Brussels, 21/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - By speaking on Tuesday evening, in European Parliament plenary session in the debate on the report by the British Conservative, Jonathan Evans, concerning competition regulations applicable to horizontal cooperation agreements, Commissioner Mario Monti wanted to underline that the Commission wanted through its Communication to take into account the economic realities while continuing to guarantee the maximum legal security, and "codify the jurisprudence and the practice" of these last years. This without any intention of "radically changing" its way of treating cooperation agreements in terms of research and development and the specialisation agreements (agreements of this kind presently benefit from an "exemption by category" to the ban on agreements). The criteria must be "clarified, but certainly not modified", noted Mr Monti, when reacting to "certain criticisms" according to which the Commission guidelines "cover an in-depth review" of rules concerning horizontal agreements: these criticisms have no foundation, he said, while assuring that the Commission would continue dealing in a very rigorous manner with the agreement concluded between competitors which would have as aim the setting of prices, the sharing out of a market or a restriction to competition. However these agreement must be examined in the "economic context", by taking into account, in particular, the "growing pressures of competition", added Mr Monti, while noting that cooperation can be an important instrument for small and medium sized enterprises, with positive repercussions for consumers. Mr Monti added that he could welcome several suggestions made by the Parliament, and indicated in particular that: - he would propose to increase from 5 to 7 years the maximum duration of the exemption for horizontal R&D agreements (Mr Evan wanted 10 years); - for the transition period, "we can think of a 18 month period" (Mr Evans called for it to be increased to 2 years). As for the wider "effort towards modernisation" of competition policy undertaken by the Commission (an effort that, noted Mr Evans during the debate, is "slightly more controversial" than the Communication on horizontal agreements), Mr Monti confirmed that the European Commission should be able to adopt a proposal before the end of the month.
During a short debate, Mr Evans, while approving the Commission's new approach concerning horizontal agreements, felt in particular that they should not use market share as a single criteria to determine the market power. Some MEPs, such as the OVP member Otmar Karas, insisted on the legal security, others, such as the Spanish Socialist Luis Berenguer Fuster, on the needs to pay attention to the economic situation.
By adopting the Evans report the Parliament nevertheless maintained its demand that the maximum duration of exemptions be increased from five to ten years when the results are jointly used, but it did so less categorically than the rapporteur, by voting an amendment from the Spanish Socialist Luis Berenguer Fuster who felt that this duration "should" be increased to ten years "in certain cases". The Parliament also calls for the duration of the transition period concerning the introduction of these regulations be increased to two years. The EP says it is preoccupied by the use of the "market share ceilings" to assess the "market power" and invites the Commission to "examine other more precise means of evaluation": it considers the market share ceiling of 15% set by the 122 and 141 guidelines as arbitrary and calls on the Commission to increase them to at least 20%. Finally more generally, it warns against "the Commission reforms leading to the re-nationalisation of EU competition regulations and immediately invites the Commission to dissuade the competent national authorities for carrying out an examination of the agreement exempted in relation to their own national legislation".