Activities of Eugen JURZYCA related to 2021/2185(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Competition policy – annual report 2021 (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on competition policy – annual report 2021
Amendments (34)
Amendment 3 #
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, enables the growth of innovative businesses and guarantees a high level of consumer protection and choice; stresses that consumer welfare must remain the ultimate goal of the competition policy;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Welcomes the 2021OECD Recommendations on competitive neutrality, which are conceived to avoid undue regulatory and financial advantages granted to specific enterprises, be they private or state-owned, therefore ensuring competitive neutrality; calls on the Commission to maintain competitive neutrality in the regulatory environment of the internal market;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. [subtitle to be inserted before para 2] Improving competition in the services sector
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that services, which account for 70% of the GDP and an equal share of its employment, 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 obstacles to the development of the single market for services, including through the enforcement of competition rules;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Welcomes the new WTO agreement to cut red tape in services trade, so-called Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, which aims to simplify unnecessarily complicated regulations; calls on the Commission to monitor the progress and results achieved by the agreement;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to effectively target the unnecessary restrictions and to diminish national protectionism 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;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Welcomes the Commission´s effort to improve the enforcement of the single market rules of the Directive on a proportionality test for regulated professions1a by initiating the infringement procedures; calls on the Member States to properly implement the proportionality test when imposing national rules; stresses that the lack of proper implementation of the EU rules on proportionality test could ultimately disadvantage consumers in the form of excessive prices, undermine the development of innovative services or even lead to lower access to services; _________________ 1a Directive (EU) 2018/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 on a proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of professions (OJ L 173, 9.7.2018, p. 25).
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2 e. Reminds that 71% of businesses considered different national services rules to be a significant or very significant obstacle to the single market according to Eurochambers 2019 survey;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2 f. Stresses that a fragmented services market hampers productivity growth in services; expresses regret over the period after the 2008-2009 crisis known as a ‘lost decade’ with respect to the EU’s productivity growth in services; recalls that since 2008, the EU’s productivity in services has grown much less than that of the US and is now half that of the US level; points out that the ‘lost decade’ has thereby fully eroded the catching up achieved before the crisis, according to the Copenhagen Economics study;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2 g. [subtitle to be inserted before para 3] Competition rules in digital markets
Amendment 23 #
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; believes that an evidence- based assessment should be used to identify firms with dominant market power and that the proportionate and targeted regime towards those companies and activities where the risk of harm is greatest would be a more effective and future-proof approach;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that current merger control rules are not fit for dealing with so- called ‘killer acquisitions’ by dominant players in digital markets; stresses the fact that ‘killer acquisitions’ may also affect the contestability and fairness of the digital single market and therefore should be assessed by the Commission in the framework of the DMA, as set out in IMCO’s report; agrees that optimal policy should take into account also its effect on innovation rates;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the consumer Internet of Things (IoT) sector will expand significantly in the coming years but recognises that shortcomings might still exist in this sector, such as the lack of interoperability between various IoT products and/or services, which could reduce competition and consumer choice; welcomes the Commission’s sector inquiry into the IoT and calls on the Commissioncalls on the Commission to prepare a thorough analysis of such potential impacts on the internal market, including a cost-benefit analysis of any regulatory intervention; welcomes the Commission’s sector inquiry into the IoT and calls on the Commission, where necessary and where the net benefits are proven by the impact assessment, to take further action regarding standards, data portability and access;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that 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 termnotes that a detailed impact assessment would be an important input for the revision discussions; calls ofn the vertical distribution relationship, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage and driving small and medium-sized enterprises out of the marketCommission to quantify net present value of each option; _________________ 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 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EU economy and the risks and opportunities it poses to the internal market; welcomnotes the Commission’s decision to prolong the temporary framework for State aid until 30 June 2022, but highlights that these measures; stresses that the temporary framework might have already produced distortions of competition and negative effects on trade which will last in the medium and long-term, and therefore believes that it should remainstay in place until gross doonly for the time stric product and employment return to pre-tly necessary to address the immediate consequences of the pandemic levels;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Calls on the Commission to improve the transparency of the state aid evaluation process, which should include clear reasoning, state aid description, measurable indicators allowing the ex- post monitoring and evaluation; therefore highlights the need for the ex-post monitoring of the effective implementation of the adopted state aid cases; believes that also output of the consultation phase should be disclosed;
Amendment 61 #
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 markets and to protect the securityresilience of energy supplies in the European Union, thus reducing price volatility and combating the unexpected rise in energy prices, which accounts for around half of the increase in the inflation rate; considers that potentially excessive and insufficiently evaluated investments in renewable energy linked with the negative attitude towards the carbon-free nuclear energy sources may also impact the price increase;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls on the Commission to create a level playing field for the different technologies and innovations in the energy sector; believes that this can be achieved, for example, by fees for negative externalities, rather than subsidies for selected solutions;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. [subtitle to be inserted before para 9] EU response to foreign subsidies
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the importance of tackling foreign subsidies that are distorting the EU’s internal market and welcomnotes 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.
