On competition policy – annual report 2023
A-9-2023-0427
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Stéphanie YonCourtin
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.
Parliament's resolution on competition policy – annual report 2023 sets out its position on how EU competition rules should work. It calls for a competition framework that supports the single market, the green and digital transitions and the EU's strategic autonomy.¶¶¶ It asks the Commission to avoid a subsidy race, keep State aid targeted and temporary, and monitor distortive effects of fragmented national support.¶¶¶ It calls for faster antitrust procedures, more use of interim measures and structural remedies, and a market investigation tool to close enforcement gaps.¶¶¶ On digital markets, it welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act and asks the Commission to enforce the DMA, consider market investigations into cloud services and new services such as generative artificial intelligence, and treat data as a source of market power in mergers.¶¶¶ It deplores aggressive tax planning and calls for companies using non-EU tax havens to be excluded from public procurement and State aid, and for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.¶¶ It asks for Parliament to be more involved in shaping competition policy and for the responsible Commissioner to stay in close contact with its competent committee.¶¶
Committee position. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs proposes a resolution calling for a competition framework that supports the single market, the green and digital transitions, targeted State aid, faster antitrust enforcement, effective DMA implementation and action against tax avoidance.¶¶¶
Key points
- Calls on the Commission to safeguard the integrity of the single market and to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act not only through State aid but also by creating a more favourable business environment and a renewed competition framework.¶
- Takes note of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework and the updated State aid rulebook; calls on the Commission to avoid a subsidy race, keep any additional state support targeted and temporary, and investigate the lack of harmonisation of clawback mechanisms in member states.¶
- Calls on the Commission to ensure temporary State aid instruments are sufficiently targeted to avoid fragmentation of the single market, and to monitor potential distortive effects, applying flexibility solely to support provided at EU level.¶¶
- Calls on the Commission to examine how inflation affects competition and to monitor, with national competition authorities, anticompetitive conduct and its role in inflation, using all available competition law tools to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.¶
- Welcomes national market investigation powers and calls on the Commission to introduce a similar market investigation tool and to reassess the 'New Competition Tool'.¶
- Underlines the importance of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) and calls on the Commission and member states to ensure any notification is completed within six months at the latest.¶
- Welcomes the Commission's guidelines clarifying that EU competition law does not prevent solo self-employed workers from engaging in collective bargaining.¶
- Welcomes the Commission's announcement of an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and underlines the importance of effective implementation of EU instruments on foreign subsidies, drawing attention to the lack of resources with only eight full-time equivalents within the Commission.¶
- Calls on the Commission to modernise public procurement rules to help foster greener industry and European standards.¶
- Notes the continued high market concentration for credit rating agencies, with the three largest holding a market share of over 90 %, and reiterates the need to enhance competition in this market.¶
- Welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft – for 22 core platform services under the DMA and calls on the Commission to rigorously assess compliance before 6 March 2024.¶
- Calls on the Commission to consider opening market investigations into cloud services and to assess adding new categories of core platform services, such as generative artificial intelligence, under the DMA.¶¶
Who is affected
- Companies in the single market, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which would face the competition rules and State aid conditions set out.¶¶
- Digital gatekeepers and large online platforms, which would face DMA obligations, market investigations and scrutiny of data concentration.¶¶¶
- Member states, which would be monitored for distortive State aid and tax practices and asked to complete IPCEI notifications within six months.¶¶¶
- Companies using non-EU tax havens, which would be excluded from public procurement and barred from receiving State aid.¶
- Self-employed workers, who would be able to engage in collective bargaining under the Commission's guidelines.¶
Figures and deadlines
- over 90 % – market share held by the three largest credit rating agencies¶
- six months at the latest – deadline for completing any IPCEI notification¶
- eight full-time equivalents (FTEs) – resources within the Commission for foreign subsidies instruments¶
- six gatekeepers – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft – designated under the DMA¶
- 22 core platform services – designated under the DMA
- 6 March 2024 – date before which the Commission should assess gatekeepers' compliance with DMA obligations
- 144 million users – for whom iMessage is included by default on all iOS devices¶
Legal basis: Articles 101 to 109 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union¶