Activities of Michael THEURER related to 2015/2140(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual report on EU Competition Policy PDF (462 KB) DOC (178 KB)
Amendments (11)
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the report by the Commission, which underlines the importance of Competition policy in the EU, and notes that it essentially covers the term of office of the last Commission under Competition Commissioner Almunia;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the fact that Competition Commissioner Vestager wishes to develop competition policy as one of the key instruments of the European Union towards making the common internal market a reality and encourages the Commission in its efforts towards it;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the regular dialogue which the Commission conducts with the European Parliament on competition matters, and calls again for fundamental legislative directives and guidelines to be adopted in the co-decision procedure and in particular for those departments which draw up guidelines to be strictly separated from those which apply those guidelines in specific cases;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that the European Parliament should have co-decision powers in competition policy; regrets that Articles 103 and 109 TFEU provide only for consultation of Parliament; believes that this democratic deficit cannot be tolerated; proposes that this deficit be overcome as soon as possible through inter-institutional arrangements in the field of competition policy and corrected in the next Treaty change; (Considering the importance and impact competition policy has on our citizens, the European Parliament, as only democratically elected body, should be fully involved.)
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Underlines that the term competition itself, on which the current competition law is based, needs to be redefined, in particular the structure-conduct- performance-paradigm, to take due account of the changes in the economy brought by digitisation, and therefore suggests that the Commission sets up a high-level expert group to address this;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. QuerieRegrets the long duration of the investigations into American Internet giant Google and regretsGoogle’s practices and the fact that these investigations have already dragged on for several years with no result, because until 2014 the Commission was reluctant to indicate its intention to abolish market restrictions; out any final results; welcomes, therefore, the Statement of Objections sent by the Commission to Google on comparison shopping service; calls on the Commission to continue to examine determinedly all concerns identified in its investigations, including other areas of search bias, as it is ultimately part of ensuring a level playing field for all market players in the digital market; (Among the antitrust cases, the Google antitrust case is a clear case of abuse of a dominant position. This case must be solved by the EC without losing 5 more years if it wants to be credible with its Digital single market strategy. It is essential to ensure a level playing field for all market players in the digital market.)
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Considers that particularly in the digital economy and with a view to consumer protection general competition rules need to be updated so as to allow for existing policy to match reality as well as additional new criteria must be introduced in assessing mergers, such as the purchase price, possible market entry barriers and network effects; Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to the commercial model of businesses in the digital economy and possible market entry barriers;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls for an EU legislative framework to prevent distortions of competition by aggressive tax planning and tax evasion; with a view to creating a level playing field, recommends to introduce an automatic mandatory exchange of tax rulings, a CCCTB and a guarantee that no profit leaves the EU untaxed;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. StresseRequests that the European Parliament should also be given co decision powers in competition policy, particularly where fundamental principles and binding guidelines are concerned, and regrets that this area of Union policy has not been strengthened in its democratic dimension in recent treaty amendments; Calls for the treaties to be amended accordingly;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Considers that all tried and tested and existing forms of dialogue held to date should be maintained, but an organisational separation of legislative and executive authority is inalienable for democratic reasons;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Stresses that in future individual competition cases should be pursued independently by the Commission;