Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-14-Speech-2-181"
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"en.19991214.7.2-181"2
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". – Thank you for this supplementary question. Indeed I believe that serving the interests of consumers is the cornerstone of competition policy in the European Union.
Should we claim that a single market is really single only when there is unity of prices? I would not say so, because there will always be factors explaining certain price differentials. Indeed, we might even perhaps consider that perfect unity of prices in a given market may be an indication of some sort of cartel prevailing in that market. Having said that, I agree with you that a lot of price divergences in the present-day single market are explained by the frictions and obstacles that still exist.
Two powerful factors are at play today to help the market overcome those divergences and this will be increasingly the case. One is of course the introduction of the euro. That of itself is going to make price comparisons easier. And the second, which is having a powerful effect on the distribution of goods and services, is the Internet.
You ask whether the Commission should not take action vis-à-vis certain instances of considerable price divergences. Yes, we should and do: in particular if we consider the car sector, you will be aware of a number of actions taken in the past and also very recently in the Commission against limitations imposed by car manufacturers on parallel imports of cars. The publication of the comparative list of car prices also goes very much in that direction. The latest edition was published on 22 July 1999.
We agree that the Commission should also use its competition policy instruments for these purposes; and may I submit that it does so."@en1
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