2 Amendments of Pirkko RUOHONEN-LERNER related to 2017/0063(COD)
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) are a matter of public policy and should be applied effectively throughout the Union to ensure that competition in the internal market is not distorted. Effective enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU is necessary to ensure more open competitive markets in Europe, where companies compete more on their merits and without company erected barriers to market entry, enabling them to generate wealth and create jobs. ItCompetition is an important incentive for innovation. Europe’s small, segmented markets typically suffer more from the lack of it. Competition protects consumers from business practices that keep the prices of goods and services artificially high and enhances their choice of innovative goods and services.
Amendment 78 #
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. Competition authorities, in particular, must be given the capability and knowledge to maintain competition among goods in the digital economy whose value is dependent on network externalities. In the digital economy, network externality goods, such as payment cards, are more common than in the past. If they are successful, they become natural monopolies, as the number of customers increases the value of the product to other customers. The ability of the competition authorities to act and their knowledge and cooperation in the field of regulation of pricing or regulation of income distribution should be developed at European level in relation to network externality goods, in order to ensure that costs are properly allocated and that healthy competition, innovation, the digital economy and technological development are not stifled or the interests of consumers harmed.