On competition policy – annual report 2023

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on competition policy – annual report 2023

(2023/2077(INI))

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular to Articles 101 to 109 thereof,

– having regard to the relevant Commission rules, guidelines, resolutions, public consultations, communications and papers on the subject of competition,

– having regard to the Commission report of 4 April 2023 entitled ‘Report on Competition Policy 2022’ (COM(2023)0184) and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0076),

– having regard to its resolution of 13 June 2023 on competition policy – annual report 2022,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ (COM(2019)0640),

– having regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 13 July 2022 in Case T-227/21,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 24 March 2022 entitled ‘Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia’,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act),

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty,

– having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 18 February 2022 entitled ‘Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy 2022’,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 31 January 2023 entitled ‘Guidelines on State aid for broadband networks’,

– having regard to the draft Commission notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law,

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 1 December 2022 entitled ‘Evaluation of the State subsidy rules for health and social services of general economic interest (‘SGEIs’) and of the SGEI de minimis Regulation’ (SWD(2022)0388),

– having regard to the entry into force on 1 September 2023 of the package of measures adopted on 20 April 2023, designed to simplify and streamline the procedures for reviewing certain mergers that do not raise competition concerns (C(2023)2400, C(2023)2401, C(2023)2402),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market,

– having regard to the 2023 State of the Union Address by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen,

– having regard to the Commission’s decision of 6 September 2023 on the designation of gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act,

– having regard to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/914 of 20 April 2023 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 802/2004,

– having regard to the joint European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade of 23 January 2023 by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission,

– having regard to the judgment of the CJEU of 4 July 2023 in Case C-252/21,

– having regard to the document entitled ‘DG COMP Code of good practices for a transparent, inclusive, faster design and assessment of IPCEIs’ of 17 May 2023,

– having regard to the Commission notice of 27 April 2004 on informal guidance relating to novel questions concerning Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty that arise in individual cases (guidance letters),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 21 July 2023 entitled ‘Guidelines on the applicability of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to horizontal co-operation agreements’,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A90000/2023),

A. whereas EU competition policy has an important role in addressing the consequences of crises, setting fair conditions to encourage innovation and providing greater choice for consumers;

B. whereas competition policy could contribute to bolstering the resilience of the internal market, as well as achieving the goals of the European Green Deal and the Digital Compass;

C. whereas international exchange and cooperation are essential to achieving a global and competitive level playing field and tackling the challenges of the twin digital and green transitions in a coordinated manner;

The role of competition and the policy response to the war in Ukraine, the US Inflation Reduction Act and the continuing challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

1. Calls on the Commission to safeguard the integrity of the single market; recalls that the response to the US Inflation Reduction Act must not be solely based on use of State aid, but also on a renewed competition framework, providing speed and flexibility for companies investing and competing fairly in Europe;

2. Takes note of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), as well as of the update of the State aid rulebook that allows investments for the green and digital transitions; welcomes the 2023 review of the TCTF to introduce the ‘matching clause’ and avoid a race towards subsidies;

3. Stresses that additional public and private investment will be needed to face new challenges; underlines that a European Sovereignty Fund financed by additional fresh money will address the fragmentation of the internal market, support the EU’s industrial strategy, reduce our critical dependencies and ensure our open strategic autonomy;

4. Calls on the Commission to look into the ‘shrinkflation’ phenomenon and its consequences for markets and consumers’ welfare;

5. Underlines the importance of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) for financing large transnational projects and achieving the EU’s strategic priorities, but deplores the process and time required as being too burdensome for SMEs; calls on the Commission to ensure that any notification is completed within six months at the latest;

Competition policy enforcement and global trends

6. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement that it will launch an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles; underlines the importance of the effective implementation of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 on foreign subsidies in order to ensure the mitigation of potentially distortive effects on the single market; draws attention to the lack of resources with only five FTE within the Commission;

7. Calls on the Commission to modernise public the procurement rules to help foster green and digital industry; calls on the Commission to take into account the sustainability and sovereignty criteria for public procurement rules in order to foster the production of goods ‘made in Europe’;

8. Underlines the key role of the European Competition Network (ECN); calls on the Commission to strive for continued constructive dialogue and cooperation at international level; underlines the need to increase collaboration between antitrust and other sectoral regulators, such as those dealing with data privacy, to both supervise corporate data misuse and prevent companies from using consumer data to gain an unfair competitive advantage;

Merger control

9. Underlines the importance of the Commission taking decisive action, under Article 22 of the EC Merger Regulation, against ‘killer acquisitions’ that must be reported under the Digital Markets Act;

10. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to review its notice on the definition of ‘relevant market’ and looks forward to the outcomes of the public consultation; underlines the need to adopt a more dynamic approach and take into account a longer-term vision encompassing the global dimension and potential future competition;

Antitrust and cartels

11. Calls on the Commission to adopt further interim measures to stop any practice which would seriously harm competition, particularly in relation to dynamic and rapidly developing markets such as digital markets;

12. Calls on the Commission to speed up antitrust procedures and introduce a time limit for antitrust cases in order to ensure the effectiveness of EU rules; underlines that Spotify filed a complaint against Apple in 2019 and that, in spite of the Commission having issued a statement of objections, no concrete actions have been taken thus far to address Apple’s restrictions, preventing app developers from freely communicating with their own users;

13. Welcomes the opening of a formal investigation into possible anti-competitive practices by Microsoft regarding Teams; calls on the Commission to carefully assess the concessions, unilaterally offered by Microsoft, with the undertakings involved, in order to ensure that they address the concerns of existing consumers, as well as interoperability and pricing issues;

14. Insists on effective remedies which require greater coordination between enforcers and further dialogue with third parties; recalls that undertakings designated as gatekeepers have been subject to previous antitrust rulings, which have not led to effective behavioural changes; regrets the reluctance of the Commission to address market dominance through structural separation;

Competition policy in the digital age

15. Welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers for 22 core platform services under the Digital Markets Act, as well as the four market investigations under the Digital Markets Act;

16. Welcomes the market investigation into Apple’s iMessage in order to assess its role as a gateway; highlights the inclusion by default of iMessage on all iOS devices for more than 144 million users; stresses the importance of smartphones as an essential personal and professional tool; highlights that today’s market is dominated by two operating systems, with their own non-interoperable messaging services, which limits the possibility for users and businesses to freely move from one ecosystem to the other;

17. Regrets the absence of cloud services providers from the gatekeepers list, despite the damaging anti-competitive practices underlined by national competition authorities; highlights that the European cloud market is dominated by a few very large players; calls on the Commission to ensure that all eligible services are designated in order to restore fair and equal competition in the European cloud market;

18. Calls on the Commission to look at emerging gatekeepers in generative Artificial Intelligence under the Digital Markets Act;

19. Stresses the need for the effective coexistence of competition law and the Digital Markets Act; calls on the Commission to ensure sufficient resources and synergies, and to avoid overlaps or duplications of existing structures and measures;

20. Highlights the EU’s future connectivity needs in terms of infrastructure and investments; calls for the establishment of a policy framework whereby large traffic generators contribute fairly to the adequate funding of telecom networks without prejudice to net neutrality;

Parliamentary involvement

21. Stresses that Parliament should play an active role in shaping competition policy and be more involved in the activity of working parties and expert groups;

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22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the parliaments and competition authorities of the Member States.