Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-15-Speech-3-271"
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"en.20060315.23.3-271"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this is a debate that will naturally be dominated largely by the Commissioner’s speech. I can imagine that the Members present will be particularly interested in hearing what the Commission has to say. I shall therefore confine myself to just a few remarks on behalf of the Council, as we are convinced that, in applying the new provisions and the EU competition rules, the Commission is showing great responsibility towards achieving the objectives of competition policy in line with the Lisbon Strategy.
It is also clear that it is not possible to cast all eventualities in regulatory frameworks; instead, a certain level of abstraction is necessary. The Council Presidency also assumes that, when making its now-imminent decisions, the Commission will exercise its judgment on such issues as market definition and the determination of efficiency with the utmost care.
The sector studies that the Commission is already preparing and wishes to carry out in further depth form a crucial basis for this, and the issue of market definition is also significant in this regard. It is important to bear in mind that the medium- and long-term aspects should also be taken into consideration when making decisions on mergers.
The economy is not static but dynamic, and so enterprises are faced with the daily challenge of arming themselves for the future and remaining competitive. There are more than 23 million enterprises in the EU as a whole; every day sees the establishment of new enterprises and the closure of others.
Following on from the debate that we held this morning, it should be pointed out once more that 99% of enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises, which between them account for 80% of employment. Competitiveness also has a considerable impact on the labour market, therefore, and presupposes effective competition. There must be no distortion of competition in the internal market: that is one of the essential bases for the success of the European economy.
Completion of the internal market and of economic and monetary union, EU enlargement, and the reduction of the barriers to international trade and to investment will lead to even greater reorganisation of enterprises, including in the form of concentrations. Reorganisation such as this is welcome in so far as it meets the requirements of dynamic competition and is likely to increase the competitiveness of European industry by improving conditions for economic growth and by raising the standard of living in the Community. This is perfectly in line with the Lisbon objectives that have been discussed today.
The present issue is currently being discussed in the light of the current examples of concentrations in the energy field, in particular. Particularly important to the public and consumers in this regard are trends in prices, which are negatively influenced by a lack of competition, and considerations of job preservation.
Consumers can easily imagine that the only way of preventing unjustified price increases is through sufficient competition. It also holds true, however, that jobs can only be safeguarded in the long term if enterprises are competitive. In this connection, we should actively pursue a pan-European competition policy in the context of the four fundamental freedoms.
Another important task of competition policy is ensuring that instances of reorganisation and concentration cannot result in permanent damage to competition. That is why, as you know, Community law comprises provisions regarding concentrations that could distort competition either throughout or in a large part of the common market.
To reiterate: we are convinced that the Commission will take the right action and proceed responsibly. The rule of law and thus the predictability of decisions is also particularly essential to the success of Europe as a business location. To this end, the work on the more economic-based approach will have to be carried out in even greater depth. If, following an evaluation phase, it becomes clear that the legal framework for mergers needs to be supplemented in this regard, the Council will address this issue, too."@en1
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