2015/2140(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Stresses that national and European competition authorities must ensure a level playing field by providing incentives for investment and innovation;

Amendment 11 #

Dita CHARANZOVÁ, Kaja KALLAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Emphasises that EU rules on State aid must be geared to achieving the objectives of fairness and social cohesion and the goals of the Europe2020 strategy; regards it as important, therefore, that State aid should be used to invest in ~~the real economy and foster the concentration of resources in key sectors, such as research and innovation, infrastructure development and measures to achieve climate and energy policy objectives~~research and innovation, infrastructure development;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Emphasises that EU rules on State aid must be ~~geared to achieving the objectives of fairness and social cohesion and the goals of the Europe2020 strategy; regards it as important, therefore, that State aid should be used to invest in the real~~restricted to addressing market failures and ensuring economyic and ~~foster the concentration of resources~~social cohesion, in particular in key sectors, such as research and innovation, infrastructure development and measures to achieve climate and energy policy ~~objectives~~to the extent it does not distort the market;

Amendment 13 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Inese VAIDERE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Emphasises that EU rules on State aid must be geared to achieving the objectives of fairness and social cohesion and the goals of the Europe2020 strategy; regards it as important, therefore, that State aid should be used to invest in the real economy and foster the concentration of resources in key sectors, such as research and innovation, particularly in the digital economy, infrastructure development and measures to achieve climate and energy policy objectives;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Emphasises that EU rules on State aid must be geared to achieving the objectives of fairness and social cohesion and the goals of the Europe2020 strategy; regards it as important, therefore, that State aid should be used to invest in the real economy and foster the concentration of resources in key sectors, such as research and innovation, digitalisation, infrastructure development, in particular of cross-border projects, and measures to achieve climate and energy policy objectives with a long-term perspective;

Amendment 15 #

Dennis de JONG

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls that in accordance with Protocol No. 26 to the EU Treaties, national, regional and local authorities play an essential role and have wide discretion in providing, commissioning and organising services of general economic interest as closely as possible to the needs of the users; and that the diversity between various services of general economic interest and the differences in the needs and preferences of users that may result from different geographical, social or cultural situations has been explicitly recognised in the same Protocol; thus, requests the Commission to take these considerations into account, when looking into state aid in regard of services of general economic interest;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Considers that the rules on State aid should not constitute an obstacle to initiatives by the public authorities which are in the public interest, for example to reduce the digital divide and to equip white areas with efficient networks;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the ~~overhaul~~effective enforcement of competition policy is needed ~~partly~~ in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, ~~hence the importance of~~requires strong market knowledge and fast reactivity, and also in order to overcom~~ing~~e the current fragmentation along national lines and ~~doing~~to do away with barriers to access to the market;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the ~~overhaul of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which~~digital single market is a major challenge to competition policy and is changing rapidly, hence the importance of accelerating European competition law and its ~~changing rapidly, hence the importance of~~application and thus rendering it more effective, and overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with barriers to access to the market;

Amendment 19 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Inese VAIDERE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the overhaul of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, hence the importance of ~~overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with~~identifying the nature of, and justification for, barriers to access to the market;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Regards a transparent and competitive single market as a key factor for growth and for an effective recovery, and takes the view, therefore, that competition policy has a vital role to play in safeguarding the rights of consumers~~, citizens, businesses and worker~~ and businesses in the broader context of a social market economy; notes that the behaviour and needs of EU consumers and businesses are constantly changing in the environment defined by the digital economic model;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the ~~overhaul~~update of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, hence the importance of overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with barriers to access to the market; (Linguistic correction, concerns English only)

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the overhaul of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, but which nevertheless has to obey the strict rules of existing copyright law which may never be violated by any trade agreement, neither TISA nor TTIP nor any other, while regarding these national copyright laws as integral parts of the principle of subsidiarity, but never as barriers to access to the market, hence the importance of overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with barriers to access to the market;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the overhaul of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, hence the importance of overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with barriers to access to the market; recalls that a genuine Digital Single Market would generate growth in new sectors and create high-quality jobs;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the overhaul of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, hence the importance of overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with barriers to access to the market, while guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection;

Amendment 24 #

3. Takes the view that the overhaul of competition policy is needed partly in order to meet the challenges posed by the digital single market, a sector which is changing rapidly, hence the importance of overcoming the current fragmentation along national lines and doing away with barriers to access to the market, increasing the confidence of consumers and businesses in the sector and facilitating innovation and dynamism in it;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers that EU competition law should be detrimental neither to other EU policies nor to national policies; calls on all institutions of the European Union and the Member States to set up a framework for the promotion of the development of European players in growth-generating areas, such as the digital sector;

Amendment 26 #

Dennis de JONG

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to examine the possibility for independent retailers, who are allowed under competition law to work together through their brick-and- mortar shops, to also provide joint e- commerce offerings;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that interoperability contributes to fair competition and should be encouraged and developed;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Considers that abusive dominant positions created by ‘first mover’ advantage and network effects in the digital sector are a key issue and should be subject to greater monitoring;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regards it as essential to guarantee fair terms of competition on the digital market and to combat the abuse of dominant positions, aims which ultimately benefit consumers; considers it important, in particular, to make the on-line research and advertising market more open and transparent, and regards it as vital to guarantee anfair, open and n~~eutral net~~on- discriminatory Internet access;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Regards a transparent and competitive single market as a key factor for growth and for an effective recovery, and takes the view, therefore, that competition policy has a vital role to play in safeguarding the rights of consumers, citizens, businesses and workers in the broader context of a social market economy; considers that European competition law should enable consumers to choose from a wide range of high-quality products at competitive prices and should also ensure that businesses have an incentive to invest and innovate, giving them a fair chance of promoting the selling points of their products;

Amendment 30 #

Dita CHARANZOVÁ, Antanas GUOGA, Kaja KALLAS, Roberta METSOLA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regards it as essential to guarantee fair terms of competition on the digital market ~~and to~~by combating the abuse of dominant positions, de facto monopolies and tax optimisation; considers it important, in particular, to make the on-line research and advertising market more open and transparent, and regards it as vital to guarantee an open and neutral net;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regards it as essential to guarantee fair terms of competition on the digital market and to combat the abuse of dominant positions; considers it important~~, in particular,~~ to make the on-line research, e-commerce, and advertising market more open and transparent, and regards it as vital to guarantee ~~an open and neutral net~~the principle of net neutrality, namely fair, open and non-discriminatory internet access, as a prerequisite for fair competition and market cohesion to the benefit of consumers and businesses;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regards it as essential to guarantee fair terms of competition on the digital market and to combat the abuse of dominant positions and impose appropriate penalties for them; considers it important, in particular, to make the on-line research and advertising market more open and transparent, and regards it as vital to guarantee an open and neutral net, particularly by prohibiting any discrimination and restriction of Internet traffic, in order to encourage competition and competitiveness in the digital sector;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regards it as essential to guarantee fair terms of competition on the digital market and to combat the abuse of dominant positions; considers it important, in particular, to make the on-line research and advertising market more open and transparent and to improve competitive conditions there, and regards it as vital to guarantee an open and neutral net;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regards it as essential to guarantee fair terms of competition on the digital market and to combat the abuse of dominant positions, thus supporting SMEs; considers it important, in particular, to make the on-line research and advertising market more open and transparent, and regards it as vital to guarantee an open and neutral net;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the launch of investigations, and the fines imposed on operators who have infringed competition rules, and calls on the Commission to continue its efforts to promote a culture of competition which contributes directly to the better functioning of markets in the interests of consumers and businesses;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers it to be of fundamental importance that the Commission should continue to focus on, and step up the attention that it devotes to, the energy market, as energy is indeed a significant item of expenditure for households and businesses in Europe, in order to achieve better integration and greater affordability in that sector;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Recalls that the effective application of competition policy ought not to hamper the development of high-quality public services affordable to all, and full availability and public use of public goods;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Points out the importance of the ongoing sector inquiry into the e- commerce sector; underlines the need to introduce changes to existing competition law rules, for instance the Block Exemption Regulation, in order to tackle unjustified geo-blocking, including undesirable re-routing and unfair price discrimination based on geographical location;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Regards a transparent and competitive single market based on subsidiarity and following the highest qualitative standards as a key factor for growth and for an effective economic recovery, and takes the view, therefore, that competition policy has a vital role to play in safeguarding the rights of consumers, citizens, businesses and workers in the broader context of a social market economy;

Amendment 40 #

Antanas GUOGA, Kaja KALLAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Regards it as essential that Directive 2014/104/EU on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions should be implemented ~~quickly~~on schedule and correctly; calls on the Commission ~~and the Member States to take additional measures to facilitate collective actions of this kind.~~to monitor closely the implementation of the Directive by the Member States and ensure that its provisions are applied evenly throughout the EU; stresses that access to justice, which may also include the availability of collective redress, is essential for the attainment of the objectives of the EU’s competition policy;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Believes that the development of e- government, in particular electronic public procurement, is an important factor in supporting growth, including as regards the participation of SMEs; calls, therefore, on the Member States to use all the tools made available to them by the public procurement directive for promoting European growth, and calls on the Commission to support all initiatives connected with the development of e- government;

Amendment 43 #

Olga SEHNALOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Points out that customers on the single market are being sold products containing different ingredients under the same brand name and in the same packaging; calls on the Commission to determine whether, in the context of EU competition policy, this is a practice that has negative repercussions for suppliers of local and regional produce, in particular small and medium enterprises;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that efforts to preserve fair competition are in the interests of consumers and SMEs; reiterates that such efforts will enhance choice for consumers and develop an environment in which SMEs and micro-enterprises can display greater innovation and creativity;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Member States to implement the new EU public procurement rules, including the provisions on criteria linked to the subject-matter of the contract, including social, environmental and innovative characteristics, and on e-administration, e-procurement and division into lots, in order to boost fair competition and ensure best value for money in the use of public funds;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Believes that competition policy should play an important part in making financial markets more secure and transparent for consumers; welcomes, furthermore, the legislative measures adopted in the field of electronic payments and particularly the introduction of ceilings on interbank commissions for card payment transactions;

