BETA


2004/2139(INI) Competition policy. 33rd report 2003

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead ECON EVANS Jonathan (icon: PPE-DE PPE-DE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2005/04/29
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2005/03/31
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2005/02/22
   EP - Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted, by 540 votes in favour, 70 against, with 30 abstentions, an own-initiative report on the Commission's 33rd Report on Competition Policy - 2003.

The Parliament welcomes the adoption of a series of acts included in the modernisation package, namely the initiatives in the field of cooperation between the various enforcers of EU competition rules - the Commission, national competition authorities and national courts. In this connection, Parliament considers that it is also worth mentioning the appointment of a Chief Competition Economist, the strengthening of the role of the Hearing Officer and the reinforcement of the cartel unit, which will reduce the time required to conclude cartel cases.

On the other hand, it regrets the need for renewal of the "temporary defensive mechanism" by the Council justifying the granting of aid of up to EUR 100 million to shipyards in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark as a response to unfair competition from shipyards in South Korea, and looks to an early resolution of the dispute in the World Trade Organisation, before the date of expiry of the current mechanism in March 2005.

It insists that the limited number of cases in which the Commission's decisions have been reviewed by the Court of Justice and set aside should not be seen as undermining confidence in the overall system of analysis and enforcement.

The Commission is urged to continue to review the operation of the judicial system in relation to competition cases, in order to consider improvements to the speed of access to justice, and in order to maximise the experience and skills of the judiciary dealing with competition cases.

Parliament continues to support a more proactive role for the European Parliament in the development of competition policy through promoting co-decision powers for the Parliament, and regrets that the Commission and Council were not able to support this in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Parliament equally welcomes the revision of state aid rules reorientating the Commission's interest towards cases and issues of significance for the further development of the internal market, which has streamlined and simplified notification and the filing of complaints, and clarified further the 'de minimis' and R&D principles.

On the other hand, the Parliament expresses its concern at the continued failure to achieve full liberalisation in the EU gas and electricity markets.

Lastly, as regards the Commission’s new rules on motor vehicle distribution, Parliament looks for greater progress in reducing the major variations between Member States in prices of new motor vehicles, and regrets the current evidence that these disparities remain significant.

2005/02/22
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2005/02/22
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted, by 540 votes in favour, 70 against, with 30 abstentions, an own-initiative report on the Commission's 33rd Report on Competition Policy - 2003.

The Parliament welcomes the adoption of a series of acts included in the modernisation package, namely the initiatives in the field of cooperation between the various enforcers of EU competition rules - the Commission, national competition authorities and national courts. In this connection, Parliament considers that it is also worth mentioning the appointment of a Chief Competition Economist, the strengthening of the role of the Hearing Officer and the reinforcement of the cartel unit, which will reduce the time required to conclude cartel cases.

On the other hand, it regrets the need for renewal of the "temporary defensive mechanism" by the Council justifying the granting of aid of up to EUR 100 million to shipyards in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark as a response to unfair competition from shipyards in South Korea, and looks to an early resolution of the dispute in the World Trade Organisation, before the date of expiry of the current mechanism in March 2005.

It insists that the limited number of cases in which the Commission's decisions have been reviewed by the Court of Justice and set aside should not be seen as undermining confidence in the overall system of analysis and enforcement.

The Commission is urged to continue to review the operation of the judicial system in relation to competition cases, in order to consider improvements to the speed of access to justice, and in order to maximise the experience and skills of the judiciary dealing with competition cases.

Parliament continues to support a more proactive role for the European Parliament in the development of competition policy through promoting co-decision powers for the Parliament, and regrets that the Commission and Council were not able to support this in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Parliament equally welcomes the revision of state aid rules reorientating the Commission's interest towards cases and issues of significance for the further development of the internal market, which has streamlined and simplified notification and the filing of complaints, and clarified further the 'de minimis' and R&D principles.

On the other hand, the Parliament expresses its concern at the continued failure to achieve full liberalisation in the EU gas and electricity markets.

Lastly, as regards the Commission’s new rules on motor vehicle distribution, Parliament looks for greater progress in reducing the major variations between Member States in prices of new motor vehicles, and regrets the current evidence that these disparities remain significant.

