What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Added:50. Underlines the need for a thorough analysis of State aid rules, particularly for companies operating in strategic sectors such as energy, technology and innovation; stresses the importance of ensuring the effectiveness of State aid in agriculture, logistics and transport; notes the divergent fiscal capacities of Member States, warns that fragmented State aid creates an uneven playing field and calls on the Commission to monitor these effects; considers that any State aid granted should be consistent with EU law and principles, including EU environmental and social policy objectives;

Removed:25. Expects the review of the General Block Exemption Regulation to modernise and simplify State aid rules in order to reduce red tape and boost the EU’s competitiveness;

Added:51. Welcomes the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF); calls for the CISAF to be implemented in a targeted and proportionate way, ensure minimum burden on Member States, prevent subsidy races and preserve the integrity of the internal market, while including strong safeguards on transparency, proportionality and environmental effectiveness;

Removed:26. Welcomes the adoption of a revised SGEI Decision to enable Member States to support affordable housing projects;

Added:52. Recalls that temporary, targeted State aid can be appropriate in times of crisis; reiterates the importance of the CISAF in supporting vulnerable sectors, in the context of rapidly increasing fuel prices due to the current geopolitical situation; notes nevertheless the European Court of Auditors’ findings (Special Report 21/2024) identifying shortcomings in the Commission’s monitoring of State aid in times of crisis and calls for stricter State aid notification monitoring by the Commission and enhanced State aid reporting and transparency in line with the European Court of Auditors’ recommendations;

Added:53. Notes that more than three quarters of State aid is concentrated in only two Member States, highlighting risks of fragmentation and an uneven level playing field in the internal market;

Added:54. Highlights the role of State aid as a tool to reduce economic disparities between the most developed EU regions and islands, inland areas, outermost regions, economically disadvantaged zones, and all parts of the EU affected by natural constraints; calls for greater flexibility and fewer restrictions on State aid for the EU’s islands and more vulnerable regions;

Added:55. Expects the review of the General Block Exemption Regulation25 to solve the current issues regarding the definition of ‘undertaking in difficulty’ and to modernise and simplify State aid rules in order to reduce red tape and boost the EU’s competitiveness; welcomes the opening of the public consultation to collect input on the scope and content of the review;

Added:56. Welcomes the adoption of the revised SGEI Decision, to enable Member States to support the provision of decent, sustainable, energy-efficient, socially inclusive and affordable housing projects, also for middle-income households; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of the revised SGEI Decision and to assess whether the thresholds and conditions are sufficiently flexible to meet Member States’ needs; calls for simplified notification procedures for SGEI-related State aid measures that do not present significant competition risks;

Added:57. Invites the Commission to assess the impact of market concentrations in the real-estate sector and related markets, such as construction and property management, to ensure that effective competition helps contain prices and improve access to housing;

Added:58. Notes the distortionary effects of aggressive tax planning and of tax systems, including preferential tax agreements, on fair competition, as they may stifle innovation and jeopardise the contestability of markets, especially for SMEs; welcomes the Commission recommendation of 14 July 202026 to not grant financial support to companies with links to tax havens, while protecting honest taxpayers; calls for companies established in countries listed on the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, as adopted by the Council, to be excluded from receiving State aid and invites the Commission to assess whether the current framework contributes to broader efforts to combat aggressive tax planning and tax haven practices;

Parliamentary involvement

Change 9

Changed:27.59. Deplores the lack of information it receives on the revision and implementation of competition rules;rules insistsand itstresses receivesthat allParliament theshould informationbe itsufficiently requiresinvolved in ashaping timelycompetition mannerpolicy; andfurther isemphasises fullythe involvedneed into thebe revisiontransparent andwith implementationParliament ofon competitionall rules;discussions with non-EU countries that may affect DMA enforcement;

Change 10

Removed:28. Emphasises the need for transparency with Parliament about all discussions with non-EU countries that may affect DMA enforcement;

Added:60. Calls, in that context, for a structured and regular dialogue between the Commission and Parliament on competition policy, including on the review and implementation of competition rules; calls on the Commission to provide Parliament’s competent committee with timely and comprehensive information on significant enforcement decisions, legislative proposals and significant major soft-law instruments; calls for the conclusion of an interinstitutional agreement to formalise Parliament’s role in competition policy oversight, including consultation on priority-setting for guidelines and frameworks;

Removed:29. Promotes the exchange of best practice in international forums, such as the International Competition Network and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Competition Committee; deplores missed opportunities as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States;

Added:61. Cautions against the over-reliance on soft-law instruments such as guidance and temporary frameworks in which Parliament’s involvement is limited; invites the European Council to adopt a decision under Article 48(7)(2) of the Treaty on European Union providing for the adoption of legislative acts in the area of competition policy in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure;

Added:62. Promotes the exchange of best practice in international forums, such as the International Competition Network and the Competition Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; calls on the Commission to strive for continued dialogue and cooperation at international level, including via second-generation cooperation agreements that allow for more effective information exchange between competition authorities, while regretting that this has not been sufficiently pursued in the past; calls on the Commission to develop a strategy for the EU to take a leading role at international level in promoting effective competition;

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63. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.