Amendment 47 #

Carlos COELHO, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Roberta METSOLA, Inese VAIDERE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to ensure the new EU public procurement rules are implemented in a timely manner, in particular the deployment of e- procurement and the new provisions encouraging the division of contracts into lots, which is essential to foster innovation and competition and to support SMEs in procurement markets;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that the promotion and the implementation of e-governance systems in all Members States is instrumental for the efficient monitoring of infringements and for ensuring transparency in both the public and the private sector;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Supports the findings of the Commission’s study on the economic impact of modern retail on choice and innovation in the food sector; calls, in this respect, on the EU and national competition authorities to continue their work on the impact of private labels on consumer choice and innovation, bearing in mind the increased vertical integration in the food supply chain;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Regards a transparent and competitive single market, including the digital single market, as a key factor for growth and for an effective recovery, and takes the view, therefore, that competition policy has a vital role to play in safeguarding the rights of consumers, citizens, businesses and workers in the broader context of a social market economy;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers it essential for the Commission to continue to promote better convergence and cooperation between national competition authorities in the European Union;

Amendment 51 #

Olga SEHNALOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Agrees that, when traders decide to provide goods and services only to certain Member States, consumer choice is more limited and prices are higher due to the lower levels of competition on the internal market; calls on the Commission to eradicate all forms of discrimination on the basis of nationality or place of residence;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Welcomes the launch of the sectoral inquiry to examine possible obstacles to competition on European markets for e- commerce; stresses that a smoothly functioning e-commerce is not only important for economic growth but also means lower transaction costs, lower prices and a greater range of choice for consumers;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Considers that a genuine single market can function efficiently only in a more transparent, coordinated and cooperative fiscal context which ensures fair competition among the various businesses; deplores the fact that tax competition between Member States has created a form of unequal competition within the single market which places SMEs at a disadvantage in relation to large multinationals;

Amendment 54 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Roberta METSOLA, Inese VAIDERE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Welcomes the strong interplay between competition enforcement and the digital single market strategy, in particular in actions related to geoblocking practices and licensing agreements, to complete the digital single market; considers that a similar interplay is vital in the internal energy market to remove barriers to the free flow of energy across borders and to build the Energy Union;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Underlines that SMEs are the backbone of a competitive EU economy; regards it as essential to ensure that anti- competitive behaviour does not disproportionally hamper smaller businesses and start-ups in expanding and innovating;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Encourages the European Competition Network to discuss the growing network of retail buying alliances at national and European level;

Amendment 57 #

Olga SEHNALOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Stresses the relationship between competition policy and consumer protection; points towards the consumer markets scoreboards and their findings;

Amendment 58 #

Carlos COELHO, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Antanas GUOGA, Kaja KALLAS, Andreas SCHWAB, Inese VAIDERE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Takes the view that the main condition towards the completion of the European Energy Union is a well-functioning internal energy market that is dependent on the effective and persistent enforcement of EU competition rules; emphasises that implementing the competition rules contributes to sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Considers that competition in the telecommunications sector is essential not only to drive innovation and investment in networks, but also for affordable prices and choice in services for consumers; calls, therefore, on the Commission to safeguard competition in this sector, including in the allocation of spectrum;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 60 #

Carlos COELHO, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Roberta METSOLA

5c. Considers that national competition authorities must make full use of existing tools and enforce competition law with regard to unfair trading practises in the food supply chain; stresses the need for them to cooperate with each other in order to ensure cost-effectiveness, transparency, diversity and consumer choice;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that effective EU competition policy has to be in place in order to enable consumers to benefit from the digital single market; notes that consumers are at the heart of the digital single market, with consumer spending accounting for approximately 56% of EU GDP;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Considers that competition policy should be capable of creating an environment which promotes the spirit of enterprise and the development of SMEs, which are drivers of growth and employment;

Amendment 9 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Highlights that competition authorities must ensure free choice and diversity of products and services at competitive prices;

source: 567.792

2015/10/21 ECON 307 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 101 to 109 thereof, 147 and 174;

Amendment 10 #

Costas MAVRIDES, Alfred SANT

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 8 October 2015 on mortgage legislation and risky financial instruments in Spain (based on petitions received) (2015/2740(RSP)),

Amendment 100 #

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1

~~Cartel proceedings~~Antitrust proceedings - Cases of abuse of dominant position (The title change is more appropriate considering the cases raised in following paragraphs)

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Considers that the Commission is not working successfully in cases of infringements of the rules on cartels and ~~is able to demonstrate that it has~~has yet to madke a significant contribution towards the realisation of ~~the internal market and~~ equal competition rules;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Considers that the 2014 Directive on actions for damage claims could have gone further by allowing compensation for the probability of undetected cartels and unsuccessful damage actions, as treble damages do in the US;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Considers that there is no conflict between the objectives of maximising deterrence and allowing full compensation to victims, therefore considers that the 2014 Directive on Damages, by hindering the access to leniency statements for victims, could undermine their ability to recovery their loss;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the existing rules relating to fines for infringements could be supplemented by on-going penalties against those responsible; Calls the Commission to consider the possibility to complement cartel fines with personal sanctions aimed at company decision makers, as well as individual penalties for those employees responsible for actually leading their company to commit a violation of competition law. The Commission should, thus, be able to impose measures such as director disqualifications or personal pecuniary sanctions when necessary.

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the existing rules relating to fines for infringements could be supplemented by ~~ongoing~~harsher penalties against th~~ose responsible;~~ e legal entities responsible than for the individuals; takes the view that the penalties should be high enough to act as a deterrent;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the existing rules relating to fines for infringements cshould be supplemented by ongoing penalties against those responsible, especially in sectors where the large gains from uncompetitive behaviours are much larger than fine size, limiting their ability of deterrence;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the existing rules relating to fines for infringements cshould be supplemented by ongoing penalties against those responsible;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the existing rules relating to fines for infringements could be supplemented by ongoing penalties against those responsible; Underlines the importance of successful leniency policy, which has assisted the Commission in detecting cartels;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Reiterates its call for the Commission to incorporate the Guidelines on fines into the Cartel Proceedings Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1/2003;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas, in the field of competition, the European Union's voice is heard and respected on the international scene; whereas this unified independent external representation, backed up by clearly defined powers, enables the Union to exert its true political, demographic and economic power;

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses that imposing fines is an important tool for competition policy and that quick action is needed for the success of investigations; believes that legal certainty is crucial, and calls on the Commission to incorporate the rules on fines into a legislative instrument;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Commission to set clear procedures and speed up the investigation process and avoid unjustified extensions; calls for formal rights for all implicated victims and parties, with a particular focus on the principle of the presumption of innocence;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that companies which break the law do not suffer adverse repercussions beyond proportionate redress for the offence committed; calls on the Commission to set the level of fines according to the (likely) amount of compensation to injured parties;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Notes that abuses of dominant position are prohibited and constitute a serious competition problem;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes that the original market models of the competition policy ~~are frequently~~may be inappropriate for the digital economy, and the use of price-based indicators in this dynamic economic sector often fails to achieve the desired outcome; calls on the Commission to provide a comprehensive legal and economic assessment of fast- moving markets, in order to obtain a clear understanding of market structure and market trends, and to take appropriate measures to protect consumers;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes that the original market models of the competition policy ~~are frequently inappropria~~can be ill-suited for the digital economy, and the use of price-based indicators in this dynamic economic sector often fails to achieve the desired outcome; calls on the Commission to examine market structures and market trends through a comprehensive legal and economic assessment;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes that the original market models of the competition policy are frequently inappropriate for the digital economy, and the use of price-based indicators in this dynamic economic sector often fails to achieve the desired outcome; calls, therefore, for greater attention to be focused on the new business models used by digital companies and for new assessment criteria to be applied to those companies; calls also for the specific market structures in the digital economy to be taken more fully into account;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Believes that it is fundamental that companies related to the digital and sharing economy pay taxes and comply with regulations at the same level as all other enterprises to ensure a level playing field;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Maintains that the protection of intellectual property is central to fair competition and criticises the fact that global companies are unwilling to acquire the licences necessary in order to use European patents; calls on the Commission to provide effective protection for standard essential patents (SEPs) and exercise close supervision to ensure that patent users obtain licences in the proper way;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas competition policy is in itself a means of safeguarding European democracy, in that it prevents the over- concentration of economic and financial power in the hands of a few, which would undermine the ability of Europe’s political authorities to act independently of major industrial and banking groups;

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Believes that the Commission needs to be strict with the introduction of energy market reforms to reduce its prices, particularly in those Member States under the excessive deficit procedure;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Calls on the Commission to investigate if there is any kind of relationship between a high presence of politicians and former ministers in the governing boards of energy companies, and oligopolistic practices in the energy sector in some Member States;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)

10d. Asks the Commission to ensure that energy regulations and directives are transposed and applied correctly in all Member States; calls on the Commission to be particularly vigilant when prices reach above the EU-average, as high prices distort competition and harm consumers;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Queries the long duration of the investigations into American Internet giant Google and regrets 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~~; Supports Commission actions aimed at stronger interoperability and portability across all digital sectors avoiding a winner-takes-all scenario; Stresses the importance of equipping the Commission with the right tools to keep an up-to-date overview of the swift development in the digital market;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Queries the long duration of the investigations into American Internet giant Google and regrets 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; calls on the Commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the Google practice whereby the ‘Android’ operating system is offered only in conjunction with other Google services and manufacturers may not pre-install rival products, and to find an appropriate remedy;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Queries the long duration of the investigations into American Internet giant Google and regrets 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; points out that when proceedings take so long, especially where dynamic markets are concerned, the end effect can amount to de facto market cleansing;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Queries the long duration of the investigations into ~~American Internet giant~~ Google and regrets the fact that these investigations have ~~already~~ dragged on for several years ~~with no result, because until 2014 the Commission was rel~~generating uncertainty for all parties, notes that it should not become a standard and call on the Commission to diligently conduct an~~t to indicate its intention~~d conclude any other pending antitrust investigation and to abolish market restrictions if established;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 128 #

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Michael THEURER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Querie~~Regrets the long duration of the investigations into ~~American Internet giant Google and regrets~~Google’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 13 #

Andreas SCHWAB, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the European Union is established as an open market economy with free competition aimed at increasing consumer welfare and the standards of living of all EU citizens;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Points out that under Article 8 of the Cartel Proceedings Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, the Commission may order interim measures when there is a risk of serious and irreparable damage to competition; calls on the Commission to determine how far such measures could be applied in protracted competition proceedings, especially on the digital market;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Stresses the importance of avoiding monopolistic practices in order to achieve a fully fair, competitive and secure European energy market; calls, in this regard, for the elimination of monopolistic suppliers and discriminatory practices affecting users; considers that the European gas market should evolve towards an Energy Union with fair and stable prices by improving the diversification of its energy sources and enhancing access to strategic infrastructures;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Recalls that net neutrality is of the uttermost importance to ensure that there is no discrimination between internet services and competition is fully guaranteed. Where ‘Net neutrality’ means the principle according to which all internet traffic is treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, independently of its sender, recipient, type, content, device, service or application; (This section exists because of the intent to ensure a neutral treatment of internet traffic and the issue of the existence of a net neutrality principle has been already settled in MS primary legislation and other legislation or equivalent around the world. It is crucial for this text to be clear, to minimise uncertainty and to protect against anticompetitive behaviour.)

