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Competition policy – annual report 2023

TA-9-2024-0011 · P9_TA(2024)0011 · PE753.544

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 26 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.

Parliament's resolution on competition policy – annual report 2023 sets out its position on State aid, merger control, antitrust enforcement, digital markets and taxation. It calls on the Commission to safeguard the single market, avoid a subsidy race, target temporary State aid and monitor distortive effects. It asks for faster antitrust procedures, better use of interim measures and structural remedies, and a market investigation tool. It welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act and calls for rigorous enforcement, including in cloud and messaging. It deplores aggressive tax planning, calls for excluding tax-avoiding companies from public procurement and State aid, and asks the Commission to prepare competition cases more thoroughly.

Key points

  1. Calls on the Commission to safeguard the single market and 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 the 'matching clause'; asks the Commission to avoid a subsidy race and keep State aid targeted, temporary and consistent with EU goals.
  3. Stresses that additional public and private investment is needed, that the EU budget must be equipped for future challenges, and that a fragmented approach to State aid can create an uneven playing field.
  4. Calls on the Commission to examine how inflation affects competition, improve data on profits, and use all competition tools to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.
  5. Welcomes national market investigation powers and calls on the Commission to introduce a similar tool and reassess the 'New Competition Tool'.
  6. Underlines the importance of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) and calls for notifications to be completed within six months at the latest.
  7. Welcomes the Commission's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and underlines the importance of EU instruments on foreign subsidies, noting only eight full-time equivalents within the Commission.
  8. Calls on the Commission to modernise public procurement rules and stresses that the 'fair price' is not the lowest price but one allowing fair remuneration along the supply chain.
  9. Notes that the three largest credit rating agencies hold a market share of over 90 % and reiterates the need to enhance competition in this market.
  10. Calls on the Commission to investigate the combination of audit and advisory businesses and possibly present measures to prevent conflicts of interest and market dominance.
  11. Welcomes the designation of six gatekeepers – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft – for 22 core platform services under the Digital Markets Act and calls for rigorous assessment of compliance before 6 March 2024.
  12. Deplores the distortive effects of aggressive tax planning, calls for excluding tax-avoiding companies from public procurement and State aid, and asks the Commission to prepare competition cases more thoroughly after CJEU annulments.

Who is affected

  • The Commission, which is asked to enforce competition rules, monitor State aid and prepare cases more thoroughly.
  • Member States, which are urged to avoid a subsidy race and whose tax systems are criticised for distortive effects.
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which face burdensome IPCEI procedures and benefit from fair competition.
  • Gatekeepers and large online platforms, which face DMA obligations and antitrust scrutiny.
  • Consumers, who should benefit from fair prices, greater choice and protection of personal data.

Figures and deadlines

  • Six gatekeepers designated for 22 core platform services under the Digital Markets Act.
  • Compliance with DMA obligations to be assessed before 6 March 2024.
  • Three largest credit rating agencies hold a market share of over 90 %.
  • Only eight full-time equivalents (FTEs) within the Commission for foreign subsidies work.
  • IPCEI notifications to be completed within six months at the latest.
  • iMessage included by default on all iOS devices for more than 144 million users.

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