12 Amendments of Brando BENIFEI related to 2021/2185(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that competition policy is vital to strengthening and ultimately completing the single market in that it provides a fair and level playing field for all market participants - with special attention to micro-, small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) -, prevents the distortion of competition, enables the growth of innovative businesses and guarantees a high level of consumer protection and choicelower prices, better quality and more choice between suppliers and products;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Underlines that competition rules and sustainability policies work together and welcomes the Commission's approach according to which state aid, antitrust enforcement as well as merger control must contribute to the green transition and to the European Green Deal objectives;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that services represent the largest economic activity in the EU in terms of gross added value and that the single market for services lags well behind the single market for goods; highlights the need to address the remaining obstacleunjustified barriers to the development of the single market for services, including through the enforcement of competition rules;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to come forth with adequate measures to eliminate Territorial Supply Constraints (TSCs) in view of a fully functioning single market, as TSCs are clearly hampering the development of the single market and its potential benefit to consumers; repeats that TSCs can materialise through different practices such as: refusing to supply, threatening to stop supplying a particular distributor, limiting the quantities available for sale, unexplained differentiation of product ranges and prices between EU Member States or limiting language options for the product packaging;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that ensuring the efficient regulation of digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO); highlights, in this context, the adoption of IMCO’s report on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention aims to address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement; highlights that competition policy rules are also tools for reaching a high level consumer protection, therefore consumer rights must be preserved and if possible strengthened both online and offline;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Recalls that data is a source of considerable economic power and leverage and therefore beside the competition law enforcement, fair tax treatment between undertakings is also essential for keeping the integrity of the internal market;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the Commission is currently working on its proposal to better adapt the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation1 and related Vertical Guidelines2 have been inadequately adapted for recent market developments, notably the growth of online sales and online platforms; highlights that there are outstanding concerns regarding the automobile sector, where manufacturers are competing directly with the distribution network by modifying the contractual terms of the vertical distribution relationship, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage and driving small and medium-sized enterprises out of the market; _________________ 1 Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 of 20 April 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices (OJ L 102, 23.4.2010, p. 1). 2 OJ C 130, 19.5.2010, p. 1.
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Considers that the distinction made in the draft guidelines to the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) revision between resale price maintenance (RPM), distorting the market, and minimum advertised price (MAP), which could be allowed under certain circumstances and conditions, could constitute a tool to support SMEs to stand aggressive price competition on online marketplaces; to this end, asks the Commission to clarify in the guidelines the conditions under which MAP does not constitute RPM;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to adapt competition rules and ensure their enforcement in the energy sector to facilitate the creation of industrial giants capable of competing in global marketsReiterates that competition rules should also facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the Energy Union and to protect the security of energy supplies in the European Union, thus reducing price volatility and combating the rise in energy prices, which accounts for around half significant part of the increase in the inflation rate;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the importance of tackling foreign subsidies that are distorting the EU’s internal market and welcomes the proposed regulation on foreign subsidies, which is relevant in cases where, for example, a subsidised company intends to participate in EU public procurement procedures.; underlines that third-country companies benefitting from State aid or other subsidies might potentially distort competition in the internal market as well as weaken the service level and consumer protection standards also in the internal market; in this regard, calls on the Commission to take appropriate measures to ensure fair market access and level playing field, in every concerned sector, such as aviation;