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Expresses concern over retaliation measures against EU companies at global level, including the risk of the mirroring anti-subsidy principle directed at EU companies, for example in public procurement; stresses the key importance of creating transparent and measurable indicators and investigation procedures to establish clear framework for the assessment of the distortive effect of foreign subsidies;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Recalls that based on the OECD 2021 study, the empirical analysis there conducted finds that below-market finance may have been a contributor to excess capacity in a number of sectors, subsidies also appear to be negatively correlated with firm productivity; notes that the OECD findings also raised significant concerns about a lack of transparency in relation to below-market finance; believes that the EU should target these negative consequences of foreign subsidies on the internal market effectively, considering the potential negative effects of regulation, including the administrative and regulatory burden, retaliation measures and impact on investments and growth;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. [subtitle to be inserted] Review of competition policy and enforcement rules
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9 d. Notes the aim to improve competition rules and their enforcement; stresses the need to prepare in-depth analysis of the regulatory approaches in other developed markets, in order to compare their effectiveness, to avoid market failures and consumer welfare losses and to deliver the most efficient regulatory environment; notes the UK approach to target the companies with highest risk of harm, including by imposing remedies supported by fair and robust process in place to ensure that remedies are evidence-based, targeted, proportionate, and subject to appropriate legal safeguards;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 e (new)
Paragraph 9 e (new)
9 e. Reminds the Court of Auditors recommendations1c, which state that the Commission should follow a more proactive approach by gathering and processing market relevant information in a consistent and cost-efficient manner and select cases for investigation based on clearly weighted criteria, for example by using a scoring system; highlights the need, in line with the Court of Auditors’ recommendations, for the new rules to improve the reporting of the results of the enforcement action, instead of focusing on reporting of activities; _________________ 1c 2020 Special Report; The Commission’s EU merger control and antitrust proceedings: a need to scale up market oversight
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 f (new)
Paragraph 9 f (new)
9 f. Recalls that profit-seeking behaviour should be accepted and should not be accused of being anti-competitive without objective and facts-based reason, reminds that anticompetitive behaviour is prohibited and hyper-competitive behaviour is not; reminds that particular offering attracting many consumers because of its convenience is not in itself sufficient ground for concern; calls on the Commission to distinguish those behaviours for antitrust enforcement;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 g (new)
Paragraph 9 g (new)
9 g. Highlights the need to prepare any legislative proposal based on data, in- depth impact assessments, best practices and analyses in order to promote consumer welfare and to avoid unnecessary administrative or regulatory burden;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 h (new)
Paragraph 9 h (new)
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 i (new)
Paragraph 9 i (new)
9 i. Reminds that in 1980, China accounted for 2,3 % of the global economy, the US 21,3 % and the current EU 27 almost 26%; notes however that in 2020, China reached 18,3 %, the US fell to 15,8 % and the EU to 15%; stresses that without economic growth, we can hardly improve healthcare, education, research or environmental protection on the internal market; calls on the Commission to analyse the key shortcomings in competition policy, including the impact of excessive administrative burden, impact of lack of legal certainty and protectionism measures at the EU and national levels;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 j (new)
Paragraph 9 j (new)
9 j. Regrets that the number of EU unicorns is rather limited compared to other developed regions or countries; urges the Commission to analyse the regulatory environment in the most successful countries and to publish the best practices; further calls on the Commission to introduce changes to improve competition policy on the internal market to create a better suited environment for companies, including start-ups, entrepreneurs and innovators;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 k (new)
Paragraph 9 k (new)
9 k. Agrees with the statement of Commissioner Vestager, highlighting that strong businesses would not emerge by shielding them from competition, but by exposing them to it; stresses that protectionism measures should be phased out; reminds that the right goal to improve the resilience of the internal market should not be considered as an excuse for new protectionism measures; calls on the Commission to provide analyses for each such measure in order to quantify its overall impact on the internal market and its openness;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 l (new)
Paragraph 9 l (new)
9 l. Recalls the IMF 2021 report on Competition, Innovation, and Inclusive Growth, which states that competition and innovation-led growth are critical to drive productivity gains and support broad- based growth; notes that it also states that policies to support innovation could also improve business dynamism and reduce market power;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 m (new)
Paragraph 9 m (new)
9 m. Urges the Commission to carry out an ex post evaluation of its enforcement decisions, including the impact of the fines and sanctions given for anti- competitive conduct in the internal market, whether they were effective and delivered intended results.