Activities of Notis MARIAS related to 2016/2100(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on EU competition policy (debate) EL
Amendments (37)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that competition policy is a vital part of the internal market, as provided for in the Treaty; reiterates that a competitive single market is needed to boost growth in the EU Member States and that efforts to preserve fair competition in the EU as a whole armust be in the interest of consumers and help strengthen SMEs;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to the Protocol (No 1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the role of National Parliaments in the European Union,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
– having regard to Protocol (No 2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to includeadopt ambitious provisionstrategies on competition and state aid in all trade agreementMember States and to carry out effective monitoring to ascertain whether those provisions are properly respected by the partiesstrategies are being implemented;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. WelcomNotes the Commission’s active participation in multilateral competition organisations such as the International Competition Network, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the UN Conference for Trade and Development, and the World Trade Organization, and stresses the need to strengthen the economies of southern European Member States through such participation;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to support efforts to set up a comprehensive, user- friendly database containing provisions on competition collated from free trade agreements, which could be run by the WTO secretariat;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates that equal access to natural resources, including energy sources, has a fundamental impact on fair and equal competition on the global market and the economy of EU Member States.
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that EU competition law and authorities need to be improved and to guarantee a level playing field in the digital single market; calls on the Commission to pursue a policy of active, effective and accelerated enforcement of the competition rules, in particular in the online search and mobile internet sector, in order to remove barriers to innovation and to enable EU consumers to seize all the opportunities that a genuine digital single market can offer;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. HighlightDeplores the fact that EU transport legislation is often poorly implemented by Member States; believes that proper implementation of existing EU legislation would bring additional benefits to business and industry and that Union funding for this sector is insufficient;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas EU competition policy ishould be an essential instrument for a properly functioning internal market in the Unioneconomy in the Member States;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that competition policy must attach the same importance to defending the interests of agricultural producers, especially in EU Member States adversly affected by Trika austerity policies, as it does to defending consumers’ interests, ensuring that the conditions for competition are fair so as to foster investment, employment and innovation in agricultural markets;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas competition policy keeps markets efficient and open, thus leading to lower prices, better-quality products and services and greater choice for consumers, also promoting innovation and growth;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that the current crisis situation in farming calls for fresh initiatives to ensure that competition policy takes better account of the specific nature of agriculture so as to support the primary sector in EU Member States such as Greece, where agriculture has suffered particularly as a result of Troika intervention;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas competition policy can and should make a significant contribution to key political priorities such as boosting innovation, quality jobs, growth and investment, particularly in the southern European Member States such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc., protecting consumers and reinforcing the single market, with particular regard to the digital single market and the Energy Union;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. RecognisesPoints out the advances in digital technologies in the transport and tourism sectors, which promote competition, create jobs and benefit the consumer;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomNotes the Commission’s intention to negotiate external aviation agreements with several key countries and regions in the world; believes that these will not only improve market access, but will also provide new business opportunities for a world-beating European aviation sector, creating jobs and benefiting consumers;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates the need for the timely and proper implementation of Directive 2014/104/EU on antitrust damages actions under national law for infringements of competition rules in the EU Member States, and encourages the Commission in the strongest possible terms to monitor its implementation closely and to pursue this issue with the Member States;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls onUrges the Commission to broaden its approach in terms of criteria for determining whether an agricultural undertaking, or a number of such undertakings linked by a horizontal agreement, is deemed to be in a ‘dominant position’, taking into consideration the degree of concentration in sectors downstream;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Looks forward to the Commission’s proposal on the ECN+, and calls for the full involvement of the European Parliament under the ordinary legislative procedure; considers that effective tools to tackle distortions of competition are crucial for the functioning of the single marketto underpin the Member State economies, and that it is imperative to ensure that consumers and businesses can rely on the consistent application of EU competition rules throughout the EU.
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomNotes the annual report by the Commission on competition policy, which canmust help to restore a sufficient level of investment and innovation by creating a fair competition environment; also reiterates that Europe’s futurethe future of the EU Member States should be based on innovation;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that the collective activities of producer organisations and their associations, such as production planning and sales negotiation, are necessary for achieving the aims of the CAP and, in particular sustainable food production and natural resource management and the balanced development of rural areas in the EU Member States, and that they should benefit from a presumption of compatibility with Articles 39 and 101 TFEU;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission’s goal of opening up new opportunities for citizens and small and medium-sized businesses by allowing people, goods, services and capital to move freely within the single market;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes a speedy conclusion toExpects to be apprised of the results of the negotiations on the Fourth Railway Package and believes this should further open up the railway sector to competition.
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Believes that full and satisfactory implementation of the ‘Milk Package’ is essential in ordermust help to strengthen the dairy sector; asks the Commission to propose that the ‘Milk Package’ should continue to apply beyond mid-2020 and to examine whether its rules could be extended to other sectors of agriculture;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the national competition authorities to address the concerns raised by the cumulative impact – particularly at the upper end of the food supply chain – of, on the one hand, national-level concentration in the distribution sector and, on the other, the development of European-level alliances of major distributors.;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission to take immediate action to combat the rationale behind the discontinuance of designations of origin, the introduction of genetically modified foodstuffs and subsidised monoculture.
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. WelcomNotes the Commission’s investigations into certain anti-competitive practices by a number of companies, in particularly Google, Amazon, Qualcomm and other media companies, film studios and TV distributors; calls on the Commission to speed up all procedures against behaviour which infringes EU antitrust rules;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. WelcomNotes the overhaul of the state aid rules; reminds the Member States, nonetheless, that the aim was to better target aid measures towards economic growth, quality job creation and social cohesion in the EU Member States; also reminds the Commission of the need to prevent certain governments from acting in bad faith as they do when misspending EU funds;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. WelcomesAwaits greater efforts by the Commission’s efforts to prepare guidance on its procedures and its continuous evaluation of the EU legal framework;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. WelcomStresses the Commission’s Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy, and agrees with its five interrelated policy dimensions; also stresses that the EU needs to move away from an economy driven by fossil fuelsneed for an energy strategy in response to climate change;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the different antitrust investigations, in particular those into against Gazprom and Bulgargaz, aimed at ensuring market integration in the Energy Union; regrets, however,regrets the practice on the part of certain Member States of buying gas through offshore companies, as being a typical example of tax avoidance and an act that is contrary to a properly functioning Energy Union;
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. WelcomesStresses that the efforts of the Commission to promote the market integration of renewable energy sources in order to avoidmust not lead to distortions of competition; underlines, however, the responsibility of Member States in promoting and financing the production and use of renewable energy;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to cut taxes on energy products and take effective measures to counter energy poverty;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Welcomes the decentralised enforcement of EU competition rules in Europe, but considers that the effectiveness of the protection of citizens and companies from anti-competitive practices should not depend only on the Member State in which they are resident;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers it essential, therefore, that the national competition authorities in the EU have the means and instruments they need to be effective enforcers of EU competition rules, including the tools to detect, tackle and sanction infringements and the leniency programmes that will be essential if companies are to come clean about cartels across Europe;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25