AM Com NonLegOpinion - European Parliament...AM\1220902EN.docx 7/40 PE662.163v01-00 EN conscious and safe choice by promoting tools that will ensure the highest level of transparency

AM\1220902EN.docx PE662.163v01-00

EN United in diversity EN

European Parliament2019-2024

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

2020/2223(INI)

8.1.2021

AMENDMENTS1 - 73Draft opinionAndrus Ansip(PE660.385v01-00)

Competition policy – annual report 2020(2020/2223(INI))

PE662.163v01-00 2/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

AM_Com_NonLegOpinion

AM\1220902EN.docx 3/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

Amendment 1Anna Cavazzinion behalf of the Greens/EFA Group

Draft opinionParagraph 1

Draft opinion Amendment

1. Recalls that competition policy is vital to strengthening and ultimately completing the single market by providing a fair and level playing field for all market participants, enabling the growth of innovative businesses, and guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and choice;

1. Recalls that competition policy is vital to the proper functioning and strengthening of the single market by providing a fair and level playing field for all market participants, both in non-digital and digital markets, enabling the growth of innovative businesses, and guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and choice by leading to higher product choice, not only in terms of lowest price but also in terms of quality features; Considers furthermore that SMES would benefit from rigorous application of competition rules, both in offline and digital spheres;

Or. en

Amendment 2Marc Angel, Evelyne Gebhardt, Sylvie Guillaume, Adriana Maldonado López, Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, Andreas Schieder, Biljana Borzan




1. Recalls that competition policy is vital to strengthening and ultimately completing the single market by preventing the distortion of competition, providing a fair and level playing field for all market participants - including the micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) -, enabling the growth of innovative businesses, guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and allowing consumers to choose between a

PE662.163v01-00 4/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

variety of suppliers and products;

Or. en

Amendment 3Eugen Jurzyca, Dominik Tarczyński




1. Recalls that competition policy is vital to strengthening and ultimately completing the single market by providing a fair and level playing field for all market participants, enabling the growth of innovative businesses, ensuring competitiveness of EU companies at global level and guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and choice; Stresses that consumer welfare must remain the ultimate goal of the competition policy;

Or. en

Amendment 4Maria Grapini




1. Recalls that competition policy is vital to strengthening and ultimately completing the single market by providing a fair and level playing field for all market participants, enabling the growth of innovative businesses, and guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and more varied choice;

Or. ro

AM\1220902EN.docx 5/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

Amendment 5Jean-Lin Lacapelle, Virginie Joron, Marco Campomenosi, Markus Buchheit

Draft opinionParagraph 1 a (new)


1a. Stresses that competition policy applies only to actors operating on European territory, but that the globalised nature of the economy and trade enables key players to implement global strategies that are not subject to EU legislation and are designed to circumvent it, generating significant economic and social harm in Europe while appearing to meet the objectives of European competition; strongly recommends that these objectives, in particular those of low prices and the strong competition supposedly conducive to creativity, be revised in the light of the costs and destruction that their implementation entails, with the focus shifting to fair prices and equitable development;

Or. fr




1a. Stresses that competition rules, consumer welfare and sustainability issues are closely interlinked; highlights therefore the need to address sustainability in shaping EU competition policy tools, especially in its ex-ante regulatory mechanism as well as State Aid

PE662.163v01-00 6/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

guidelines, to be a supporting tool to the objectives of the Green New Deal, Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Paris Agreement, and address market distortions by taking into consideration all aspects of unfair competition, including social and environmental negative externalities;

Or. en

Amendment 7Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Arba Kokalari, Deirdre Clune, Maria da Graça Carvalho



1a. Emphasizes in particular that competition and consumer policies complement each other as they both aim to protect consumers and to ensure the normal functioning of the single market; recalls that the New Consumer Agenda presented by the European Commission as one of its objectives envisages the continuation of the fight against consumer scams, unfair marketing practices and fraud;

Or. en

Amendment 8Marco Campomenosi, Alessandra Basso, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Isabella Tovaglieri, Markus Buchheit, Virginie Joron, Jean-Lin Lacapelle



1a. Recalls the importance of safeguarding consumers' right to a

AM\1220902EN.docx 7/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

conscious and safe choice by promoting tools that will ensure the highest level of transparency about the composition and origin of products;

Or. en

Amendment 9Marc Angel, Evelyne Gebhardt, Sylvie Guillaume, Adriana Maldonado López, Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, Andreas Schieder, Maria Grapini, Biljana Borzan



1a. Underlines the high necessity of rigorous application of competition rules from which SMEs can also benefit;

Or. en


Draft opinionParagraph 1 b (new)