Documents
2005/02/22
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2005/02/21
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2005/02/07
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2005/02/07
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2005/02/02
   EP - Vote in committee
Details

The committee adopted the own-initiative report drawn up by Jonathan EVANS (EPP-ED, UK) in response to the Commission's 33rd annual report on competition policy (2003). The committee congratulated former Commissioner Mario MONTI for the progress made during his time in office and welcomed many of the steps aimed at modernising EU competition policy.

MEPs urged that the limited number of cases in which the Commission's decisions have been set aside by the Court of Justice should not be seen as undermining confidence in the overall system of analysis and enforcement. They were concerned, however, at the continuing failure to achieve full liberalisation of the EU gas and electricity markets, and called for further progress in relation to the motor vehicle repair market.

The committee set out its belief that the effective application of competition policy is an essential tool to achieve an efficient market structure which operates in the interests of consumers and has a positive and significant impact upon their daily lives. It also suggested that the Commission should produce clearer guidelines on when to consider the state of competition in a particular sector across the internal market as a whole rather than particular parts of it.

MEPs added that the European Parliament should have a more proactive role in the development of competition policy through codecision, and regretted that this had not been included in the draft Constitution.

2005/01/11
   ESC - Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report
2004/10/28
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2004/09/21
   EP - EVANS Jonathan (PPE-DE) appointed as rapporteur in ECON
2004/06/04
   EC - Non-legislative basic document
Details

PURPOSE : to present the 33rd Report from the European Commission on Competition Policy for 2003.

CONTENT : this year's report not only reflects significant changes to the internal organisation and working methods of the Commission in the field of EU competition policy, but also provides evidence of the way the Commission ensures coherence in the European economic governance fabric by balancing continuity and the need for new approaches. EU competition policy plays an important role in achieving the competitiveness goals of the Lisbon agenda. It encompasses not only antitrust and merger rules which are fundamental to any well-functioning market economy, but also the application of an efficient and firm state-aid discipline.

On the one hand, the current Commission is approaching the end of its term and 10 new Member States will soon be welcomed in the enlarged Union. Emphasis on continued and extended application of a common set of competition rules is essential for allowing them a soft landing. Preparations for the practical implementation of the modernised procedural framework for antitrust enforcement are therefore fully on course. In the same way, the review of the current Merger Regulation is scheduled to be finalised by the time the new Member States join. While the need to step up reforms in the field of state aid control has been known for some time, the time is now ripe for putting the vision into practice. This year's decisive intervention of the Commission in favour of equal application of state aid rules to all Member states, small and large, highlights the importance of tackling state intervention which distorts competition.

On the other hand, sectoral developments require a great deal of attention and work, both on the part of industry and by the Commission. Making a reality of the liberalisation of electronic communications, energy or transport in Europe without compromising on the effective provision of services to all consumers is difficult but attainable. For example balancing the sound economic development of the media sector with other public interest objectives, such as ensuring diversity of reliable information sources requires the careful application of the appropriate instruments.

From a statistical point of view, the report notes states that in 2003 the total number of new cases was 815, comprising 262 antitrust cases (under Articles 81, 82 and 86 of the EC Treaty), 212 merger cases and 377 state aid cases (excluding complaints). New cases decreased significantly in all fields, in the antitrust and in the merger fields by about one fifth, in the state aid field by approximately one seventh. The total number of cases closed in 2003 was 831, comprising 319 antitrust cases, 230 merger cases, and 282 state aid cases (excluding complaints). In antitrust, 24 cases were closed by formal decision and the backlog of pending cases was further reduced. In the field of merger control, 231 formal decisions were taken during the year, the number of cases requiring in-depth investigation (9) remaining stable. As for state aid, the number of final negative decisions (20) was nearly halved and positive decisions (18) were down by more than a third compared to 2002. The number of formal proceedings initiated (55) was also lower than in the year before.

During 2003 there were significant developments towards the better integration of the Commission's competition and consumer protection policies. These are a good foundation for further progress in 2004.

