Brussels, 31/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has rejected US allegations that EU competition policy is presenting obstacles to business, unlike US legislation. 'Looking at our system from a distance, they are actually very similar,' said the commissioner in a speech on 28 March 2008 to the US Bar Association in Washington D.C. EU competition policies are neither anti-business nor socialist, despite what Wall Street editorials claim, said the commissioner. The EU shares with the United States the aim of 'competitive markets as a basis for prosperity,' and the two share many policies. She mentioned her recent White Paper on Antitrust Private Damages Action, discussing how individuals can take companies suspected of anti-competitive behaviour to court. But EU policy is not actually trying to imitate US policy. Kroes favours private court cases against price-fixing but wants to avoid creating 'incentives for litigation without merit,' which she describes as occurring in the US. The commissioner recognised the 'different history' of the EU that underlies this moderation of capitalism and there is no denying that ten or so member states have governments that are on the left, on paper at least. But while paths sometimes diverge, the EU shares the same overall aim with the US, namely conditions for fair competition for all companies in Europe, even US companies. (C.D.)