1b. Highlights that in a global economy, potential distortion to competition in the internal market emanates from companies established outside the EU; calls on the Commission to enhance global cooperation on competition to provide for a level-playing field with third countries, particularly when it comes to State aid; asks furthermore for unfair trading practices to be addressed effectively, including taking into account social and environmental dumping;

PE662.163v01-00 8/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

Or. en




1b. Acknowledges that third-country companies benefitting from State aid or other subsidies might potentially distort the competition in the internal market; in this regard, calls on the Commission to take appropriate measures to ensure fair market access, in every concerned sector, such as the aviation;

Or. en

Amendment 12Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Deirdre Clune, Maria da Graça Carvalho



1b. Recalls that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that Union policies shall ensure a high level of consumer protection;

Or. en


AM\1220902EN.docx 9/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

Draft opinionParagraph 1 c (new)


1c. Recalls that competition rules protect the integrity of the single market and help create a level playing field for businesses, while also undoubtedly helping to better protect consumer rights and promote innovations;

Or. en




1c. Calls on the Commission to assess how competition policy can further contribute to the European Green Deal objectives;

Or. en


Draft opinionParagraph 1 d (new)


1d. Notes that the Commission responded to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis by adopting special competition rules which should remain temporary; recalls in this context that state aid guaranteed under the extraordinary

PE662.163v01-00 10/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

circumstances for air transport companies help to protect employees, but this must happen without harming the consumers’ rights;

Or. en

Amendment 16Kateřina Konečná



2. Notes the changes both businesses and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately tackle serious problems and market failures in the digital sector;

2. Notes the changes both businesses and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation; deplores the fact that recent legislative proposals of the Commission missed the opportunity to make EU competition policy fit for the digital age; regrets that despite the initial intention, a competition tool was not included in the proposals; calls for a revision of EU competition policies addressing the concentration of huge amount of data by few digital players; regrets in this regard that current competition rules are not fit for dealing with mergers and acquisitions by dominant digital players and therefore, are insufficient to guarantee a level playing field for SMEs in Europe;

Or. en




2. Notes the changes both businesses 2. Notes the changes both businesses

AM\1220902EN.docx 11/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately tackle serious problems and market failures in the digital sector;

and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately and in an ethical and non-discriminatory manner tackle serious problems, challenges, difficulties and market failures in the digital sector;

Or. ro




2. Notes the changes both businesses and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately tackle serious problems and market failures in the digital sector;

2. Notes the changes both businesses and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately tackle market failures in the digital sector;

Or. en




2. Notes the changes both businesses and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately tackle serious problems and market failures in the

2. Notes the changes both businesses and consumers are facing due to the digital transformation and welcomes the Commission’s focus on modernising its competition policy to adequately tackle serious problems and market failures in the digital sector; recalls that competition

PE662.163v01-00 12/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

digital sector; policy is also about ensuring consumer welfare as well as providing quality, innovation and sustainability; highlights also that consumer rights must be preserved and if possible strengthened both online and offline and therefore, competition policy rules are also tools for reaching a high level consumer protection;

Or. en




2a. Notes with concern the growing interest of external actors in strengthening and consolidating their influence in European companies in the context of the crisis caused by the pandemic; calls on the European Commission to closely monitor such trends, and in particular foreign direct investments, in order to ensure and preserve the integrity of the single market;

Or. en




2a. Believes that regulatory intervention or imposition of remedies in the competition area not supported by

AM\1220902EN.docx 13/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

evidence demonstrating proven market failures, infringement of existing rules or significant consumer harm hampers innovation, growth, consumer welfare and investments in the market and may bring other unexpected consequences;

Or. en

Amendment 22Arba Kokalari



2a. Stresses that disproportionate regulatory burdens and unnecessary red tape negatively affect both the competitiveness and the capacity to innovate of European companies, especially SMEs; calls on the Commission to apply the “one in, one out” principle and conduct thorough impact assessment when shaping new legislation;

Or. en




2b. Recalls that 73% of the European Union's GDP is generated by services and that the single market for services is less developed than the single market for goods; considers that competition mechanisms can help strengthen the single market for services; emphasizes

PE662.163v01-00 14/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

further that regulatory obligations must be proportionate and must in no way aim to create unjustified administrative barriers that prevent the further strengthening of the single market and fair competition;

Or. en

Amendment 24Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu



2c. Notes that the concept of non-economic services of general interest is not defined by European legislation; calls on the European Commission, therefore, to consider how important it would be for the development of competition rules to define the concept of non-economic services of general interest by secondary European legislation;

Or. en


Draft opinionParagraph 2 d (new)


2d. Agrees that competition policy also plays a significant role in the EU’s modern industrial policy, with the aim of rendering European companies more innovative and therefore competitive internationally; stresses, however, that European self-sufficiency in the

AM\1220902EN.docx 15/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

production of critical equipment such as personal protective equipment is crucial for consumer protection;

Or. en




3. Recalls that regulating digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention will address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement;

3. Recalls that regulating digital markets and strengthen fair competition between market participants by addressing both market failures and unfair business-to business practices constitute a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention will address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement;

__________________ __________________1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57. 1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57.