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Points out that, for the purposes of defining the relevant market, especially in the digital economy, the global standard can also be applied to European companies;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Stresses that competition policy should be evidence-based and welcomes the European Commission’s sector inquiry into e-commerce on potential barriers to cross-border online trade in goods and services from electronics, clothing and shoes to digital content;

Amendment 135 #

Andreas SCHWAB, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Notes that the Google case has triggered a general discussion around the power of dominant internet platforms such as EBay, Facebook, Apple, LinkedIn, Amazon, Uber, Airbnb etc., their influence on markets and the public sphere alike, and the need to regulate them to protect both; points out that the aim of regulating internet platforms should guarantee higher user protection while maintaining incentives to innovate;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Welcomes the final adoption of the directive on actions for damages, as this is a good example of successful close interinstitutional cooperation in the competition policy sphere;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Calls on the Commission to undertake investigations and take the necessary steps to ensure that existing electricity interconnectors are made fully available for the power market by the transmission system operators (TSOs), in order to enhance the functioning of the internal electricity market;

Amendment 138 #

Andreas SCHWAB, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Calls on the Commission to investigate in the market dominance of Google concerning direct hotel booking; points out that he company is seeking to have hotel searchers book and pay via Google rather than handing off the lead to a third party travel site or hotel site; underlines that this move is potentially controversial as it turns Google into an online travel agency or its equivalent charging booking fees; notes that most hoteliers would prefer direct bookings rather than through a third party site or aggregator; underlines that Google could leverage its dominant position and by the same token weaken competitors in travel markets and thereby harm consumers;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11c. Welcomes the Commission’s newly adopted amendments to Regulation (EC) No 773/2004, relating to the conduct of proceedings, and the related communications arising out the directive on actions for damages; considers it unfortunate that Parliament was not involved in the drafting of the amendments;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the ~~European Union is established as an open market economy with free competition~~Union shall establish an internal market; whereas it shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment; whereas it shall promote scientific and technological advance;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)

11d. Calls on the Commission, as the guardian of the Treaties, closely to monitor the Member States’ implementation of the above directive and ensure that its provisions are uniformly enforced throughout the EU;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)

11e. Points again to the need for measures to avert the danger of overcompensation in anti-trust damages claims; calls on the Commission to factor in earlier compensation payments in the same way as national competition authorities do when setting fines;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)

11f. Points out that competition policy has a key role to play in the completion of the digital single market; shares the view that a robust competition policy on fast- moving markets requires thorough market knowledge; welcomes, therefore, the fact that a sector inquiry into e-commerce is being carried out for the purposes of the digital single market strategy;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 g (new)

11g. Points out that, in the course of the sector inquiry, it will be necessary to determine whether adjustments have to be made to the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation, Regulation (EU) No 330/2010, and the related guidelines on vertical restraints;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission, in the Member States and at regional and communal administrative levels, to actively promote compliance with European competition policy ~~and to explain the legal position~~; sees a need for action particularly in raising awareness in all parts of the European Union with regard to the classification and granting of illegal State aid; considers however that isolated and/or peripheral regions and islands should be allowed wider margins for the implementation of state aid provisions than is currently being done, not least under conditions of double isolation or insularity, especially when such provisions would have limited to minimal effect on the wider European market, and when they are intended to help stimulate economic activity and social cohesion in ways that would not otherwise be feasible in the short to medium term;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission, in the Member States and at regional and communal administrative levels, to actively promote compliance with European competition policy and to explain the legal position; underlines the importance to address horizontal and vertical state aid with equal diligence; sees a need for action particularly in raising awareness in all parts of the European Union with regard to the classification and granting of illegal State aid;

Amendment 146 #

Renato SORU, Alfred SANT, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission, in the Member States and at regional and communal administrative levels, to actively promote compliance with European competition policy and to explain the legal position; sees a need for action particularly in raising awareness in all parts of the European Union with regard to the classification and granting of illegal State aid, especially when this is tantamount to anticompetitive and protectionist measures;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Welcomes the simplified procedures utilised for the purpose of state-aid assessment of projects funded by the EFSI; highlights that the EFSI aims to overcome current market failures by addressing market gaps, thus favouring the well-functioning of the markets;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Commission, particularly in State aid proceedings, must examine more rigorously the facts which States provide and improve fact security, since attempts are increasingly being made to flout the legal position and the conditions or to seek more or fewer borderline compromises on the understanding that such examination should be premised on a realization that states need to ensure total security and continuity of supply and provision for all their citizens in strategic and vital sectors like energy, transport and health care;

Amendment 149 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Commission, particularly in State aid proceedings, must examine more rigorously the facts which States provide and improve fact security, since attempts are increasingly being made to flout the legal position and the conditions or to seek more or fewer borderline compromises, and to adopt legislation in the Member States which ‘formally’ legalises agreements adversely affecting other Member States and the EU as a whole;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the ~~strong~~ application of competition- law principles under the EU Treaty ~~primar~~should contribute to the general objectives of EU economic policy, including employment and cohesion, whilye benefitsting consumers, promotesing innovation and growth, and controlsling and restrictsing unfair market practices as well as monopolies and dominant market positions;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Commission, particularly in State aid proceedings, must examine more rigorously the facts ~~which States provide~~ and improve fact security, since attempts are increasingly being made to flout the legal position and the conditions or to seek more or fewer borderline compromises;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Reiterates that EU Structural Funds may not be used in a way that directly or indirectly supports the relocation of services or production to other Member States;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Stresses that state aid is sometimes necessary in order to assure the delivery of services of general economic interest (SGEI) including energy, transport and telecommunication; Emphasises that state intervention is often the best possible policy tool to assure services crucial for the support of economic and social conditions in isolated, remote or peripheral regions and islands in the Union;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls the Commission to open up an investigation on how TV licenses are distributed inside Member States in order to ensure fair competition in the media sector;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Calls the Commission to investigate the relation between government subsidies to newspapers and the closeness of its editorial line to the ideology of the government in question;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the adoption by the Commission in 2014 of the new Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy and its implementation of this as the general block exemption regulation; is of the opinion that such guidelines could be further strengthened with a view of enhancing the promotion of renewables and the phasing-out of fossil and nuclear energy;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the adoption by the Commission in 2014 of the new Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy and its implementation of this as the general block exemption regulation (GBER); Points out the need to differentiate conceptually and policy-wise between competition rules and social policy of the respective Member State; Recognises it is every government’s obligation to intervene in order to avoid energy poverty on its citizens;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Welcomes the inclusion of social aid for transport residents of remote regions in the GBER where the problem of connectivity is being recognised; Stresses that the connectivity of peripheral island regions is also essential for sustaining and developing acceptable levels of economic and social initiative by maintaining vital business connections;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on the Commission to launch an encompassing State Aid investigation on the EU car sector and in particular regarding the VW scandal with a view of controlling whether car undertakings have benefited from illegal State Aid as a consequence of product eligibility to tax rebates and credits to the purchasers following fraudulent claims on clean technologies;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Welcomes the current Commission inquiry regarding Deferred Tax Assets and Credits (DTA/DTCs) to the benefit of the banking sector in several Member States; is of the opinion that DTA/DTCs should be made retroactively authorised under State Aid provisions if they are tied to explicit conditions regarding financing targets for the real economy;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the strong application of competition-law principles under the EU Treaty should primarily benefits consumers, promotes innovation and growth, and controls and restricts unfair market practices as well as monopolies and dominant market positions; whereas fair competition requires fair trade rules and the avoidance of export subsidies to the agriculture sector;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Recalls its request to the Commission to examine whether the banking sector has benefited since the beginning of the crisis of implicit subsidies and State Aid by means of the provision of unconventional liquidity support;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes the introduction of new guidelines on State aid for risk financing, primarily in order to be able to promote more effectively small and medium-sized businesses, innovative midcaps and start- ups, which have a significant size disadvantage;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Criticises the fact that competition- distorting tax models in particular can lead to considerable problems for medium-sized businesses and also for a number of Member States which are either not concerned or are concerned only marginally;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Considers that state aid under conditions of full transparency might be an optimal solution in ensuring that first entries in the digital market can consolidate their market position, thus guaranteeing a better competitive scenario in the digital market;

Amendment 164 #

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Andreas SCHWAB, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Welcomes the fact that, as part of the modernisation of State aid law, the Commission is taking the initiative of issuing new guidelines that will make it clear what is meant by State aid in the tax sphere and appropriate transfer pricing;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Welcomes the new Guidelines on State Aid to Airlines and Airports in the EU, as part of the Commission’s State Aid Modernisation; calls on the Commission to urgently establish a similar set of rules for subsidised airlines operating from third countries to and from the EU in international agreements, in order to ensure fair competition between EU and third country carriers; calls on the Commission to urgently submit a proposal for the revision of EU Regulation 868/2004 for the protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices causing injury to Community air carriers in the supply of air services from countries not members of the European Community. (European legacy carriers have to continue to modernise and restructure becoming more efficient. However Status quo is not an option for the EU with regard subsidies and the kind of competition coming from third countries such the Gulf carriers. A binding fair competition clause should be included when the EC negotiates comprehensive air service agreements. Moreover the Commission is called to urgently submit a proposal for the revision of EU Regulation 868/2004 for the protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices.)

