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DRAFT REPORT (2023/2077(INI))

On competition policy – annual report 2023

ECON-PR-753544

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Stéphanie YonCourtin

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 28 Sept 2026

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.

This is a draft report by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on competition policy – annual report 2023. It sets out Parliament's position on competition enforcement, merger control, antitrust, the digital economy and state aid. It calls on the Commission to safeguard the single market, review the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, and consider a European Sovereignty Fund financed by fresh money. It asks the Commission to investigate shrinkflation, speed up antitrust procedures, adopt interim measures, and assess Microsoft's concessions regarding Teams. It welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act and calls for cloud services and emerging AI gatekeepers to be covered. It calls for a policy framework so large traffic generators contribute fairly to telecom network funding, and for Parliament to be more involved in competition policy.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes that Parliament call on the Commission to safeguard the single market, modernise competition rules, speed up antitrust procedures, address digital gatekeepers and ensure fair telecom network funding.

Key points

  1. Calls on the Commission to safeguard the integrity of the single market and to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act with a renewed competition framework, not only State aid.
  2. Takes note of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework and welcomes its 2023 review introducing the 'matching clause' to avoid a race towards subsidies.
  3. Stresses that additional public and private investment is needed and that a European Sovereignty Fund financed by fresh money would address internal market fragmentation and support the EU's industrial strategy.
  4. Calls on the Commission to look into 'shrinkflation' and its consequences for markets and consumers.
  5. Underlines the importance of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) but deplores the burdensome process for SMEs and calls for notifications to be completed within six months.
  6. Welcomes the Commission's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, stresses effective implementation of the foreign subsidies regulation, and draws attention to only five FTE at the Commission.
  7. Calls on the Commission to modernise public procurement rules to foster green and digital industry and to take into account sustainability and sovereignty criteria for goods 'made in Europe'.
  8. Underlines the key role of the European Competition Network, calls for international cooperation, and for more collaboration between antitrust and sectoral regulators such as data privacy authorities.
  9. Underlines the importance of Commission action under Article 22 of the EC Merger Regulation against 'killer acquisitions' reportable under the Digital Markets Act, and welcomes the review of the relevant market notice.
  10. Calls on the Commission to adopt further interim measures in dynamic markets, speed up antitrust procedures with a time limit, and cites the Spotify complaint against Apple filed in 2019.
  11. Welcomes the formal investigation into Microsoft's Teams, calls for careful assessment of Microsoft's concessions, and insists on effective remedies and greater coordination between enforcers.
  12. Welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers for 22 core platform services, regrets the absence of cloud providers, calls for emerging AI gatekeepers to be examined, and stresses effective coexistence of competition law and the Digital Markets Act.

Who is affected

  • The Commission, which is asked to act on state aid, antitrust, merger control, procurement and digital markets.
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which face burdensome IPCEI notification processes.
  • Gatekeepers and large digital platforms, including Apple, Microsoft and cloud providers, subject to Digital Markets Act designations and antitrust scrutiny.
  • Telecom network operators, which would benefit from large traffic generators contributing to network funding.
  • Consumers, who would benefit from action on shrinkflation, fair competition and choice.

Figures and deadlines

  • Six gatekeepers designated for 22 core platform services under the Digital Markets Act.
  • Five FTE within the Commission for implementing the foreign subsidies regulation.
  • iMessage included by default on all iOS devices for more than 144 million users.
  • Notification for IPCEIs to be completed within six months at the latest.
  • Spotify filed a complaint against Apple in 2019.

Legal basis: Articles 101 to 109 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.