Brussels, 21/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - “Resilience and adaptability” are the watchwords for the development of competition policy over time, said the Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy, Joaquín Almunia, on 19 April, at the start of his speech in the framework of the “Evening Policy Talks” arranged by the Global Competition Law Centre of the College of Europe. This was a speech in two parts, in which he used several examples to lay out a few elements of the present and future conduct of the anti-trust policy of the EU, and his priorities on the control of state aid.
On the first part, Almunia said that the analysis of the competitive behaviour of businesses these days focuses more on their economic effect and their potential impact on the market than the specific forms they take (such as exclusive agreements). “The cases are not an end in themselves, they are of value solely if they allow us to improve the functioning of the market and increase the benefits this brings for consumers.” The Commission, therefore, gives priority to pursuing the concrete objectives of moving away from market compartmentalisation to increase and diversify supply, a reduction of prices for consumers, safety of supply and the broadest possible access to resources, and so much the better if this can be obtained by means of non-contentious procedures and commitment on the part of the operator. In so doing, competition and regulation (to ensure that this is respected) are two complementary aspects, said the commissioner, referring to cases in the field of energy, facilitating generics in the pharmaceuticals sector and the investigations underway in the field of telecommunications.
Competition and regulation also go hand-in-hand with controls on state aid, a field in which, due to the many and complex cases, there should be fewer and clearer rules, and where the Commission must take action in a more vigorous and targeted way, focusing on the aid which most hinders the functioning of the single market currently being consolidated. The Commissioner went on to refer to aid to banks and the restructuring projects underway, particularly in Ireland, Greece, Germany and, in the near future, Portugal, the postal sector, where the Commission is to monitor public service remuneration to the historic operators, and also their past charges, and air transport, where the rules need to be reviewed on the basis of the new situation (development of low-cost airlines and subsidies to regional airports). (F.G./transl.fl)