Activities of Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO related to 2017/0063(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Empowering competition authorities and ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market (debate) ES
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market PDF (820 KB) DOC (122 KB)
Amendments (13)
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) NCAs should have the necessary resources, in terms of staff, expertise, financial means and technical equipment, to ensure they can effectively perform their tasks when applying Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. In case their duties and powers under national law are extended, the resources that are necessary to perform those tasks should still be sufficient and they should be exempted from the Stability and Growth Pact calculations.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) To ensure that the fines imposed for infringements of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU reflect the economic significance of the infringement, NCAs should take into account the gravity of the infringement. NCAs should also be able to set fines that are proportionate to the duration of the infringement. These factors should be assessed in accordance with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In particular, as regards the assessment of the gravity of an infringement, the Court of Justice of the European Union has established that consideration must be given to the circumstances of the case, the context in which the infringement occurred and the deterrent effect of the fines. Factors that may form part of this assessment are the turnover for the goods and services in respect of which the infringement was committed and the size and economic power of the undertaking, in particular whether it is a small and medium sized enterprise (SME), as they reflect the influence the undertaking was able to exert on the market. Moreover, the existence of repeated infringements by the same perpetrator shows its propensity to commit such infringements and is therefore a very significant indication of the gravity of the conduct in question and accordingly of the need to increase the level of the penalty to achieve effective deterrence. When determining the fine to be imposed, NCAs should consider the value of the undertaking’s sales of goods and services to which the infringement directly or indirectly relates. Similarly, NCAs should be entitled to increase the fine to be imposed on an undertaking or association of undertakings that continues the same, or commits a similar, infringement after the Commission or a national competition authority has taken a decision finding that the same undertaking or association of undertakings has infringed Articles 101 or 102 TFEU.
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) The deterrent effect of fines differs widely across Europe and in some Member States the maximum amount of the fine that can be set is very low. To ensure NCAs can set deterrent fines, the maximum amount of the fine should be set at a level of not less than 102% of the total worldwide turnover of the undertaking concerned. This should not prevent Member States from maintaining or introducing a higher maximum amount of the fine.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) National administrative competition authorities have the power to set their priorities for carrying out tasks for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU as defined in Article 5(2). When setting the priorities, national administrative competition authorities should focus on strategic sectors of the economy. To the extent that national administrative competition authorities are obliged to consider complaints which are formally filed, this shall include the power of those authorities to reject such complaints on the grounds that they do not consider them to be a priority. This is without prejudice to the power of national competition authorities to reject complaints on other grounds defined by national law.
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(ea) The staff and the members of the decision-making body of national administrative competition authorities shall not seek an employment in an undertaking that is or was investigated within the next 2 years following the end of their labour relation with the authority when they had a direct relation with the file.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(ea) The staff and the members of the decision-making body of national administrative competition authorities shall not seek an employment in an undertaking that is or was investigated within the next 2 years following the end of their labour relation with the authority when they had a direct relation with the file.
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. The Commission and Member States shall ensure that all expenditures used for complying with this Article shall be considered to be in compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) as laid out in Articles 121 and 126 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and shall not trigger any actions under the preventive or corrective arm of the SGP.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) to ask any representative or member of staff of the undertaking or association of undertakings for explanations on facts or documents relating to the subject-matter and purpose of the inspection and to record the answer, carefully respecting workers' rights.
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that undertakings and associations of undertakings are required to submit to inspections conducted by national administrative competition authorities. Where an undertaking or association of undertakings opposes an inspection ordered by a national administrative competition authority or authorised by a national judicial authority, national competition authorities can obtain the necessary assistance of the police or of an equivalent enforcement agency so as to enable them to conduct the inspection, always with a prior authorisation of a national judicial authority. Such assistance may also be obtained as a precautionary measure.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States shall ensure that national competition authorities shall not take into account any compensation paid as a result of a consensual statement in accordance with Article 18(3) of Directive 2014/104/EU when determining the amount of the fine for an infringement.
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that the maximum amount of the fine a national competition authority may impose on each undertaking or association of undertakings participating in an infringement of Articles 101 or 102 TFEU should not be set at a level below 102% of its total worldwide turnover in the business year preceding the decision. This should not prevent Member States from maintaining or introducing a higher maximum amount of the fine.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 2
Article 14 – paragraph 2
2. Where an infringement by an association of undertakings relates to the activities of its members, the maximum amount of the fine shall not be set at a level below 102 % of the sum of the total worldwide turnover of each member active on the market affected by the infringement of the association. However, the financial liability of each undertaking in respect of the payment of the fine shall not exceed the maximum amount set in accordance with paragraph 1. This should not prevent Member States from maintaining or introducing a higher maximum amount of the fine.
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Member States shall ensure that national administrative competition authorities have the capacity and the provisions to collect the fines imposed to an undertaking or an association of undertakings.