Amendment 166 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Requests a separate study from the Commission to assess whether EU state aid provisions are inhibiting the consolidation and strengthening of competitiveness among European firms vis-à-vis their global competitors, not least with regard to state procurement mechanisms, and also in the perspective of the recent conclusion of the TPP;

Amendment 167 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Social and environmental dumping

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 1 (new)

(1) Calls on the Commission to develop its competition policy in full respect of EU policy objectives, including a high level of employment and fostering social and regional cohesion; draws attention to the fact that competition authorities must take into full account potential market externalities, particularly of a social or environmental kind, in framing their activity;

Amendment 169 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 2 (new)

(2) Calls on the Commission to take measures against social dumping as a way to guarantee workers’ and consumers’ security; stresses the heavy deterioration of working conditions due to social dumping in sectors such as transport;

Amendment 17 #

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas such an economy requires the strong application of competition-law principles under the EU Treaty ~~primarily~~in order to benefits consumers, and businesses alike, to promotes innovation and growth, and to controls and restricts unfair market practices as well as monopolies and dominant market positions;

Amendment 170 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 3 (new)

(3) Draws attention to the fact that environmental dumping is a factor affecting workers’ health and safety and consumers’ security; is particularly concerned by the effects if this trend on traditional industries such as the chemical or base metal sectors;

Amendment 171 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 4 (new)

(4) Stresses that deregulation within the internal market and as a consequence of international agreements such as TTIP or TiSA are key factors behind the development of new anti-competitive practices, in the form of social and environmental dumping;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 a (new)

Fair competition and level playing field in aviation: There is an urgent need for a range of effective policy tools for addressing unfair competition in the markets in which European carriers compete. Regulation 868/2004 which aims at protecting (safeguarding fair competition) the EU industry against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices which causes injury to EU carriers has proven ineffective or at least inadequate with regards the kind of competition coming from Gulf carriers. The Commission is aware that such amount of subsidies would clearly be considered illegal State aid if applied to any EU companies. The EU must act fast with regard unfair competition, ensure reciprocity and eliminate unfair practices, including subsidies and state aids to airlines from third countries that clearly distort the market; therefore: - Calls the Commission to announce the revision of 868/2004 guaranteeing reciprocity fair and open competition among EU and non-EU carriers. - Asks the Commission to include and insert a binding and transparent ‘fair competition clause’ in EU external aviation relations and in the future comprehensive aviation agreement with the Gulf States. - Requests the Commission to urgently revise the EU rules on the ownership and control of EU airlines in the context of the Aviation Package, in particular reviewing the ‘effective control’ vague and dated concept. The Commission should be empowered with additional investigative powers in order to request relevant information from third countries, also reconsidering the burden of proof for evidence to open an investigation on ‘effective ownership and control’. (International air transport competes as a service industry in an increasingly open global market, so sustainable competitiveness depends upon open and fair conditions of competition. Indeed, open and fair competition provides choice and value for money for consumers, supports quality, productivity, efficiency and innovation in the air transport sector. The EU must act fast with regard unfair competition, ensure reciprocity and eliminate unfair practices, including subsidies and state aids to airlines from third countries that clearly distort the market In the absence of a global framework at ICAO level, only bilateral air service agreements can ensure fair competition. The Commission should include and insert a binding and transparent ‘fair competition clause’ in EU external aviation relations and in the future comprehensive aviation agreement with the Gulf States.)

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 b (new)

State aid and competition among airports: According to the European Court of Auditors (ECA) ‘EU-funded airport infrastructures: poor value for money’ report (1): The EU spent over EUR 4.5 billion on air transport-related investments between 2000 and 2013 via the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the TEN-T programmes, of which 2.8 billion was directly spent on airport infrastructure. 75% of this sum went to four Member States: Spain (24%), Poland (21%), Italy (17%) and Greece (13%)(1). These EU- funded investments in airports produced poor value for money; many airports (often in close proximity to each other) were funded and in many cases the infrastructures were larger than necessary. The investments did not lead to anticipated results; only 10 of 20 airports succeeded in increasing their passenger numbers between 2007 and 2013. - In the context of the new rules on state aid for airports; calls on the Commission to establish a public list of ‘Ghost’ and inefficient airports; - Considering that the Commission is responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the TEN-T projects, calls on the Commission to give and Ex-ante prior approval to all infrastructure projects in order to verify the cost-benefit analysis and viability of such EU funded project. (This is essential to stop wasting EU taxpayers’ money and to make the EU more competitive.) Or. en ((1) http://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=30441)

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 c (new)

Calls on the Commission to open up competition in those Member States that have port and airport public networks, particularly if their management is monopolised by the central government or if they persistently generate public deficits; Encourages the Commission to investigate whether certain practices with regard to the imposition of specific hub airports – based on the terms of the over 1000 existing bilateral air services agreements signed by Member States with non-EU countries – are detrimental to fair competition between carriers and airports, and are against European consumers’ interests;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 d (new)

Calls on the Commission and the Members States to increase their efforts in order to guarantee the opening of the railway transport sector to fair competition, as well as a better quality of services;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that, in the digital economy, in the past assessment of mergers and takeovers has been predominantly on the basis of the turnover of the businesses in question, which iseems to be inadequate because businesses with low turnovers and substantial start-up losses may also have a large customer base and significant market strength~~, as the Commission’s unconditional approval of the takeover of WhatsApp by Facebook proves~~;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Not~~Criticises that, in the digital economy, in the past assessment of mergers and takeovers has been predominantly on the basis of the turnover of the businesses in question, which is inadequate because businesses with low turnovers and substantial start-up losses may also have a large customer base and significant market strength, as the Commission’s precedent- setting unconditional approval of the takeover of WhatsApp by Facebook proves;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that, in the digital economy, ~~in the~~ past assessment of mergers and takeovers has been predominantly on the basis of the turnover of the businesses in question, which is inadequate ~~because~~; stresses that businesses with low turnovers and substantial start-up losses may also have a large customer base and significant market strength, as the Commission’s unconditional approval of the takeover of WhatsApp by Facebook proves;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that, in the digital economy, in the past assessment of mergers and takeovers has been predominantly on the basis of the turnover of the businesses in question, which is inadequate because businesses with low turnovers and substantial start-up losses may also have a large customer base, with data sets to match, and significant market strength, as the Commission’s unconditional approval of the takeover of WhatsApp by Facebook proves;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the strong application of competition-law principles under the EU Treaty has the aim to primarily benefits consumers, and promotes innovation and growth~~, and~~ by controlsling and restrictsing unfair market practices ~~as well as~~resulting from monopolies and dominant market positions;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Takes that view that in some economic sectors, first and foremost the digital economy, additional criteria should be applied, above and beyond price-based approaches, market shares, and turnover, since mergers can often entail market restrictions;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Considers that particularly in the digital economy additional ~~new~~ criteria ~~must be introduced in~~could be considered for 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 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Considers that particularly in the digital economy additional new criteria must be introduced in assessing mergers, such as the purchase price, possible market entry barriers and network effects, social aspects such as workers protection, job creation and job retention, as well as the control of personal data; Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to the commercial model of businesses in the digital economy and possible market entry barriers;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Considers that particularly in the digital economy additional new criteria must be introduced in assessing mergers, such as the purchase price, possible market entry barriers an, the vital importance of data, platform specifications and the associated 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; these include factors such as the scope for switching between platforms and data portability;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Considers that particularly in the digital economy additional new criteria must be introduced in assessing mergers, such as the purchase price, arrangements for accessing data, possible market entry barriers and network effects; Ccalls on the Commission to give particular consideration to the commercial model of businesses in the digital economy and possible market entry barriers;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Considers that particularly in the digital economy additional new criteria must be introduced in assessing mergers, such as the purchase price, possible market entry barriers and network effects, and that day attention should be paid to the global nature or otherwise of competition in the sector in question; Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to the commercial model of businesses in the digital economy and possible market entry barriers;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
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 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Considers that the erroneous assessment of market strength combined with the current market definition is often working to the detriment of European businesses in particular ~~and must therefore be urgently re-adjusted also~~ in times of globalisation and in a dynamic digital market; calls on the Commission to consider a readjustment within the framework of the Merger Regulation;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Expresses concern that too often a narrowly national approach is taken to the issue of market protection, which fails to take proper account of the aspect of the international competitiveness of European undertakings;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission, in the context of the planned overhaul of the Merger Regulation, also to examine whether the current procedures for assessing mergers take proper account of the internationalisation of markets;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the strong application of competition-law principles under the EU Treaty primarily benefits consumers, promotes innovation and growth, and controls and restricts unfair market practices as well as monopolies and dominant market positions with a view to ensuring equal opportunities of success for all;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission to further develop Article 107 of the Treaties regarding state aid to regions, as there are wide suspicions that sustained overinvestment for political reasons is creating distortions in the single market;

Amendment 191 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Believes that road systems based on the Eurovignette are fairer and do not create distortions on the competition among market participants as they ensure that there are not unfair advantages link to their origin;

Amendment 192 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Pharmaceutical industry

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – point 1 (new)

(1) Competition policy at EU level must guarantee that the pharmaceutical industry does not hamper the universal right to healthcare of EU citizens, fighting any kind of market abuse that may block access of generic medicines to the internal market; is concerned about the reiterative abuse of market position of the pharmaceutical industry against generic medicine providers;

Amendment 194 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – point 2 (new)

(2) Calls, in this respect, for the development of generic medicines and their preferential use, when available, by public procurement systems;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Stresses that the temporary State aid in the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary but on completion of~~Calls for the fifth consecutive year in its annual competition report for a swift end to the state aid crisis regime for the Bbanking ~~Union must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised~~sector;

Amendment 196 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Stresses that the temporary State aid in~~Deplores the fact that State aid was granted to the financial sector foafter the ~~stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary but on completion of the Banking Union must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised~~financial crisis; considers it necessary, in order to avoid future bailouts by taxpayers, to embark as quickly as possible on a genuine reform of the European banking sector providing for mandatory clear separation of retail and investment activities;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Stresses that the temporary State aid in the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was nexcess~~ary but on completion of the Banking Union must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised~~ive and must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised; considers it regrettable that no action has been taken by the Commission to address the abuses committed in the restructuring of private banks, including those affecting small depositors and small owners of financial instruments such as preferred shares, which in many cases had been marketed without full compliance with EU legislation;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Stresses that the temporary State aid in the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary but on completion of the Banking Union must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised; emphasises the persisting urgency to eliminate subsidies from implicit guarantees for financial institutions which are still too big to fail both in order to level the playing field in the financial sector and in order to protect taxpayers;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Stresses that the temporary State aid in the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary ~~but on completion of the Banking Union must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinise~~in the absence of a European regulatory framework to address and overcome banking crises; takes the view that the introduction of the Banking Union and entry into force of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) – which is intended to resolve failures of banks and large investment companies – justifies a revision of the Commission communication of July 2013 on the banking sector, and the development of a clear strategy with a precise timetable for phasing out temporary state aid;