Or. en




3. Recalls that regulating digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal Market and

3. Recalls that efficient regulating digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal

PE662.163v01-00 16/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention will address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement;

Market and Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention should address the identified gaps in ex post competition law enforcement, which cannot be addressed by revised competition policy or by full enforcement of existing rules;

__________________ __________________1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57. 1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57.

Or. en





3. Recalls that regulating digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention aims to address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement;

__________________ __________________1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57. 1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57.

Or. en



AM\1220902EN.docx 17/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN



3. Recalls that regulating digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention will address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement but notes that this intervention must be accompanied by a revised European competition policy;

__________________ __________________1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57. 1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57.

Or. en





3. Recalls that regulating digital markets constitutes a core responsibility of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection; in this context, highlights the adoption of the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/11501 ) and notes that ex ante regulatory intervention will address the gaps in ex post competition law enforcement; welcomes the ambition of the Portuguese Presidency to reach an agreement in the Council regarding the proposal on public country-by-country reporting; urges the Commission and the Council to tackle harmful tax practices of Member States and set a credible list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in order to guarantee a level playing field in the EU;

PE662.163v01-00 18/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

__________________ __________________1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57. 1 OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57.

Or. en

Amendment 31Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Arba Kokalari



3a. Stresses that the existing competition rules do not sufficiently meet the needs of a functioning single market and therefore welcomes the European Commission's intention to correct irregularities in the digital market through competition policy, inter alia through an ex ante regulatory instrument;

Or. en




3a. Highlights the need to prepare any legislative proposal based on data, in-depth impact assessments, best practices and analyses in order to promote consumer welfare and to avoid unnecessary administrative or regulatory burden;

Or. en

AM\1220902EN.docx 19/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN




3b. Notes the two legislative initiatives recently proposed by the European Commission: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA); stresses their important role in complementing and strengthening the competition law enforcement; notes that proposed harmonised rules, better oversight and ex ante obligations will ensure that markets characterised by large platforms acting as digital gatekeepers remain fair and competitive for innovators, businesses, and new market entrants;

Or. en




4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce marketsand the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies; underlines, therefore, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive; looks forward to seeing this instrument in the forthcoming Digital Markets Act proposal;

4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies; underlines, in that connection, the strategic requirement for the EU to have companies with comparable capacities, and calls on the Commission to adapt competition law rules in order to foster the rapid recovery of Member States’ economies and the emergence of such

PE662.163v01-00 20/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

companies; stresses, further, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive; looks forward to seeing this instrument in the forthcoming Digital Markets Act proposal;

Or. fr




4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies; underlines, therefore, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive; looks forward to seeing this instrument in the forthcoming Digital Markets Act proposal;

4. Highlights the importance of a major online operators acting as intermediaries to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the positive and negative consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies; stresses that successful growth strategies, even leading to market dominance, scale and scope efficiencies, should not automatically trigger remedies as they can generate economic and consumer benefits and it may prevent companies from growing; underlines, therefore, the need to assess their potential gatekeepers´ role and the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure consumer welfare and fair and competitive markets; acknowledges the instrument in the forthcoming Digital Markets Act proposal;

Or. en

Amendment 36Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Arba Kokalari, Maria da Graça Carvalho

AM\1220902EN.docx 21/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN




4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies; in this regard particularly emphasizes that out of the 10 000 internet platforms participating in the EU digital market, the seven largest generate as much as 69% of the sector's total revenues; underlines, therefore, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive, without limiting the EU's ability to intervene ex-post via the enforcement of existing EU competition rules;

Or. en





4. Highlights the danger of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies; underlines, therefore, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument with strong enforcement rules and penalties accompanied by a new set of anti trust rules to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive; regrets that the Commission proposal for

PE662.163v01-00 22/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

a Digital Markets Act is not ambitious enough in this regard;

Or. en





4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies, and especially SMEs; underlines, therefore, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair, including as regards competition, and competitive; looks forward to seeing this instrument in the forthcoming Digital Markets Act proposal;