On the occasion of the year's second Competition Day on 9 December in Rome, Commissioner Monti announced the appointment of Mr Juan Rivière y Martí to the newly created function of Consumer Liaison Officer within the Commission's Competition Directorate-General. This post was created in order to ensure a permanent dialogue with European consumers, whose welfare is the primary concern of competition policy, but whose voice is not sufficiently heard when individual cases are handled or policy issues are discussed. It is also designed to intensify contacts between DG Competition and other Directorates-General (DGs) within the Commission, most notably with DG Health and Consumer Protection. More specifically, the tasks of the Consumer Liaison Officer include: acting as primary contact point for consumer organisations, and for individual consumers; establishing more regular and comprehensive contacts with consumer organisations and in particular the European Consumer Consultative Group "ECCG". Consumer organisations, as well as individual consumers, will be able to contact the Consumer Liaison Officer directly on competition-related issues by e-mail.

Lastly, apart from these important developments for consumers, the Commission has been involved in a number of cases which affect consumers or are of particular interest to them. Many of the decisions described in this Report - be they individual decisions (for example, in the mobile phone, broadcasting or airline sectors) or sector-based initiatives (for example, in the transport, liberal professions, motor vehicle and media sectors) - affect the day to day welfare of consumers directly.

2004/06/03
   EC - Non-legislative basic document published
Details

PURPOSE : to present the 33rd Report from the European Commission on Competition Policy for 2003.

CONTENT : this year's report not only reflects significant changes to the internal organisation and working methods of the Commission in the field of EU competition policy, but also provides evidence of the way the Commission ensures coherence in the European economic governance fabric by balancing continuity and the need for new approaches. EU competition policy plays an important role in achieving the competitiveness goals of the Lisbon agenda. It encompasses not only antitrust and merger rules which are fundamental to any well-functioning market economy, but also the application of an efficient and firm state-aid discipline.

On the one hand, the current Commission is approaching the end of its term and 10 new Member States will soon be welcomed in the enlarged Union. Emphasis on continued and extended application of a common set of competition rules is essential for allowing them a soft landing. Preparations for the practical implementation of the modernised procedural framework for antitrust enforcement are therefore fully on course. In the same way, the review of the current Merger Regulation is scheduled to be finalised by the time the new Member States join. While the need to step up reforms in the field of state aid control has been known for some time, the time is now ripe for putting the vision into practice. This year's decisive intervention of the Commission in favour of equal application of state aid rules to all Member states, small and large, highlights the importance of tackling state intervention which distorts competition.

On the other hand, sectoral developments require a great deal of attention and work, both on the part of industry and by the Commission. Making a reality of the liberalisation of electronic communications, energy or transport in Europe without compromising on the effective provision of services to all consumers is difficult but attainable. For example balancing the sound economic development of the media sector with other public interest objectives, such as ensuring diversity of reliable information sources requires the careful application of the appropriate instruments.

From a statistical point of view, the report notes states that in 2003 the total number of new cases was 815, comprising 262 antitrust cases (under Articles 81, 82 and 86 of the EC Treaty), 212 merger cases and 377 state aid cases (excluding complaints). New cases decreased significantly in all fields, in the antitrust and in the merger fields by about one fifth, in the state aid field by approximately one seventh. The total number of cases closed in 2003 was 831, comprising 319 antitrust cases, 230 merger cases, and 282 state aid cases (excluding complaints). In antitrust, 24 cases were closed by formal decision and the backlog of pending cases was further reduced. In the field of merger control, 231 formal decisions were taken during the year, the number of cases requiring in-depth investigation (9) remaining stable. As for state aid, the number of final negative decisions (20) was nearly halved and positive decisions (18) were down by more than a third compared to 2002. The number of formal proceedings initiated (55) was also lower than in the year before.

During 2003 there were significant developments towards the better integration of the Commission's competition and consumer protection policies. These are a good foundation for further progress in 2004.