Amendment 2 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

– having regard to the competition inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector of 8th of July 2009 and follow-up reports, in particular the 5th Report on the Monitoring of Patent Settlements,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the independence of national competition authorities is of paramount importance;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Stresses that the temporary State aid in the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary but on completion of the Banking Union must be ~~quickly~~phased out on the understanding that such reducedtion or total~~ly removed and scrutinised~~ removal of temporary state aid does not serve to provide undeserved windfall profits or benefits to private entities;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Stresses that the temporary State aid inregime established for the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary but that on completion of the Banking Union must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Stresses that the temporary State aid in the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary ~~but on~~; calls for a completion of the Banking Union ~~must be quickly reduced or totally removed and scrutinised~~;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Emphasises that fair tax competition is essential to the integrity of the internal market, the viability of public finances and a level competitive playing field;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Takes the view that, at the latest when the banking union is established, State subsidies for the banking sector must be discontinued and that tax credits in particular must no longer be accepted as liable equity capital;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Believes that the Commission should consider the possibility for state aid to banks to be linked to conditionality on credit to SMEs;

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Emphasises the key importance of EU subsidy law in the fight against tax avoidance by multinational undertakings;

Amendment 208 #

Renato SORU, Alfred SANT, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Is concerned that mergers and acquisitions as a result of the restructuring in the banking sector have led to increased concentration and oligopolistic tendencies; asks the Commission to draw up a study on this issue;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Considers that remarkable disparities between Member States in the use of State aid in the financial sector in recent years, can potentially distort competition in this sector; invites the EC to clarify the rules and the procedures under which State aid in the financial sector can be authorised;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas competition raises companies’ productivity, by raising managers’ incentives to out-perform competitors and, therefore, is often associated with higher levels of total factor productivity;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Commission to launch a road map for less but better targeted state aid, aiming for a reduction of state aid opening up for lower taxes stimulating new businesses and fair competition rather than supporting old structures and incumbents;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Banking regulations should take into account that small institutions have fewer resources to ensure their compliance and thus should be as simple as possible in order to avoid creating distortions in favour of big banks;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Underlines that when using state aid in order to promote services of general interest it is the consumers and the citizens benefit that is crucial, not individual companies or public entities today;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Urges the Commission to monitor closely those markets in the banking sector where concentration is high or growing, in particular as a result of restructuring in response to the crisis and to ensure that increased concentration does not end up in a decrease of credit for SMEs as data from some Member States seems to suggest;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)

19d. Calls on the Commission to follow closely the conditions to be proposed by the ECB to give new banking licenses to ensure that creates a level playing field without high barriers of entrance to the market; strongly believes that given the high concentration in the banking sector of some Member States, a higher number of banking entities would be good for consumers and SMEs;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful fiscal State aid through unfair tax competition and calls on Member States in future to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice in good time and ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements to the detriment of other Member States;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition and calls on Member States ~~in future~~ to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice in good time and ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements ~~to the detriment of other Member States~~;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition ~~and calls on Member States in future to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice in good time~~in several Member States and extended to all the 28 EU countries in 2015; regrets that the Commission has in the latest mandates opened only a very limited number of investigations into potential tax related state aid cases, in spite of the well- founded suspicions that have been made public in the meantime; calls on the Commission to use the outcome of the current investigations to establish more precise and effective guidelines for tax- related state aids, to make use of its full powers under EU competition rules to tackle harmful tax practices and to sanction Member States and companies found to be involved in such practices ; calls moreover on Member States to exchange information in due time on all the relevant information about their taxation practices with the Commission and the other Member States on and, ultimately, to comply with the obligation to ~~declare~~notify special arrangements t~~o the detriment of~~hat may affect other Member States;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition and calls on Member States ~~in future~~publically to present ~~the Commission with~~ information about their past, present and future taxation practice in good time and ~~ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements to the detriment of other Member States~~to disclose all special arrangements to the Commission and the European Parliament;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition favouring certain individual companies over others and calls on Member States in future to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice in good time and ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements to the detriment of other Member States;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas each year losses of EUR 181- 320 billion – approximately 3 % of EU GDP – accrue owing to the existence of cartels;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition and calls on Member States in future to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice i~~n good time~~mmediately and ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements to the detriment of other Member States;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition, including the opening in October 2014 of in-depth investigations into Gibraltar’s corporate tax regime, and calls on Member States in future to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice ~~in good time~~ and ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements to the detriment of other Member States;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes the investigations initiated by the Commission in 2014 into unlawful State aid through unfair tax competition and calls on the Commission to send the findings to Parliament; calls on Member States in future to present the Commission with information about their taxation practice in good time and ultimately to comply with the obligation to declare special arrangements to the detriment of other Member States;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Welcomes the fact that the Commission intends to submit as soon as possible, in the five ongoing procedures brought under the rules on State aid concerning unfair tax competition, specific findings which send out a clear message to the Member States that national powers to set taxes must be exercised in a manner consistent with EU competition law;

Amendment 224 #

Renato SORU, Alfred SANT, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the Commission to introduce binding guidelines that clarify how it will determine instances of tax- related state aid, thereby providing more legal certainty for businesses and Member States, taking into consideration the fact that, in other sectors, such guidelines have proven to be highly effective in putting a stop to and pre-empting those practices in Member States that are in conflict with EU state aid law; calls on the Commission at the same time to specify those tax policies that are not consistent with state aid policy;

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Considers that, in order to grant fair competition among companies, in line with the Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014, companies located in regions experiencing temporary or permanent disadvantages should be supported and increased flexibility should be granted to Regions experiencing severe economic problems, such as the Regions included in the Convergence and in the Competitiveness Objective, and to insular regions;

Amendment 226 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the EC to take firm measures, including severe sanctions, against those Member States and MNCs that have distorted the internal market by violating EU taxation law and, in particular, Council Directives 77/799/EEC and 211/16/EU;

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Regrets that only a very limited number of cases of state aid related with unfair tax competition have been investigated since 1991, underlining the need to ensure broad access to information in order to trigger more investigations on suspicious cases; stresses its concern on the current resources of Commission’s competent services which may limit its ability to handle a significantly larger number of cases;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Calls on the Commission to request the recovery of every euro missing in case of confirmation of illegal state aid in the ongoing investigations;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; further tangible results are required, such as a consolidated basis of calculation for capital gains, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, the obligation on large international companies to report their turnover and profits on a ‘country by country’ basis and calling on Member States to introduce greater transparency in their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;deleted

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas tax evasion, tax fraud and tax havens are costing the EU taxpayers an estimated 1 trillion euros per year in lost revenue, distorting competition in the single market between those companies who pay taxes and those who do not;

Amendment 230 #

Alain CADEC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; further tangible results are required, such as ~~a consolidated basis of calculation for capital gains~~the introduction of a full, mandatory Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, the obligation on large international companies ~~to report~~in all sectors to report publicly their turnover and profits on a ‘country by country’ basis and calling on Member States to introduce greater transparency in their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; further tangible results are required, such as a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB), a consolidated basis of calculation for capital gains, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, the obligation on large international companies to report their turnover and profits on a ‘country by country’ basis and appropriate penalties for breaches of these rules and calling on Member States to introduce greater transparency in their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; considers that further tangible results are required in the fight against unfair tax practices, such as a consolidated basis of calculation for capital gains, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, and the obligation ~~on large inter~~for multinational companies to report their turnover and profits on a transparent ‘country by country’ basis ~~and~~; call~~ing~~s on Member States to introduce greater transparency into their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; further tangible results are required, such as a consolidated basis of calculation for capital gains and, in conjunction, a minimum tax rate, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, the obligation on large international companies to report their turnover and profits on a ‘country by country’ basis and calling on Member States to introduce greater transparency in their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; further tangible results are required, such as a consolidated basis of calculation for the corporate tax base and for capital gains, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, the obligation on large international companies to report their turnover and profits on a ‘country by country’ basis and calling on Member States to introduce greater transparency in their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that State aid proceedings alone cannot put a permanent stop to the unfair tax competition in a number of Member States of the European Union; ~~further tangible results are required, such as~~stresses that after one year from the ‘LuxLeaks’ scandal, which triggered unprecedented public outrage in Europe and beyond, the response of the European institutions is still unsufficient: further tangible results are required, such as a common consolidated corporate tax base with formula apportionment, a consolidated basis of calculation for capital gains, a review of the VAT Directive in order to prevent fraud, the obligation on large international companies to report their turnover and profits on a public ‘country by country’ basis and calling on Member States to introduce greater transparency in their tax practices and mutual reporting requirements;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Takes the view that the tax practices currently employed by certain Member States are seriously jeopardising the internal market and that multinational undertakings in particular must make a fair and appropriate contribution to the public finances of the Member States;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Stresses that a committee of inquiry of the European Parliament should be set up to further investigate widespread harmful tax practices and tax rulings resulting in corporate tax base erosion and aggressive tax planning within Europe; stresses that in any case the European Parliament should continue its ongoing work to look into unfair tax competition in the EU;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that ~~healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union but unfair tax competition must be prevented through minimum rates of taxation and harmonised tax bases~~not all forms of tax competition need be harmful but stresses that unfair and harmful tax competition are dominant in the way that the EU has organised itself and therefore calls for minimum rates of taxation, harmonised tax bases and a legally explicit possibility to restrict mobility of capital if needed for the orderly function of tax systems within in the Union, thereby neutralising the damaging effects of Cadbury-Schweppes and similar rulings which have led to the perverse situation that in important respects it is more difficult to fight frivolous profit shifting to countries within the Union than to countries outside the Union;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)

Cd. whereas in terms of energy costs the European single market performs worse than the US, with a price dispersion of 31 percent compared to 22 percent in the US;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union but unfair tax competition must be prevented through ~~minimum rates of taxation and~~ harmonised tax bases;

Amendment 242 #

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union buand that unfair tax competition ~~must~~can be prevented through minimum rates of taxation and ~~harmonised tax bases~~considering harmonisation of tax bases when appropriate and necessary;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union but unfair tax competition must be prevented through minimum rates of taxation and harmonised tax bases; takes the view that introducing a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) would help make the system more transparent; believes that the issue of consolidation can be addressed at a later date, and should not be a barrier to the swift introduction of a CCCTB;

