Activities of Kim VAN SPARRENTAK related to 2022/2060(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the competition policy - annual report 2022
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Believes that the EU competition policy has an important role – especially at times of uncertainty and digital transformation – in ensuring effective competition to encourage innovation, setting fair economic conditions, as well as driving innovation that develops new technologies which can help us do more, with less harm to the environment, and giving the industry a powerful incentive to use our planet’s scarce resources efficiently and provide greater choice for the consumer;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1 a. Underlines that full coherence between the Union’s policy goals in the framework of the Green Deal, the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals on the one hand and competition rules on the other is necessary; stresses that the application of EU competition law should address all market distortions, including those created by negative social and environmental externalities;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that competition is key to a well-functioning single market and economy and creates incentives for variety in products, lower prices, higher standards, innovation and better services for the consumer; reaffirms furthermore that SMEs would benefit from a stricter application of EU competition rules;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that consumer welfare is and remains an essential aspect of competition policy and prevention of consumer harm must remain an essential aspect of competition policy; stresses in this perspective that consumers’ interests go beyond low prices only and include other aspects such as quality, sustainability, fundamental rights protection, power imbalances towards citizens, environmental protection, innovation, ethics and fair-trade aspects; adds that a focus on lowest-possible consumer prices only ignores the negative externalities associated with certain types of production;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Stresses that EU competition rules should contribute to the Union’s objectives, as defined in Article 3 TEU; considers that competition rules should not hamper, but contribute to sustainability goals;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Notes that mobilising investments at the scale needed to meet the 2030 emissions reduction targets will require in certain appropriate cases the provision of State aid as recognised by the Commission; calls therefore on the Commission to align State aid rules with EU’s efforts towards decarbonisation in particular for the energy transition; deplores that, as a general rule, no green conditioning is attached to the approval of State aid;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. AWelcomes the recent adoption of the Digital Markets Acts and the Digital Services Act as essential steps towards a harmonised, fair and competitive digital single market; asks the Commission to ensure that the Digital Markets Act (DMA)1 and the Digital Services Act (DSA)2 are fully enforced and that sufficient Commission staff and resources are assigned for this task; asks the Member States, furthermore, to second additional staff and national experts to the Commission for this task; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act) (OJ L 265, 12.10.2022, p. 1). 2 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1).
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Reiterates its call to the Commission to continue actively monitoring and removing unjustified geo- blocking and other restrictions on cross- border online sales, having at core a pro- consumer approach to allow them access to a greater choice of products and services across the EU;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that competition is global by nature; encourages the Commission, therefore, to use all tools provided for in the Union’s trade agreements and the Union’s Customs Code4 to counter unfair commercial trading practices and competition, including by addressing environmental and social dumping, from non-EU companies which could affect the single market; asks the Commission to look into international agreements and State aid rules in order to seek suitable solutions; _________________ 4 Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (recast) (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Regrets that the Commission continues to negotiate free trade agreements (FTA) without ensuring that these agreements are in line with the Green Deal objectives; calls on the Commission to pay greater attention to the impact of FTAs on SMEs and to ensure a level playing field between EU companies and third country companies; urges the Commission to ensure that FTAs do not undermine such level playing field by guaranteeing that equivalent environmental, social and governance standards are applied to goods and services imported into the EU;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that consumers are facing rising energy prices in general, while the number ofsome energy producers in some markets has collapsedwere unable to honour contracts for delivery; asks the Commission to help ensureboosting the availability of a choice of providers for consumerrenewable energy, including through energy community schemes, to allow for a greater choice of providers for consumers; highlights the need to revise the State aid guidelines on Climate, Energy and Environmental protection in line with the objectives of increasing renewable and energy efficiency investments;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Observes that the uptake of electric vehicles will lead to higher electricity consumption in the future and new ways of consumers ‘fuelling’ their vehicles; asks the Commission and Member States to ensure interoperability, competition and price transparency between energy providers for electric vehicle charging stations; notes that a lack of competition may lead to consumers paying higher rates than necessary to charge their vehicles;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the risks of anti-competitive behaviour in the roll-out of artificial intelligence (AI), which could impact the market; observes the need for the Commission to be equipped with the technical and human resources to research and investigate algorithmic collusion and its potential impact on competition; notes at the same time the benefits to consumers of AI solutions, should they reach their pro-competitive potential; calls on the Commission to consider these risks, the likelihood of them materialising and how they can be solved, and include any relevant conclusions in the Union’s competition rules;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Underlines that current merger control rules are not fit for dealing with so-called ‘killer acquisitions’ by dominant players; calls for a mandatory opinion of the European Data Protection Board in case of concentrations involving one or more operators in the digital sector on the relevance of datasets for the intended concentration, the personal data the target acquisition processes and the potential impact on the rights to privacy and data protection the intended concentration has;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Emphasizes the characteristics of digital markets, such as the role, aggregation and use of data, multi-sided markets, direct and indirect network effects, multihoming, non-monetary switching costs other than pricing, such as the network users have built up, learning costs and users’ platform specific reputation or ratings; underlines that the power that digital players have over consumers, which is driven by the role of data and the role of direct and indirect network effects, is currently not reflected in traditional market definitions, which often focused mainly on pricing and profits, such as the small but significant and non-transitory increase in price (SSNIP) test; welcomes the review of the market definition notice to better assess digital markets and urges the Commission to take the aforementioned factors and non-monetary factors into account, when defining digital markets and positions of power on such markets, such as switching costs other than pricing, and also when assessing market power, such as power over consumers, potential impact on fundamental rights, privacy and data protection and potential impact on society and democracy;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Calls for increased scrutiny of the leveraging of dominant positions in digital sectors into other sectors, and on the EU’s strategic autonomy, through the revision of the Merger Regulation1a and application of Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) rules; _________________ 1a Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation) (OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1).
Amendment 63 #
9 d. Stresses the importance of helping consumers and users gain greater control over the use of their data and calls for a high level of protection of personal data;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 e (new)
Paragraph 9 e (new)
9 e. Emphasizes that the lack of GDPR1a enforcement in Ireland has a significant anticompetitive effect; _________________ 1a Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Underlines that services of general economic interest (SGEI) should be subject to specific rules to protect citizens’ access to basic public services; recalls the need for better targeted State aid especially for SGEI, including energy, transport, telecommunication, health and housing;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Calls on the Commission to follow- up swiftly the recent publication of the Staff Working Document that summarizes the evaluation of the SGEI Rules with a proposal for the revision of the SGEI Rules; urges the Commission to take into account the general public interests of affordable housing and sustainable urban development in the revision of SGEI- and State Aid rules, so as to allow national, regional and local authorities to support housing for all groups whose needs for decent and affordable housing cannot be easily met under market conditions; recalls that Parliament called on the Commission to adapt the target group definition of social housing in its resolution of 21 January 2021 on access to decent and affordable housing for all (2019/2187(INI)); recalls that a similar point of view is expressed by key stakeholders in the Staff Working Document; highlights that house prices are up by 9.3% in the euro area and by 9.9% in the European Union in the second quarter of 2022, compared with the same quarter of 2021;