On the occasion of the year's second Competition Day on 9 December in Rome, Commissioner Monti announced the appointment of Mr Juan Rivière y Martí to the newly created function of Consumer Liaison Officer within the Commission's Competition Directorate-General. This post was created in order to ensure a permanent dialogue with European consumers, whose welfare is the primary concern of competition policy, but whose voice is not sufficiently heard when individual cases are handled or policy issues are discussed. It is also designed to intensify contacts between DG Competition and other Directorates-General (DGs) within the Commission, most notably with DG Health and Consumer Protection. More specifically, the tasks of the Consumer Liaison Officer include: acting as primary contact point for consumer organisations, and for individual consumers; establishing more regular and comprehensive contacts with consumer organisations and in particular the European Consumer Consultative Group "ECCG". Consumer organisations, as well as individual consumers, will be able to contact the Consumer Liaison Officer directly on competition-related issues by e-mail.

Lastly, apart from these important developments for consumers, the Commission has been involved in a number of cases which affect consumers or are of particular interest to them. Many of the decisions described in this Report - be they individual decisions (for example, in the mobile phone, broadcasting or airline sectors) or sector-based initiatives (for example, in the transport, liberal professions, motor vehicle and media sectors) - affect the day to day welfare of consumers directly.

Documents

Votes

Rapport Evans A6-0024/2005 - par. 8 #

2005/02/22 Outcome: +: 561, -: 53, 0: 24
DE FR GB ES IT PL NL HU BE CZ PT EL AT SK FI LT DK SE SI CY IE LU EE MT LV
Total
91
68
71
46
48
50
26
21
23
21
20
21
16
14
11
9
14
18
7
6
13
5
5
5
9
icon: PPE-DE PPE-DE
234

Denmark PPE-DE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE-DE

2

Estonia PPE-DE

For (1)

1

Malta PPE-DE

2
icon: PSE PSE
178

Czechia PSE

2

Lithuania PSE

2

Slovenia PSE

For (1)

1

Ireland PSE

1

Luxembourg PSE

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
76
2

Sweden ALDE

3

Slovenia ALDE

2

Cyprus ALDE

For (1)

1

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
38

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

5

Italy Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Sweden Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
35

France GUE/NGL

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Spain GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

2

Portugal GUE/NGL

2

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

2

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Ireland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1
icon: NI NI
24

United Kingdom NI

3

Italy NI

Against (1)

2

Belgium NI

2

Czechia NI

1

Austria NI

Against (1)

3

Slovakia NI

Abstain (2)

3
icon: UEN UEN
22

Lithuania UEN

Abstain (1)

1

Denmark UEN

Against (1)

1
icon: IND/DEM IND/DEM
31

France IND/DEM

2

Italy IND/DEM

Abstain (1)

3

Netherlands IND/DEM

2

Czechia IND/DEM

Against (1)

1

Greece IND/DEM

1

Denmark IND/DEM

Against (1)

1

Sweden IND/DEM

3

Ireland IND/DEM

Against (1)

1

Rapport Evans A6-0024/2005 - résolution #

2005/02/22 Outcome: +: 540, -: 70, 0: 30
DE PL GB FR ES IT HU BE NL PT SE EL SK IE FI AT LT CZ DK LV SI EE MT LU CY
Total
90
50
71
69
46
49
21
21
26
20
19
21
14
13
12
17
9
21
14
9
7
5
5
5
6
icon: PPE-DE PPE-DE
235

Denmark PPE-DE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE-DE

For (1)

1

Malta PPE-DE

2

Luxembourg PPE-DE

2
icon: PSE PSE
180

Ireland PSE

1

Lithuania PSE

2

Czechia PSE

2

Slovenia PSE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PSE

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
77
2

Sweden ALDE

3

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Slovenia ALDE

2

Estonia ALDE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Cyprus ALDE

For (1)

1
icon: UEN UEN
23

Lithuania UEN

1

Denmark UEN

Abstain (1)

1
icon: IND/DEM IND/DEM
31

France IND/DEM

2

Netherlands IND/DEM

2

Sweden IND/DEM

3

Greece IND/DEM

1

Ireland IND/DEM

For (1)

1

Czechia IND/DEM

1

Denmark IND/DEM

Against (1)

1
icon: NI NI
22

United Kingdom NI

Abstain (1)

3

Italy NI

Against (1)

2

Slovakia NI

Abstain (1)

3

Austria NI

Against (1)