Amendment 246 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union ~~but unfair tax competition must be prevented through minimum rates of taxat~~; Notes that this should be done while in the same time appropriate transfer mechanisms are being set up to compensate for the increasing structural economic divergences between different regions and ~~harmonised tax bases~~states of the Union, especially the eurozone;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that ~~healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union but~~ unfair tax competition must be prevented through minimum rates of taxation and harmonised tax bases;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union but unfair tax competition must be prevented through minimum rates of taxation and harmonised tax bases; stresses that, within the internal market, new entrants and SMEs doing business only in one country are penalised as compared to MNCs, which can shift profits or implement other forms of aggressive tax planning through a variety of decisions and instruments, available to them only; notes with concern that, everything being equal, the resulting lower tax liabilities leave the latter with a higher post-tax profit and create an uneven playing field with their competitors on the single market, which do not have recourse to aggressive tax planning and keep the connection between where they generate profit and their place of taxation; stresses that promoting harmful tax practices through the creation of a European one-person- entity (SUP) which explicitly allows for having two different residences, a registered office in one place and an administrative headquarter is the wrong approach for the EU;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that ~~healthy~~fair tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the EU internal market ~~of the Union bu~~; stresses therefore that unfair tax competition must be prevented through minimum rates of corporate taxation and harmonised tax bases;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)

Ce. whereas in many Member States a severe credit crunch is still affecting SMEs, which represent 98% of the EU firms and 67% of employed people;

Amendment 250 #

Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers that healthy tax competition is one of the constitutive elements of the internal market of the Union but unfair tax competition must be prevented ~~through minimum rates of taxation and harmonised tax bases~~;

Amendment 251 #

Renato SORU, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Emphasises that the Commission must as a matter of course have access to data exchanged between tax authorities which are relevant in the context of competition law;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Considers that fair competition can be hampered by tax planning; invites the EC to adjust the definition of ‘permanent establishment’ so that companies cannot artificially avoid having a taxable presence in Member States in which they have economic activity. This definition should also address the specific situations of the digital sector, so that companies engaging in fully dematerialised activities, are considered to have a permanent establishment in a Member State if they maintain a significant digital presence in the economy of that Country;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Underlines that Commission when dealing with competition rulings must see the internal market as one market, not as a number of local or national markets;

Amendment 254 #

Alain CADEC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. stresses that for the internal market to function correctly, social dumping must be eliminated; emphasises that establishing a minimum wage in every Member State would be a first step towards achieving this goal;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that in view of an estimated volume of tax fraud and tax avoidance of up to one billion euros a year the Member States must ultimately tackle and restrict this practice; Requests an assessment of the economic, financial and competitive impact on the EU and on national economies, of the funds that were deviated by firms from tax payments in 2014 and earlier, by way of their having been held as corporate cash, deployed for investment purposes, used to fund takeovers etc.;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that ~~in view of an estimated volume of tax fraud and tax avoidance of up to one billion euros a year the Member States must ultimately tackle and restrict this practice~~Member States must tackle and restrict tax fraud; welcomes the recent adoption by the finance ministers of the G20 of new rules drawn up by the OECD on base erosion and profit shifting, which will improve transparency, close loopholes and restrict the use of tax havens;

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that in view of an estimated volume of tax fraud and tax avoidance of up to one btrillion euros a year the Member States must ultimately tackle and restrict this practice; Believes that the reduction of tax fraud and tax avoidance is fundamental to go forward in the consolidation of public budgets.

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that in view of an estimated volume of tax fraud and tax avoidance, according to The European Commission, of up to one btrillion euros a year in the EU, both the Member States ~~must ultimately~~and the EU must tackle and restrict this practice in a coordinated way;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that, in ~~view of an estimated volume of~~the light of some studies having estimated that the total amount lost to tax fraud and aggressive tax avoidance ~~of up to~~could be as much as one btrillion euros a year, it is essential that the Member States ~~must~~ ultimately tackle and restrict this practice;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas in recent years, in particular, the dynamism in the digital economy but also distortions of competition ~~as a result of national taxation policy~~ which is causing considerable harm to the internal market have brought with them new challenges for the Commission and all market players;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that in view of an estimated volume of tax fraud and tax avoidance of up to one billion euros a year the Member States and the Commission must ultimately tackle and restrict this practice; by means of a greater power of investigation and the power to impose penalties;

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that in view of an estimated volume of tax fraud and tax avoidance of up to one btrillion euros a year the Member States must ultimately tackle and restrict this practice;

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Takes the view, in the light of the unfair tax practices employed by some Member States, that internal market policy and competition policy must go hand in hand, in an effort to ensure that profits are distributed fairly and that the shifting of profits to certain Member States, or even outside the EU, in order to minimise tax liability becomes impossible;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Emphasises that comprehensive, transparent and effective exchanges of tax information are a key prerequisite for preventing aggressive tax planning; stresses, at the same time, that simplifying tax arrangements at Member State level would do much to foster transparency and clarity;

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the intention of the Competition Commissioner to reorganise the control of State aid as part of a fair tax burden for all; Expects that prior to this reorganisation there will be an unconditional and complete evaluation ~~and calls on the Member States to abandon their current blockade mentality~~;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Welcomes the intention of the Competition Commissioner to reorganise the control of State aid as part of a fair tax burden for all and calls to revising state aid guidelines on taxation to cover cases of unfair competition going beyond tax rulings and transfer pricing; Expects that prior to this reorganisation there will be an unconditional and complete evaluation and calls on the Member States to abandon their current blockade mentality;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Welcomes the intention of the Competition Commissioner to reorganise the control of State aid as part of a fair tax burden for all; Expects that prior to this reorganisation there will be an unconditional and complete evaluation and calls on the Member States to ~~abandon their current blockade mentality~~take a constructive position on this issue keeping in mind that different Member States must respond to different policy imperatives on the basis of their situation, size, physical and other endowments, as well as their state of economic and social development;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Welcomes the intention of the Competition Commissioner to reorganise the control of the State aid rules as part of the efforts to ensure a fair tax burden for all; ~~Expects that prior to this reorganisation there will be an unconditional and complete evalu~~calls therefore in this context on the Commission to consider strengthening of its resources both in financial and in staff terms, to be able to pursue all the necessary investigation ~~and~~s; calls ~~on the~~moreover on Member States to abandon their current blockade mentality that prevents progress in this area;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Welcomes the intention of the Competition Commissioner to reorganise the control of State aid as part of a fair tax burden for all; Expects that prior to this reorganisation there will be an unconditional and complete evaluation and calls on the Member States to abandon their current blockade mentality and to provide to the European Parliament all the requested documentation regarding the tax rulings affaire;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas in recent years, in particular, the dynamism in the digital economy ~~but also~~and distortions ofin competition as a result of national taxation policy ~~which is~~, causing considerable harm to the internal market, have brought with them new challenges for ~~the Commission and all m~~market players and require an immediate and tarkget ~~players~~ed response by the Commission;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Welcomes, in this context, the work of the Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect (TAXE);

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Commission to lay down in the near future detailed guidelines on State aid in the tax sphere and transfer pricing; emphasises that guidelines of this kind in other policy areas have proved very effective in eliminating and preventing the introduction of certain practices in Member States which do not comply with EU rules on State aid; points out that such guidelines are effective only if they set out very precise provisions, including in the form of quantitative thresholds;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on Member States to publish information on their tax rulings and to present it in a regional breakdown, to ensure that there is not an excess of tax rulings in some regions creating de facto state aid to them;

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Given that some Member States continue to impose extremely high rates of VAT on food, which has a significant impact on the development of inflation as well as on consumers’ healthy eating options, calls on the Commission to draw up proposals for the Member States regarding taxes on food so that significant distortion of competition can be avoided;

Amendment 274 #

Renato SORU, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Commission to consider the introduction of sanctions, either against the state or the company involved, for serious cases of illegal state aid;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Considers that a favourable tax status, such as the one granted in special economic zones (SEZs), would attract investments, favouring economic convergence between EU regions and fair competition among companies; calls on the Commission to actively promote the use of favourable tax status in less developed regions and to develop guidelines for the implementation of favourable tax regime across the EU including the establishment of SEZs, in line with the Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014;

Amendment 276 #

Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission to modify without delay the existing rules, in order to allow the amounts recovered following an infringement of EU State aid rules to be returned to the Member States which have suffered from an erosion of their tax bases and not to the Member State which granted the illegal tax-related State aid, as is currently the case, which provides additional incentives;deleted

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission to ~~modify without delay~~consider modifying the existing rules, in order to allow the amounts recovered following an infringement of EU State aid rules to be returned to the Member States which have suffered from an erosion of their tax bases and not to the Member State which granted the illegal tax-related State aid, as is currently the case, which provides additional incentives;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission to modify without delay the existing rules, in order to allow the amounts recovered following an infringement of EUthe EU tax-related State aid rules to be returned to the Member States which have suffered from an erosion of their tax bases and not to the Member State which granted the illegal tax-related State aid, as is currently the case, ~~which~~as this rule provides an additional incentives to tax dodging;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Calls on the Commission to make full use of its powers under EU competition rules to tackle harmful tax practices;

Amendment 28 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas in recent years, ~~in particular,~~ the dynamism in the digital economy ~~but also~~and, in particular, distortions of competition as a result of aggressive tax practices and national taxation policy which is causing considerable harm to the internal market have brought with them new challenges for the Commission and all market players;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
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 281 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Agriculture

Amendment 282 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – point 1 (new)

(1) Is concerned that the most recent study of DG Competition in the field of retail, ‘The economic impact of modern retail on choice and innovation in the EU food sector’ remains solely focused on consumer choice rather than on the abuse of dominant position against food producers; stresses that unfair practices of big retailers hurt consumers and agricultural producers alike;

Amendment 283 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – point 2 (new)

(2) Calls on the Commission to develop progressively the EU competition framework to include the monitoring of SAFA indicators in the food supply chain in Europe, including Fair Pricing and Transparent Contracts (S.2.1.1.) and Right of Suppliers (S2.2.1);

Amendment 284 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – point 3 (new)

(3) Calls for the establishment of an European observatory for food and agricultural prices at origin and at destination; draws attention to the Spanish IPOD as a possible model to monitor potential abuses of retailers against farmers and consumers;

Amendment 285 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – point 4 (new)

(4) Calls for binding action in the food supply chain against retailers harming farmers and consumers;

Amendment 286 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – point 5 (new)

(5) Is particularly concerned by the situation in the dairy sector, where retailers have been imposing prices well- below costs following the end of the quota system;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Welcomes the regular dialogue between the Competition Commissioner and the European Parliament ~~but considers that the right to a hearing on essential matters of principle is not sufficient~~;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Notes that in the area of competition law the European Parliament is involved in the legislative process only through the consultation procedure, with the result that it can exert much less influence on legislation than the Commission and Council;

