A sizeable majority of the MEPs of the economic and financial affairs (ECON) committee voted in favour (48 to five with one abstention) of the draft report by Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany) on the resources to be allocated to the national competition authorities (NCA) to ensure the smooth functioning of the single market.
The vote comes as no surprise, as the MEPs had previously expressed their approval of Schwab's text, when the amendments were examined on 21 November of last year (see EUROPE 11909). The text followed the presentation of the proposed directive by the European Commission on 22 March 2017, seeking to increase the efficiency of the activities of the NCAs (see EUROPE 11751).
The compromise amendment was supported by a majority of the political groups and therefore gave rise to no particular problems during the vote.
Among the major points of the text, the MEPs recommend genuine budgetary independence for the NCAs and for the necessary human and financial resources to be made available for them to be able to do their work. They also consider that the NCAs should have access to all necessary information they need during an investigation, particularly emails and instant messages.
One of the most sensitive and highly debated issues between the MEPs concerned the maximum fine that companies would be exposed to in the event of a breach of EU rules. They agreed on an amount level of not less than 10% of the global turnover of the company, but still leaving the member states with the option to enforce higher fines. On this point, therefore, they went along with the European Commission's proposal.
The MEPs also took position in favour of legal counterparties for businesses, for instance in terms of leniency measures effective in all member states of the EU.
Reacting to the vote on his draft report, Schwab said that the EU needed “strong NCAs in order to guarantee a well-functioning internal market and fair competition”. “That's why we need to give them the necessary investigation and sanctioning tools. At the same time, it is crucial not to disregard essential legal guarantees for undertakings”, he added.
Discussions on this proposed directive continue in the working group at the Council of the European Union. Following several readings giving rise to comments on the part of the member states, which welcomed the proposal, the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council will table a compromise proposal on Wednesday 28 February. The main stumbling blocks concern the harmonisation of the legal systems. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)