3

Czechia NI

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
37

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

Against (1)

5

Spain Verts/ALE

2

Italy Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Sweden Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

Abstain (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

Abstain (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

Abstain (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
35

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

France GUE/NGL

2

Spain GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

2

Portugal GUE/NGL

2

Sweden GUE/NGL

2

Ireland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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docs
  • date: 2004-11-09T00:00:00 docs: title: PE347.210 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2004-12-07T00:00:00 docs: title: PE350.223 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2005-01-11T00:00:00 docs: url: https://dm.eesc.europa.eu/EESCDocumentSearch/Pages/redresults.aspx?k=(documenttype:AC)(documentnumber:0118)(documentyear:2005)(documentlanguage:EN) title: CES0118/2005 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2005:221:TOC title: OJ C 221 08.09.2005, p. 0001-0007 type: Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report body: ESC
  • date: 2005-02-07T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2005-24&language=EN title: A6-0024/2005 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP
  • date: 2005-02-22T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2005-32 title: T6-0032/2005 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2005:304E:SOM:EN:HTML title: OJ C 304 01.12.2005, p. 0019-0114 E summary: The European Parliament adopted, by 540 votes in favour, 70 against, with 30 abstentions, an own-initiative report on the Commission's 33rd Report on Competition Policy - 2003. The Parliament welcomes the adoption of a series of acts included in the modernisation package, namely the initiatives in the field of cooperation between the various enforcers of EU competition rules - the Commission, national competition authorities and national courts. In this connection, Parliament considers that it is also worth mentioning the appointment of a Chief Competition Economist, the strengthening of the role of the Hearing Officer and the reinforcement of the cartel unit, which will reduce the time required to conclude cartel cases. On the other hand, it regrets the need for renewal of the "temporary defensive mechanism" by the Council justifying the granting of aid of up to EUR 100 million to shipyards in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark as a response to unfair competition from shipyards in South Korea, and looks to an early resolution of the dispute in the World Trade Organisation, before the date of expiry of the current mechanism in March 2005. It insists that the limited number of cases in which the Commission's decisions have been reviewed by the Court of Justice and set aside should not be seen as undermining confidence in the overall system of analysis and enforcement. The Commission is urged to continue to review the operation of the judicial system in relation to competition cases, in order to consider improvements to the speed of access to justice, and in order to maximise the experience and skills of the judiciary dealing with competition cases. Parliament continues to support a more proactive role for the European Parliament in the development of competition policy through promoting co-decision powers for the Parliament, and regrets that the Commission and Council were not able to support this in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Parliament equally welcomes the revision of state aid rules reorientating the Commission's interest towards cases and issues of significance for the further development of the internal market, which has streamlined and simplified notification and the filing of complaints, and clarified further the 'de minimis' and R&D principles. On the other hand, the Parliament expresses its concern at the continued failure to achieve full liberalisation in the EU gas and electricity markets. Lastly, as regards the Commission’s new rules on motor vehicle distribution, Parliament looks for greater progress in reducing the major variations between Member States in prices of new motor vehicles, and regrets the current evidence that these disparities remain significant. type: Text adopted by Parliament, single reading body: EP
  • date: 2005-03-31T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=3803&j=0&l=en title: SP(2005)1076/2 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
  • date: 2005-04-29T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=3803&j=1&l=en title: SP(2005)1477 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
events
  • date: 2004-06-04T00:00:00 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/sec/2004/0658/COM_SEC(2004)0658_EN.pdf title: SEC(2004)0658 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=SECfinal&an_doc=2004&nu_doc=658 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE : to present the 33rd Report from the European Commission on Competition Policy for 2003. CONTENT : this year's report not only reflects significant changes to the internal organisation and working methods of the Commission in the field of EU competition policy, but also provides evidence of the way the Commission ensures coherence in the European economic governance fabric by balancing continuity and the need for new approaches. EU competition policy plays an important role in achieving the competitiveness goals of the Lisbon agenda. It encompasses not only antitrust and merger rules which are fundamental to any well-functioning market economy, but also the application of an efficient and firm state-aid discipline. On the one hand, the current Commission is