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Stresses 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;deleted

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas in recent years, in particular, the dynamism in the digital economy but also distortions of competition as a result of national taxation policy which is deemed to caus~~ing~~e considerable harm to the internal market have brought with them new challenges for the Commission and all market players;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Stresse~~Requests 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 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Stresses 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 on the Commission to put forwards proposals for the treaties to be amended accordingly;

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Emphasises that the work on the Directive on Damages Claims can provide a template for future interinstitutional cooperation in competition matters;

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Calls for the scope of the ordinary legislative procedure under the Lisbon Treaty to be expanded to cover competition law as well;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Calls on the Commissioner to continue the dialogue begun with the relevant Parliament committees and with the Competition Working Group of Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls on the Commission to give the Parliament greater and earlier involvement in fundamental issues of competition policy~~, if the desired treaty amendment is not expected soon; Calls on the Commission to give the Parliament greater involvement in sector-specific investigations~~;

Amendment 296 #

Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls on the Commission to give the Parliament greater and earlier involvement in fundamental issues of competition policy~~, if the desi~~; calls for Council regulations in futured t~~reaty amendment is not expected soon; Calls on the Commission to give the Parliament greater involvement in sector-specific investigati~~o be based on Article 114 TFEU, which deals with the functioning of the internal market, so that they can be adopted under the codecision procedure, if the desired treaty amendment is not expected soons;

Amendment 298 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls on the Commission to give the Parliament greater and earlier involvement in fundamental issues of competition policy, if the desired treaty amendment is not expected soon; Calls on the Commission to give the Parliament greater involvement in sector-specific investigations, while ensuring the confidentiality of certain information submitted by stakeholders;

Amendment 299 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Condemns the non-cooperative attitude of many multinational companies with the European Parliament on matters relating to competition policy, as in the current workings of the Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect; calls for binding action against non-cooperative MNCs;

Amendment 3 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)

– having regard to the study of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, ‘Unfair trading practices in the business-to-business food supply chain (UTPs)’,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas in recent years, in particular, the dynamism in the digital economy, the development of the economy based on community sharing but also distortions of competition as a result of national taxation policy which is causing considerable harm to the internal market have brought with them new challenges for the Commission and all market players;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Considers that a results-driven and focused public evaluation of ~~the various~~ proposals by ~~Parliament~~ for development of competition policy should also be undertaken and published by the Commission in the near future;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Emphasises that in its future work the Commission’s DG Competition should take proper account of the standpoints adopted by Parliament in past reports on competition policy;

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
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;deleted

Amendment 303 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS

Motion for a resolution
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 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Stresses that in future individual competition cases should be pursued independently by the Commission;

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Considers harmful the trend in European legislation towards introducing distortions and fragmentation in the internal market, giving rise to unfair competition; views the split between members and non-members of the banking union as damaging, in particular in respect of structural reform of the banking sector, where a move from a partial derogation concerning the Vickers Act towards a full exemption based on establishment in a specific territory or on arbitrary thresholds is becoming apparent;

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council ~~and~~, the Commission and to national competition authorities.

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas in recent years, in particular, the dynamism in the digital economy but also distortions of competition as a result of ~~national taxation policy~~fiscal state aid which is causing considerable harm to the internal market have brought with them new challenges for the Commission and all market players; whereas global cooperation on competition enforcement helps to avoid inconsistencies in remedies and outcomes of enforcement actions, and helps businesses to reduce their costs of compliance;

Amendment 32 #

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas, given the challenges of the digital age, the existing competition law instruments need to be fundamentally reviewed;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas in international air transport rules on fair competition and the regulation of State Owned Enterprises are lacking with respect to airlines from certain third countries operating to and from Europe dominating certain routes, causing considerable harm to European airlines and impairing connectivity of European hub airports, reducing choice for European consumers;

Amendment 34 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas competition does not have the same impact in all Member States;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas in countries dominated by large private energy operators, regulators often fail to comply with the ‘full independence of network operation from supply and generation interests’ laid down in directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. Calls the Commission, considering the urgency of the matter, to present without unnecessary delays a legislative proposal for the revision of 868/2004 guaranteeing reciprocity fair and open competition among EU and non EU carriers;

Amendment 37 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas competition policy needs to take particular account of the objectives of sustainable development and social cohesion;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas social dumping is a factor distorting the internal market, hurting both consumers’ and workers’ rights;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. Welcomes the EU unitary patent as a step forward to complete the single market and calls on all Member States to participate in it;

Amendment 4 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ‘Internal market of international road freight: social dumping and cabotage’,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas guaranteeing the free movement of people, goods, services and capital is the basis of Europe’s growth;

Amendment 41 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas ‘unfairness’ in the food supply chain is difficult to translate into infringement of current competition law, as its existing tools are only effective on some forms of anti-competitive behaviour;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

~~1. Welcomes the report by the Commission, which essentially covers the term of office of the last Commission under Competition Commissioner Almunia;~~deleted

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
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 44 #

Motion for a resolution
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, so long as proper care is taken not to let internal EU competition policy hobble EU firms in their endeavours to compete on global markets with non-EU players;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the fact that Competition Commissioner Vestager wishes to develop, in close cooperation with the European Parliament, a competition policy as one of the key instruments of the European Union towards making the common internal market a reality; (close cooperation with the European Parliament is essential and should be reinforced)

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
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 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Welcom~~Notes 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;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to monitor the enforcement of competition law provisions particularly closely with regard to the large-scale impact of the digital single market on job creation and European growth, and to economic development based on community sharing;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Commission to draw up rules alongside the timetable for scrapping roaming charges stipulating that calls made from the country of origin to another Member State shall not cost more than national calls, as this seriously distorts competition and impedes the creation of the digital single market, a goal which the EU is determined to achieve;

Amendment 5 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 d (new)

– having regard to the universal framework for Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) developed by FAO,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 51 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that a successful competition policy must not be directed exclusively towards bringing down prices for consumers, but must also be mindful of the innovativeness of the European economy and special competitive conditions for small and medium-sized businessesshould strike a balance between bringing down prices for consumers, encouraging innovation within the European economy (including, if needed, special competitive conditions for small and medium-sized businesses) and ensuring that all businesses - including those within the ‘sharing economy’ - comply with vital European legislation on workers’ rights and health and safety;

Amendment 53 #

Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that a successful competition policy must not be directed exclusively towards bringing down prices for consumers, but must also be mindful of the innovativeness and strategic interests of the European economy and special competitive conditions for small and medium-sized businesses;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that a successful competition policy must not be directed exclusively towards bringing down prices for consumers, but must also be mindful of the innovativeness and investment activity of the European economy and special competitive conditions for small and medium-sized businesses;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that a successful competition policy must not be directed exclusively towards bringing down prices for consumers, but must also be mindful of the sustainability and innovativeness of the European economy and special competitive conditions for small and medium-sized businesses;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that a ~~successful~~n effective and credible competition policy must not be directed exclusively towards bringing down prices for consumers, but must also be ~~mindful of the innovativeness of the European economy and special competitive condition~~conducive to the competitiveness and innovativeness of the internal market and vast opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that a ~~successful~~n effective competition policy must not be directed exclusively towards bringing down prices for consumers, but must also ~~be mindful of~~encourage the innovativeness of the European economy and ~~special competitive conditions for~~create a conducive environment for the development of a competitive small and medium-sized businesses and start- ups;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Takes the view that ensuring a level playing field for companies in the internal market also depends on combating social dumping;

Amendment 6 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 e (new)

– having regard to the ECN ‘Report on competition law enforcement and market monitoring activities by European competition authorities in the food sector’,

Amendment 60 #

Renato SORU, Alfred SANT, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses that the social impact of pro- competition decisions must be taken fully into account, and should be specifically described and assessed when such decisions have an impact on employment, the economic condition of neighbourhoods and populations living in remote or isolated areas, as well as in cases where social and cultural deprivation is rife;

Amendment 61 #

Georgios KYRTSOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses that small and medium-sized enterprises, especially family firms, which form the backbone of the European economy, must accordingly be given easy and direct access to finance and capital in accordance with the rules of fair competition;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers that the specific nature of the digital economy, characterized by decreasing and tending to zero marginal costs and by strong network effects, favours the increase in the level of concentration in key markets; invites the EC to adapt its competition policy to the specificities of this sector;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Reminds that there is no trade-off between competition and innovation, nor between competition and investments and that effective competition is the best way to foster investments while ensuring innovation and high quality services for end-users at affordable prices;

Amendment 64 #

Renato SORU, Alfred SANT, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Notes that competition policy should be focused particularly on protecting consumers, improving consumer welfare, fostering innovation and stimulating economic growth;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses that free and fair competition is an indispensable pre-requisite for the creation of a true digital single market; encourages the EC to encompass the key concepts of interoperability and net neutrality into all its future proposals on the digital single market;

Amendment 66 #

Renato SORU, Alfred SANT, Alessia Maria MOSCA, Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Is of the view that any policy should favour efficient investments in new networks and take into account the impact on consumers delivering prices and genuine choice, which is the only way to prevent from the outset the emergence of new digital divides, including a new one between high and low income households;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Recalls that the data economy is an important part of the digital economy; considers that the property of user generated data should stay with the users and that portability of data should be ensured; highlights that accessibility of user generated data, in an anonymous and aggregated form, is instrumental in ensuring competition in this market segment is maintained;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
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 69 #

Motion for a resolution
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 7 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 f (new)

– having regard to Council Directives 77/799/EEC and 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation,

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the regular dialogue which the Commission conducts with the European Parliament on competition matters, and calls again for the Commission to put forward required proposals 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 71 #

Motion for a resolution
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 within the co-decision procedure ~~and~~; calls in particular for a strict separation between those departments ~~which~~that draw up guidelines ~~to be strictly separated from those which~~and those that have the responsibility to apply those guidelines in specific cases;

