Brussels, 03/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On the evening of Thursday 2 October, Denmark's Margrethe Vestager (ALDE) received the green light of the coordinators of the economic committee of the EP to become the next xcommissioner for competition policy. According to several sources, the S&D considered submitting written questions to her, but the reasons for this are reported to have had more to do with the political games between the various groups than any misgivings over Vestager's abilities. The Socialists said that they “found her performance as good as that of Pierre Moscovici”, the commissioner-designate for economic and financial affairs, taxation and the customs union. In other words, if Moscovici had to submit new written responses, so should Vestager. The S&D found that it stood alone in this line of argument and only Moscovici will have received nine written questions from the MEPs.
Indeed, the S&D had nothing but praise for Vestager's performance, on Friday morning. “If she suits her actions to her words, Margrethe Vestager will be a good commissioner”, said Elisa Ferreira (Spain) and Evelyne Gebhardt (Germany), on behalf of the S&D. The EPP also found that she had been well prepared on this challenging portfolio, according to Burkhard Balz (Germany).
Frequently replying with humour, but always seriously, Vestager pledged the MEPs “frequent dialogue with the EP, as soon as possible”, as it is this institution which hears “the concerns and fears of the citizens”. However, she acknowledged that the Treaty makes modest demands in this direction. This continuous dialogue will take place, amongst other things, through “concrete discussions when we are about to make a proposal in 'soft law'”, such as guidelines for the states, she explained to Werner Langen (EPP, Germany).
Vestager also promised to work with “neutrality, impartiality and rigour”. “I will listen to everyone, from the largest multinational to representatives of small firms”, she said, adding that “my judgment will not be swayed by anyone”.
Another important task of competition policy is to fight obstacles to growth and innovation, both of which create jobs, she said. She also stressed that she feels that there is no contradiction between industrial policy and competition policy.
Digital. “Particular vigilance is important in the energy and digital sectors”, she stated. Much has changed “since the competition rules were laid down in the Treaty”, she said, referring to the digital economy as an example. We must constantly monitor developments in the markets and anticipate changes in our economies, she said. In order to implement competition rules which are as old as the Treaty, “we must be as rigorous as businesses”, argued Vestager. As regards the specific case of Google, which is accused of abusing a dominant position in a case which has greatly mobilised the members of the European Parliament, the Dane explained that new problems had been brought up and also needed to be dealt with. “I do not know what the next steps will be, but next steps there will be”, she said, whilst expressing her hopes that she would not have to prolong the dossier with endless further investigations.
In reply to the press, who asked for her opinion on Europe's being some way ahead of the United States on the regulation of the digital market, Vestager said that there were obviously still differences between the different jurisdictions. “But it is very important to stick to the fact that if you want to compete in Europe, you do that on European (competition) rules”, she added, recognising the need for international cooperation.
Tax optimisation. With the Commission's spotlight currently on tax arrangements between several states and large companies, Apple in Ireland, Starbucks in the Netherlands and Fiat Finance and Trade in Luxembourg, Vestager said that “large companies should not be able to organise themselves in a way that allows them to pay less tax”. She pledged to pursue the investigation in order to “shed light on certain arrangements, if possible”. However, these arrangements must be proved on a solid basis. “I hope that it will not take too long”, she said, adding that it was also important to send out an “extremely clear message to companies” which pay their fair share of taxes. She also stressed that it was not a matter of bringing in common tax policies “by the back door”.
Cartels. Lastly, when asked about the likely level of fines to be handed down to companies involved in illegal cartels, Vestager said that these should be enough to have a deterrent effect. These fines “should be so big that they wipe out any undue profits you made out of the cartel”, the Danish commissioner said. “The best thing is not to engage in cartels. Just a word of advice, to those who listen”, she said. (EL)