approaching the end of its term and 10 new Member States will soon be welcomed in the enlarged Union. Emphasis on continued and extended application of a common set of competition rules is essential for allowing them a soft landing. Preparations for the practical implementation of the modernised procedural framework for antitrust enforcement are therefore fully on course. In the same way, the review of the current Merger Regulation is scheduled to be finalised by the time the new Member States join. While the need to step up reforms in the field of state aid control has been known for some time, the time is now ripe for putting the vision into practice. This year's decisive intervention of the Commission in favour of equal application of state aid rules to all Member states, small and large, highlights the importance of tackling state intervention which distorts competition. On the other hand, sectoral developments require a great deal of attention and work, both on the part of industry and by the Commission. Making a reality of the liberalisation of electronic communications, energy or transport in Europe without compromising on the effective provision of services to all consumers is difficult but attainable. For example balancing the sound economic development of the media sector with other public interest objectives, such as ensuring diversity of reliable information sources requires the careful application of the appropriate instruments. From a statistical point of view, the report notes states that in 2003 the total number of new cases was 815, comprising 262 antitrust cases (under Articles 81, 82 and 86 of the EC Treaty), 212 merger cases and 377 state aid cases (excluding complaints). New cases decreased significantly in all fields, in the antitrust and in the merger fields by about one fifth, in the state aid field by approximately one seventh. The total number of cases closed in 2003 was 831, comprising 319 antitrust cases, 230 merger cases, and 282 state aid cases (excluding complaints). In antitrust, 24 cases were closed by formal decision and the backlog of pending cases was further reduced. In the field of merger control, 231 formal decisions were taken during the year, the number of cases requiring in-depth investigation (9) remaining stable. As for state aid, the number of final negative decisions (20) was nearly halved and positive decisions (18) were down by more than a third compared to 2002. The number of formal proceedings initiated (55) was also lower than in the year before. During 2003 there were significant developments towards the better integration of the Commission's competition and consumer protection policies. These are a good foundation for further progress in 2004. On the occasion of the year's second Competition Day on 9 December in Rome, Commissioner Monti announced the appointment of Mr Juan Rivière y Martí to the newly created function of Consumer Liaison Officer within the Commission's Competition Directorate-General. This post was created in order to ensure a permanent dialogue with European consumers, whose welfare is the primary concern of competition policy, but whose voice is not sufficiently heard when individual cases are handled or policy issues are discussed. It is also designed to intensify contacts between DG Competition and other Directorates-General (DGs) within the Commission, most notably with DG Health and Consumer Protection. More specifically, the tasks of the Consumer Liaison Officer include: acting as primary contact point for consumer organisations, and for individual consumers; establishing more regular and comprehensive contacts with consumer organisations and in particular the European Consumer Consultative Group "ECCG". Consumer organisations, as well as individual consumers, will be able to contact the Consumer Liaison Officer directly on competition-related issues by e-mail. Lastly, apart from these important developments for consumers, the Commission has been involved in a number of cases which affect consumers or are of particular interest to them. Many of the decisions described in this Report - be they individual decisions (for example, in the mobile phone, broadcasting or airline sectors) or sector-based initiatives (for example, in the transport, liberal professions, motor vehicle and media sectors) - affect the day to day welfare of consumers directly.
  • date: 2004-10-28T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2005-02-02T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP summary: The committee adopted the own-initiative report drawn up by Jonathan EVANS (EPP-ED, UK) in response to the Commission's 33rd annual report on competition policy (2003). The committee congratulated former Commissioner Mario MONTI for the progress made during his time in office and welcomed many of the steps aimed at modernising EU competition policy. MEPs urged that the limited number of cases in which the Commission's decisions have been set aside by the Court of Justice should not be seen as undermining confidence in the overall system of analysis and enforcement. They were concerned, however, at the continuing failure to achieve full liberalisation of the EU gas and electricity markets, and called for further progress in relation to the motor vehicle repair market. The committee set out its belief that the effective application of competition policy is an essential tool to achieve an efficient market structure which operates in the interests of consumers and has a positive and significant impact upon their daily lives. It also suggested that the Commission should produce clearer guidelines on when to consider the state of competition in a particular sector across the internal market as a whole rather than particular parts of it. MEPs added that the European Parliament should have a more proactive role in the development of competition policy through codecision, and regretted that this had not been included in the draft Constitution.
