Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-23-Speech-1-114"
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"en.20001023.9.1-114"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Parliament in general for the great interest that it has once again displayed in matters of competition. Mr heartfelt thanks to Mrs Riis-Jørgensen for her valuable contribution as rapporteur of the XXIXth report on competition policy. A big thank you to Mr Evans as well, for his excellent report on the rules governing State aid to the steel industry and on the eighth survey on State aid in the European Union. All three reports assume considerable importance in the light of the efforts the Commission has made to increase the transparency of its competition policy and to explain what it is doing to the citizens.
Mr President, I would now like to focus on at least some of the specific points raised.
On the subject of explaining competition policy, I would like to say that I am extremely pleased with the success of the first two European Competition Days, which were held in Lisbon on 9 June and in Paris on 17 October this year. The idea was conceived in this Parliament and developed by Parliament and the Commission. My feeling is that, together, we are making progress in helping the citizens to understand this policy.
I would like to stress that I fully agree with much of what has been said and with very many of the points contained in the resolutions. Mr President, in the time available to me, I would like to focus on the following three points: the modernisation of Community competition law, the practical application of competition rules in 1999 and State aid.
On the subject of modernisation, I will attempt, within the constraints imposed, to respond to some of the extremely interesting points which have been raised. The annual report on competition policy emphasises the need to modernise the legislative and interpretative framework of Community competition law in the areas of both monopolies and State aid. I will not go into the details of the reform projects which have recently been completed or are still being developed, for they have already been the subject of a specific consultation process between the Commission and Parliament, or will be in the future, in the constructive dialogue which is so valuable.
With regard to State aid, in my opinion, the entry into force, in 1999, of the Rules of Procedure was a considerable step forward. They increase transparency and establish the deadlines for adopting the decisions on State aid. As far as monopolies are concerned, the Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation on the matter on 27 September last. A great many observations made by Parliament during consultation over the White Paper were taken into account even as early as at the stage of drawing up the proposal. Particular attention was paid to the concerns expressed by Parliament regarding renationalisation and legal certainty.
I would therefore like to assure Mrs Palacio, Mr Karas and the other Members who spoke on these points that the regulation takes their concerns into ample consideration. I am now waiting for the commencement of the second stage of dialogue between our two institutions on these legislative proposals and I am sure that it will be as constructive as the first stage.
As you know, on 9 and 10 November, the Commission and Parliament are jointly organising a conference on this reform in Freiburg, a conference proposed for the first time precisely in your resolution on the White Paper.
My second point is the application of the competition rules during 1999. In the year in question, there were an unusually large number of cases requiring the use of considerable resources and which were closed by formal decisions. One of the things I appreciate is your call for an increase in human resources. The Commission has continued to intervene resolutely, particularly where cartels and abuse of a dominating position are concerned. As in the debate on mergers, since time is limited and I prefer to attempt to answer some of the specific questions, I will not mention the major – albeit numerous – interventions we have made.
The third point is State aid. I am happy to note the support which Parliament continues to lend us in relation to the eighth survey too. I welcome Parliament's proposals on the future development of these information tools, which will include the register and the scoreboard as well as audits. I confirm to Mr Evans and the other Members who have spoken on this subject that we will be ready to present the initial versions of the register and the scoreboard – Mrs Riis-Jørgensen also upholds this idea – before June 2001, and I am confident that transparency will be an important additional tool for the application of the legal instruments governing State aid."@en1
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