It cautions for the fragmentation that may be caused by overreliance on national State aid. It reiterates the Draghi report’s call for substantial additional public and private investments, and underlines the important role of completion of the Capital Market Union herein.
Added:The next section of the report dwells on key demands as regards enforcement priorities, in which we take note of the suggestion of Draghi to introduce a new competition tool (NCT). It also asks the Commission to enforce exploitative abuse cases, and asks the Commission to assess the position of social services of general interest and an SGEI exemption for affordable housing.
Added:Regarding mergers the report dwells on the implications of the recent Illuma-Grail case for the capacity of the Commission to address killer acquisitions. It asks the Commission to explore the possibility to review of the Merger Regulation with appropriate involvement of the Parliament. We also welcome the innovation defence while upholding that the Commission, in certain cases, should be enabled to invoke matters of public interest when assessing mergers.
Added:The sectoral policy section dwells inter alia on topical developments in the fields of taxation and digitalisation, and points out the continued over-concentration and over-reliance on certain third country service providers in the financial sector, as well as possible avenues to address these issues.
Added:Finally the report asks for proper democratic involvement of the Parliament in shaping competition policy.