  • date: 2005-02-07T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2005-24&language=EN title: A6-0024/2005
  • date: 2005-02-21T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20050221&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2005-02-22T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=3803&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2005-02-22T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2005-32 title: T6-0032/2005 summary: The European Parliament adopted, by 540 votes in favour, 70 against, with 30 abstentions, an own-initiative report on the Commission's 33rd Report on Competition Policy - 2003. The Parliament welcomes the adoption of a series of acts included in the modernisation package, namely the initiatives in the field of cooperation between the various enforcers of EU competition rules - the Commission, national competition authorities and national courts. In this connection, Parliament considers that it is also worth mentioning the appointment of a Chief Competition Economist, the strengthening of the role of the Hearing Officer and the reinforcement of the cartel unit, which will reduce the time required to conclude cartel cases. On the other hand, it regrets the need for renewal of the "temporary defensive mechanism" by the Council justifying the granting of aid of up to EUR 100 million to shipyards in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark as a response to unfair competition from shipyards in South Korea, and looks to an early resolution of the dispute in the World Trade Organisation, before the date of expiry of the current mechanism in March 2005. It insists that the limited number of cases in which the Commission's decisions have been reviewed by the Court of Justice and set aside should not be seen as undermining confidence in the overall system of analysis and enforcement. The Commission is urged to continue to review the operation of the judicial system in relation to competition cases, in order to consider improvements to the speed of access to justice, and in order to maximise the experience and skills of the judiciary dealing with competition cases. Parliament continues to support a more proactive role for the European Parliament in the development of competition policy through promoting co-decision powers for the Parliament, and regrets that the Commission and Council were not able to support this in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Parliament equally welcomes the revision of state aid rules reorientating the Commission's interest towards cases and issues of significance for the further development of the internal market, which has streamlined and simplified notification and the filing of complaints, and clarified further the 'de minimis' and R&D principles. On the other hand, the Parliament expresses its concern at the continued failure to achieve full liberalisation in the EU gas and electricity markets. Lastly, as regards the Commission’s new rules on motor vehicle distribution, Parliament looks for greater progress in reducing the major variations between Member States in prices of new motor vehicles, and regrets the current evidence that these disparities remain significant.
  • date: 2005-02-22T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other
    procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
    Old
    ECON/6/22712
    New
    • ECON/6/22712
    procedure/legal_basis/0
    Rules of Procedure EP 052
    procedure/legal_basis/0
    Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
    procedure/subject
    Old
    • 2.60 Competition
    New
    2.60
    Competition
    procedure/title
    Old
    Competition Policy. 33rd report 2003
    New
    Competition policy. 33rd report 2003
    activities/0/docs/0/url
    Old
    http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/sec/2004/0658/COM_SEC(2004)0658_EN.pdf
    New
    http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/sec/2004/0658/COM_SEC(2004)0658_EN.pdf
    activities
    • date: 2004-06-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/sec/2004/0658/COM_SEC(2004)0658_EN.pdf celexid: CELEX:52004SC0658:EN type: Non-legislative basic document published title: SEC(2004)0658 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC commission:
    • date: 2004-10-28T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2004-09-21T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE-DE name: EVANS Jonathan
    • date: 2005-02-02T00:00:00 body: EP committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2004-09-21T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE-DE name: EVANS Jonathan type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
    • date: 2005-02-07T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2005-24&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A6-0024/2005 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
    • date: 2005-02-21T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20050221&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
    • date: 2005-02-22T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=3803&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2005-32 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0032/2005 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
    committees
    • body: EP responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2004-09-21T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE-DE name: EVANS Jonathan
    links
    other
      procedure
      dossier_of_the_committee
      ECON/6/22712
      reference
      2004/2139(INI)
      title
      Competition Policy. 33rd report 2003
      legal_basis
      Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
      stage_reached
      Procedure completed
      subtype
      Initiative
      type
      INI - Own-initiative procedure
      subject
      2.60 Competition