Eurocommissaris Kroes verheugd over rapport EESC over mededingingsbeleid (en)

PRESS RELEASE No 13/2008

14 February 2008

Neelie Kroes salutes EESC support on competition policy

Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition, addressed the plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee on 13 February 2008. The Commissioner was invited by the EESC in light of the adoption by the plenary of an opinion (rapporteur: Mr Franco Chiriaco, Group II - Italy) being the rapporteur on the 2006 Competition Report, with. Welcoming the Commissioner, EESC President Dimitris Dimitriadis underlined the fact that the EESC traditionally regarded competition policy as one of the most important EU policy areas. Reminding Ms Kroes of her own observation that "a sound competition policy is good not only for competitiveness but also for the environment", he assuredthe Commissioner that the Commission could count on the EESC's support in trying to achieve these objectives.

Ms Kroes thanked Mr Chiriaco for his work. She noted that the Commission's and the Committee's views were very much aligned. The Committee was right to stress the increasing importance of competition policy for the implementation of the Lisbon Agenda. The Commissioner expressed her optimism for the future, stating that "Europe will continue to lead the world in competition advocacy and enforcement". She stressed that competition policy should not be left only to lawyers and economists but 'we should all share a responsibility for ensuring it works as well.' This, she argued, was why the EESC's cooperation and support was so important in fostering the competition culture that is at the heart of the Lisbon Agenda. The Commissioner went on to outline some recent developments in competition policy in areas such as State aid, mergers and cartels.

A lively debate followed Ms Kroes' speech, in which Bryan Cassidy (Employers Group - UK) underlined the importance of the Single Market for the 21st century but mentioned cases where competition policy still doesn't work smoothly. Marian Krzaklewski (Employees Group - Poland) discussed the issue of State aid for Polish shipyards, expressing his deep concerns about the procedure of specifying a fine for the government of Poland. Benedicte Federspiel (Various Interests Group - Denmark) emphasized that functioning competition is important to consumers and that civil society should be involved in competition regulation.