Activities of Dita CHARANZOVÁ related to 2022/2060(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Competition policy - annual report 2022 (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on the competition policy - annual report 2022
Amendments (20)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that fair competition is key to a well-functioning single market and economy and creates incentives for variea diversity inof products, better quality, lower prices, higher value, resilience and standards, innovation, research, and better services for the consumer; stresses that consumer welfare must remain an essential aspect of competition policy; furthermore, stresses that a strong and robust competition policy is a fundamental part of the single market, as set out in the Treaties, and is crucial for the development of a fair and level playing field for all market players, particularly SMEs, which ensures and boosts sustainable growth, jobs and competitiveness; calls on the Commission to introduce changes that create a more favourable environment for all, including start-ups and entrepreneurs, while reaffirming that SMEs could benefit from a stricter application of EU competition rules; agrees with an OECD recommendation1a that active enforcement of competition rules in the European market and openness to international trade and investment should remain policy priorities; _________________ 1a OECD (2021), Enhancing regional convergence in the European Union, OECD Economics Department Working Papers No. 1696, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/253dd6ee-en
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the removal of State aid limits due to the COVID-19 crisis and now Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have led to Member States providing different amounts of support to the same sectors; underlines that this has led to a playing field that is not level for the same industries within the single market; calls on the Commission to seek ways to counterbalance this problem; notes in particular high divergences in the level of energy subsidies provided by Member States in response to rising energy prices; stresses the importance of a coordinated response that avoids distortion of the EU internal energy market; calls on the Commission to improve the transparency of the State aid assessment process and stresses the need for an ex-post monitoring of the effective implementation of adopted State aid;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to address the anti- competitive effect of territorial supply constraints with a view to ensuring a fully functional single market and harnessing its potential benefit for consumers; reiterates that these types of constraints can be presented in different ways, such as refusal of supply, threat of interruption of supply to a particular distributor, limitation of quantities available for sale, unexplained differentiation of product ranges and prices between Member States or limitation of language options on product packaging;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Underlines that State aid frameworks to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine should remain temporary; believes that the challenges arising from these crises should be duly taken into account in a broad reflection on industrial policy, through the updated EU industrial strategy that can help allocate resources to certain key sectors, taking into consideration our dependencies in key strategic areas, in a way that does not distort competition between firms and can also help to lay the ground for a resilient, competitive and sustainable economy in the long term; considers that competition rules should not hamper, but contribute to sustainability goals;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Considers it essential to ensure a consistent application of EU competition rules throughout the single market; stresses that EU legislation should be applied equally in all Member States and must observe the suitability and timeliness of national funding; calls on the Commission to avoid creating monopolies through standardisation;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Asks the Commission to ensure thatWelcomes the recent adoption of the Digital Markets Act (DMA)1 and the Digital Services Act (DSA)2 are fully enforced and thats essential steps towards a harmonised, fair and competitive digital single market; notes that the Commission is making significant efforts to ensure that the DMA and the DSA are fully enforced by providing sufficient additional Commission staff and resources arfor the assigned for this task; asks the Member States, furthermore, to second additional staff and national experts to the Commission for this task; ment of this task; invites the Commission to increase the resources for an effective and strong implementation and enforcement of these Regulations; asks the Member States, furthermore, to second additional staff and national experts to the Commission for this task; asks the Commission to regularly update the Parliament on the progress made regarding the implementation of the DMA and DSA; welcomes the Commission's initiative to set up workshops on various topics related to the DMA's implementation; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act) (OJ L 265, 12.10.2022, p. 1). 2 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1).
