Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-21-Speech-1-157"
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"en.20050221.16.1-157"2
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".
Mr President, it might seem a little incongruous that we are today, at the beginning of 2005, discussing the European Commission's Report on Competition Policy for 2003. That is just because last year was election year, the debate as such is about very much wider issues.
It is an opportunity for Parliament to place on record, as we should, our enormous respect for the outgoing Commissioner, Mario Monti, who was the Competition Commissioner at the time of this report. It is inevitable that the report itself and Parliament's response draws upon the major programme for the reorganisation of competition policy for which Mr Monti has received so much praise.
This is a debate that had to take place with industry, and not just in relation to the modernisation of the anti-trust rules themselves. Industry had to recognise the purpose of this reform. The aim was to do away with a system that was in itself unnecessarily bureaucratic so as to redirect the resources of the Commission to cracking down properly on hard-core cartels. In addition, we have seen the reform of the Merger Regulation, reorganisation of the merger control task force and the first steps in relation to state-aid reform. I know our new Commissioner also shares this view in relation to the legacy of Mr Monti, because only recently she has been speaking at Bocconi University and making very similar remarks about Mr Monti's contribution.
It is also inevitable that we would direct our attention not just to this programme of work and the lessons to be learned from it, but also to the way in which that programme of work now affects efforts to improve Europe's competitiveness. We are not trying to change the rules about competition policy for the sake of it or as a form of bureaucratic exercise. The purpose here is to act in the interests of consumers to increase Europe's competitiveness and develop growth and jobs. That is what the operation of an effective competition policy is all about.
I want to say a word about the new Commissioner and I hope it does not embarrass her. Many people have asked me my opinion about the change we will have now. I suppose up to four weeks ago we were all asking that, to some extent. The Commissioner has been very active in the course of the last month. On 3 February she spoke to Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and set on record her agenda in this role. I have already referred to her speech in Milan at Mario Monti's university, and on 17 February Mrs Kroes made another speech in Paris. Taken together, these speeches
clearly set out the progressive agenda that the European Commission intends to take forward.
I commend the Commission for being determined to clarify the rules in relation to state-aid reform. In our report we refer to this as an area where we are seeking further action on the part of the Commission. This does not mean a situation in which the Commission just sits idly by waiting to see whether somebody is going to make a complaint about uncompetitive behaviour in some part of the economy. We want to ensure that the whole way in which business operates within Europe is one that encourages free and fair competition and consequently enhances the competitiveness of Europe.
Finally, a further area for which Mr Monti deserves special praise is his work in relation to international cooperation. We can cooperate even when we are being competitive. I well remember the reaction of some people in America a few years ago to the GE-Honeywell decision that was taken by Mr Monti. Today I had the honour of being present to hear President Bush's speech and afterwards seeing him shake the hand of Alex Schaub, the Director-General of Competition at the time that decision was made. That is an example of international cooperation. I commend the outgoing Commissioner and I look forward to the tenure of the incoming Commissioner, Commissioner Kroes."@en1
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