Amendment 72 #

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Michael THEURER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers that the present dialogue between Parliament and the EU competition authority should be further intensified, in particular for the purpose of assessing and acting on the calls made by Parliament in previous years;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
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 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Believes that the independence of DG Competition is of the uttermost importance to achieve its goals in a successful manner. Calls the Commission to re-allocate sufficient financial and human resources to DG competition from other less priority or overcrowded services in order to cope with the growing number of important cases they have to deal with;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to ~~refine the internal market in areas where it is still fragmented and incomplete, and to~~ end market restrictions and distortions of competition as soon as possible ~~wherever they are found~~;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to refine the internal market in areas where it is still fragmented and incomplete, and to end market restrictions and distortions of competition as soon as possible wherever they are found; However also calls on the Commission to ensure that one size fits all calculations do not define competition policies, since these undermine social cohesion across the Union, promote policy options that potentially are economically flawed, and in the medium term, inhibit the Union’s competitiveness vis-à-vis other continental trading and investment blocs;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to refine the internal market in areas where it is still fragmented and incomplete, and to end market restrictions and distortions of competition as soon as possible wherever they are found; notes that competition policy should be impartial and fact-based and should not lead to favouring incumbents to the detriment of innovative operators;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to ~~refin~~complete the internal market in areas where it is still fragmented and incomplete, and to end market restrictions and distortions of competition as soon as possible wherever they are found;

Amendment 79 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to refine the internal market in areas where it is still fragmented and incomplete, and to end market restrictions and distortions of competition, including any economic and/or social dumping, as soon as possible wherever they are found;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 g (new)

– having regard to the conclusions and action proposals of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to refine the internal market in areas where it is still fragmented and incomplete, and to end unjustified market restrictions and distortions of competition as soon as possible wherever they are found;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Maintains that international cooperation is essential for the effective application of competition-law principles in the era of globalisation; calls on the Commission, therefore, to foster closer international cooperation on competition- related matters; stresses that competition- law agreements allowing information to be exchanged between investigating competition authorities could make a particularly effective contribution to international cooperation on competition- related matters;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses the importance of affordability, sustainability and security of energy supply; considers competition policy to be of vital importance in encouraging unbundling and addressing the current fragmentation of the market; stresses that the regulation of state aid in this field must be carried out in the same spirit as in any other; points out, however, that that the energy grid is a network- based infrastructure requiring special treatment, to enable and foster self- consumption;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Takes the view that special attention should be paid to the fragmentation of the banking market, including for electronic card payments (such as the denial of service due to transfer to another Member State) and electronic cash withdrawal (such as multiple fees for ATM use);

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Calls on the Commission to examine ATM networks from the perspective of competition policy, given that this is a network infrastructure;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that the prioritisation of the work of the competition authority and the presentation in the 2014 Competition Report are largely consistent with the common priorities; sees in some areas, however, the need for a ~~different~~more determined course of action, which the Commission should emphatically address in the coming year; highlights the importance of global cooperation on competition enforcement; supports an active participation of the Commission in the International Competition Network;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the Commission to increase its efforts as regards to investigations on the abuse of dominant market positions towards consumers in the EU;

Amendment 87 #

Georgios KYRTSOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses the progress made by European legislation on corporate governance, which helps to ensure healthy competition in enterprises;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
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 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. As it did with the previous annual report, calls again on the Commission to prevent the development of excessive market concentration and abuse of market dominance with regard to the creation of the digital single market, as this will ensure a higher level of service for consumers and the possibility of more attractive prices;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)

– having regard to the Directive (EU) No. 2014/104 of 26 November 2014 on rules governing actions for damages,

Amendment 90 #

Costas MAVRIDES, Alfred SANT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Reminds the Commission that competition policy also entails regulating the price of services for which it is difficult to set a market value, such as ATM fees;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers that no action was taken so far by the Commission to address the abusive clauses and practices used by the banking sector in consumer contracts; calls on the Commission to take effective measures towards prevention and their elimination, especially on those Member States with systematic infringement of the Directive 93/13/EEC, in order to guarantee the full compliance of the Directive by national authorities;

Amendment 92 #

Alain CADEC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Urges the Commission to foster the exchange of good practices via the European Competition Network with a view to addressing concerns raised in respect of alliances between distributors, many cases of which are already being investigated by the relevant authorities in the Member States; calls for these discussions to consider interactions between the national and European levels;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers that TTIP and all other trade and investment international agreements should have a strong competition section;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Recommends that ongoing efforts are maintained by the Commission to reduce all forms of bureaucratic and regulatory red tape in the management of competition policy, as well as to continually strive to simplify and streamline reporting procedures that define regulatory and monitoring exercises in areas relevant to competition policy;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Believes that further thought should be given to how European companies must be supported as they compete on a global basis with other like sized operations from different parts of the world, which do not have to follow the same competitive rules that European entities must satisfy on their home turf;

Amendment 96 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Industry and energy

Amendment 97 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point 1 (new)

(1) Regrets that competition authorities and regulators often fail to exhibit the necessary independence from energy producers in countries dominated by large private operators; stresses that this is a factor behind the slow development of renewable energies or its retrospective shut-down in countries like Spain;

Amendment 98 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point 2 (new)

(2) Stresses that an increase in industrial scale and concentration, even within a larger market, may provide a significant opportunity for anti-competitive practices, as evidenced by the recent Volkswagen scandal;

Amendment 99 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Fabio DE MASI, Matt CARTHY, Marisa MATIAS, Miguel VIEGAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point 3 (new)

(3) Calls on the Commission to study if the privatization of energy assets in many countries may have constituted a form of State aid, either because of the low prices of sales or the considerable scope for anti- competitive behaviour through the opaque valuation of assets and costs of production in a regulated sector;

source: 569.789

2015/10/30 INTA 32 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that trading partners should derive benefit from the growing competition in the field of trade, from investment by the private sector, including investment under public-private partnerships, and from the greater affluence of consumerhe growing international competition in the field of trade could be harmful to the development of economies, and that public-private partnerships often have unfavourable consequences for states’ public finances;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the European Union should make greater efforts to monitor the implementation of trade agreements in order to assess, inter alia, whether competition rules are being complied with ~~and~~, whether the obligations to which trading partners have committed themselves are being completely complied with and fulfilled and whether there is genuine reciprocity;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses that trade and competition policy provisions must under no circumstances undermine safeguards for, and the maintenance of, public services and services of general interest;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines that a multilateral competition agreement is needed to eliminate the numerous persistent barriers to trade; calls therefore on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to draft a multilateral agreement on competition rules;deleted

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Underlines that a multilateral competition agreement is nee~~Calls on the Commission - given that the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement contains a chapter on competition policy - to use trade policy as a means of working towards establishing global competition policy rules in ordedr to eliminate the numerous persistent barriers to trade; ~~calls therefore on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to draft~~regards the long-term goal of a multilateral agreement on competition rules as the ideal solution;

Amendment 14 #

Sander LOONES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Encourages the Commission to conclude bilateral cooperation agreements with third countries on preserving competition, along the lines of the second-generation cooperation agreement of 2013 between the EU and Switzerland;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Support~~Acknowledges the competition policy initiatives of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the OECD and their efforts to improve worldwide cooperation in the field of competition policy;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Supports the competition policy initiatives of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the OECD and the ~~OECD~~ICN1 and their efforts to improve worldwide cooperation in the field of competition policy; _______________ 1International Competition Network.

Amendment 17 #

Sander LOONES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Encourages the Commission and the competition authorities of the Member States to participate actively in the International Competition Network;

Amendment 18 #

Marielle DE SARNEZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls for all products imported from third countries to comply with the environmental, health and social standards applied by the Union and defended on the world market so as to preserve European industrial producers from unfair competition;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

~~7. Calls on the Commission to support developing countries in their efforts to promote fair competition;~~deleted

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines that anticompetitive practices and private monopolies are harmful to consumers and to the development of innovation, and that they can constitute barriers to trade which distort trade and investment flows;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to support developing countries in their efforts to promote fair competition and to pay particular attention to ensuring that there is no discrimination against businesses that are smaller in size and have smaller budgets than those in developed countries;

Amendment 21 #

Sander LOONES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to support developing countries in their efforts to promote fair competition and to further develop technical cooperation with the competition authorities of the emerging economies;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to support developing countries in their efforts to promote fair competition and ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Views with concern, in terms of consistency with development policy, the potential of large supermarkets, which dominate the international market and, because of that dominant position, disrupt supply chain competition;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Points out that internationalising competition policy is an extremely difficult task in view of the many disparities between anti-trust systems, both in formal terms and in terms of the effectiveness of the oversight exercised; calls on the Commission to help developing countries to fill the legal vacuum in this area, with due regard for their social and economic makeup, by establishing common principles and rules that can remove both public barriers and private restrictions;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that access to resources, including energy sources, on equal terms is of vital importance for fair competition on the global market; stresses the importance, in this connection, of more transparent information provision on the resources available;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that access to resources, including energy sources, on equal terms is of vital importance for fair competition on the global market; highlights in this connection the importance of affordable and sustainable energy and of security of supply in trade agreements;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that ~~access to resources, including energy sources, on equal terms is of vital importance for fair competition on the global market~~energy policy must remain the responsibility of the Member States;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

~~9. Stresses that SMEs absolutely must receive support and access to funds so that they can become more competitive on the global market.~~deleted

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that SMEs absolutely must receive support and access to funds so that they can become more competitive on the global market; points out that SME growth plays an important role in overall economic development and in ensuring fair competition.

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines that anticompetitive practices and monopolies can constitute barriers to trade which distort trade and investment flows; calls on the Commission - in the interests of free and fair global trade - to take action internationally against cartels and practices that distort competition;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that SMEs absolutely must receive support and access to funds so that they can become more competitive on the global market and generate jobs, growth and investment.

Amendment 31 #

Pablo ZALBA BIDEGAIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that SMEs ~~absolutely must~~, micro-enterprises and innovative start-ups must by all means receive support and access to funds so that they can become more competitive on the global market.

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Highlights the fact that access to digital networks and infrastructure is important for fostering competition, and points out that more competition means more choice and lower prices for consumers, especially in the telecommunications field;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines that ~~anticompetitive practices and monopolies can constitute barriers to trade which distort trade and investment flows~~, in order to be effective, competition policy needs to regulate the conduct of international entities, businesses and governments in such a way as to prevent trade and investment from giving rise to anti-competitive, oligopolistic and monopolistic practices that are damaging to domestic competition;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to go even further in ~~seeking an ambitious opening- up of international public procurement markets in~~ order to eliminate the imbalance which exists with regard to the degree of opening-up of public procurement markets between the EU and other trading partners;

Amendment 6 #

Daniel CASPARY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to go even further in seeking an ambitious opening-up of international public procurement markets, in order to eliminate the imbalance which exists with regard to the degree of opening-up of public procurement markets between the EU and other trading partners, and, to that end, to take account of Parliament's report on the Commission proposal for an international procurement instrument and the forthcoming revision thereof;

Amendment 7 #