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that consolidation within the telecommunications and internet service providers sector could have a significant negative effect on competition within the Union, as it could develop into a monopolistic market, and that the Commission should be vigilant about this; notes, moreover, that mergers between internet service providers, media content broadcasters and streaming providers could create incentives to abuse a dominant position, which would have a negative effect on consumers; underlines that competition policy must support net neutrality and prevent all attempts to underminenet neutrality must be maintained and protected and competition policy must support it;
Amendment 9 #
5 a. Reiterates its call to the Commission to continue actively monitoring and removing unjustified geo- blocking and other restrictions on cross- border online sales, having at core a pro- consumer approach to allow them access to a greater choice of products and services across the EU;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Data Act (2022/0047(COD)) which aims at addressing market imbalances arising from the concentration of data and creating fair and competitive market conditions for the internal market in cloud, edge and related services;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that competition is global by nature;can be, by its nature, at the level of local/regional, EU-EEA and worldwide; for the latter encourages the Commission, therefore, to use all tools provided for in the Union’s trade agreements and the Union’s Customs Code4 to counter unfair commercial trading practices and, including by addressing environmental and social dumping, and unfair competition from non-EU companies which could affect the single market; asks the Commission to look in in order to mainternational agreements and State aid rules in order to seek suitable solutions; _________________ 4 Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (recast) (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).ain a level playing field in the single market and attract more investments;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that consumers are facing rising energy prices in general, while the number of energy producers in some markets has collapsed; asks the Commission to help ensure the availability of a suitable and informed choice of providers for consumers; asks the Commission to work with Member States to facilitate boosting the availability of renewable energy, including through energy community schemes;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that Member States correctly apply the Temporary Crisis Framework to ensure that support for energy costs reaches those that require it such as the retail and wholesale sector, which are hit by the current crisis but not traditionally thought of as energy intensive; furthermore, calls on the Commission to closely monitor compliance with the Temporary Crisis Framework;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Observes that the uptake of electric vehicles will lead to higher electricity consumption in the future and new ways of consumers ‘fuelling’ their vehicles; asks the Commission and Member States to ensure interoperability, competition and price transparency between energy providers for electric vehicle charging stations; notes that a lack of competition may lead to consumers paying higher rates than necessary to charge their vehicles; calls on the Commission to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of EU and national public spending on building the charging stations infrastructure;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the risks of anti-competitive behaviour in the roll-out of artificial intelligence (AI), which could impact the market; observes the need for the Commission to be equipped with the technical and human resources to research and investigate the potential impact of AI on competition; notes at the same time the benefits to consumers of AI solutions, should they reach their pro- competitive potential; calls on the Commission to consider these risks, the likelihood of them materialising and how they can be solved, and include any relevant conclusions in the Union’s analyses and, if indispensable, in the competition rules;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Stresses the importance of helping consumers and users gain greater control over the use of their data and calls for a high level of protection of personal data and emphasises that the lack of GDPR enforcement can have significant anti- competitive effect;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Believes that current merger control rules should be assessed with the view to determine if they are fit to deal with so-called ‘killer acquisitions’ and ensure fair competition, both online and offline;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that services represent the largest economic sectoractivity in the European Union in terms of gross added-value and have still not yet reached their competitive potential and the level ofsingle market for services lags well behind the single market for goods; believes that the work to remove remaining obstacles should be accelerated and a single market for services fully established, including through the enforcement of competition rules; calls on the Commission and the Member States to effectively target the unnecessary restrictions and to diminish unjustified barriers in the services sector, as effective regulation is beneficial for both consumers and professionals and increases the positive impact on the productivity and competitiveness of the EU economy; reminds that results of empirical analyses have shown that restrictions on the services sector have an impact on trade and stresses that a fragmented services market hampers productivity growth in services;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Underlines that services of general economic interest (SGEI) are subject to specific rules to protect citizens’ access to basic public services below a clear threshold; recalls the need for better targeted and well-justified State aid especially for SGEI, including energy, transport, telecommunication, health and social housing; calls on the Commission to follow-up swiftly the recent publication of the Staff Working Document that summarizes the evaluation of the SGEI Rules with a proposal for the revision of the SGEI Rules;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes with satisfaction that an agreement has been reached on a regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure full implementation of this new EU instrument to ensure a level playing field5 ., for all companies operating in the single market so that non-EU subsidies can be thoroughly examined and distortions can be adequately addressed; notes the lack of transparent criteria on how the Commission will assess the distortion of the internal market and thus impose remedies; calls on the Commission to publish these criteria; _________________ 5 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (COM/2021/223 final).