Or. ro




4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies;

4. Highlights the importance of a few online operators acting as gatekeepers to the digital economy, including access to e-commerce markets and the consequences on freedom of choice for consumers and access to markets for companies;

AM\1220902EN.docx 23/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

underlines, therefore, the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive; looks forward to seeing this instrument in the forthcoming Digital Markets Act proposal;

underlines the need for an internal market ex ante regulatory instrument to ensure that impacted markets remain fair and competitive; welcomes therefore, the Commission's suggestion in the Digital Markets Act proposal;

Or. en




4a. Recalls that profit-seeking behaviour should be accepted and should not be suspected of being anti-competitive without objective and facts-based reason, reminds that unlawful behaviour is often hypercompetitive rather than anti-competitive; reminds that particular offering attracting many consumers because of its convenience is not in itself sufficient ground for concern; calls on the Commission to distinguish those behaviours for antitrust enforcement;

Or. en




4a. Notes that some of the digital market players control ever larger volumes of data; underlines that data is a source of considerable economic power

PE662.163v01-00 24/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

and leverage and therefore, recalls that competition policy is interlinked with taxation policy, and that fair tax treatment between undertakings is essential for the integrity of the internal market;

Or. en




4b. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to combat unfair competition also in the digital sphere; considers that the fair market players, including SMEs would benefit from the rigorous application of the competition rules; asks the Commission, in this context, to further examine the abuse of dominant position of certain on-line platforms in order to ensure fair competition, boost jobs and sustainable growth;

Or. en




4b. Reminds that if market failures occur, EU State aid rules support the Competition policy objective of rendering European companies more innovative and competitive internationally;

AM\1220902EN.docx 25/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

Or. en




4c. Notes the Commission’s White paper on levelling the playing field as regards foreign subsidies; supports the intention to minimize the mirroring retaliation measures at the global level;

Or. en




5. Notes that the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation has been inadequately adapted to recent market developments, notably the growth of online sales and online platforms; welcomes the impact assessment recently launched by the Commission and calls for further steps to address the issue;

5. Notes that the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation has been inadequately adapted to recent market developments, notably the growth of online sales and online platforms; welcomes the impact assessment recently launched by the Commission and calls for further steps to address the issue, without prejudice to legislation on future services and digital markets;

Or. fr

Amendment 46Dita Charanzová

PE662.163v01-00 26/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN



5. Notes that the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation has been inadequately adapted to recent market developments, notably the growth of online sales and online platforms; welcomes the impact assessment recently launched by the Commission and calls for further steps to address the issue;

5. Notes that the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation has been inadequately adapted to recent market developments, notably the growth of online sales and online platforms; welcomes the impact assessment recently launched by the Commission and calls for further steps to address the issue; underlines that selective distribution agreements and contractual clauses should not lead to the fragmentation of the Single Market by creating barriers to cross-border trade and distribution; believes that national market segmentation prevents full and fair competition in the Union;

Or. en




5a. Underlines that Territorial Supply Constraints (TSCs) are limitations imposed by a supplier that hinder to obtain goods freely; regrets the anti-competitive effects of persisting territorial supply constraints where retailers and wholesalers are faced with refusals to supply and destination obligations, with a negative impact on consumers who have less choice and pay higher prices; in this context, highlights that suppliers implement TSCs through different practices such as: refusing to supply, threatening to stop supplying a particular distributor, limiting the quantities

AM\1220902EN.docx 27/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

available for sale, differentiating product ranges and prices between EU Member States or limiting language options for the product packaging; underlines that TSCs are hampering the development of the single market and its potential benefit to consumers; welcomes that the issue has in particular been touched upon in the Communication of the Commission on "A European retail sector fit for the 21st century" and as a follow-up to this Communication, the Commission launched in 2019 a fact-finding into TSCs in the EU retail sector; welcomes that the Commission launched the review of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER), and the accompanying Vertical Guidelines; beside that underlines the necessity to take into consideration the interests of SMEs, not least compared to international groups that have the means to deal with complex regulation; also stresses that Territorial Supply Constraints must be incorporated in the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) in order to remain consistent with the single market; calls on the Commission to come forth with adequate measures to eliminate territorial supply constraints and thereby reduce barriers to cross-border trade in view of a fully functioning Single Market;

Or. en




5b. Recalls that, in order to fight effectively against anti-competitive practices, all aspects of unfair competition

PE662.163v01-00 28/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

- such as killer acquisitions - must be taken into consideration;

Or. en




5c. Welcomes the Commission's first short-term review of the Geo-blocking Regulation1a and calls on the Commission to continue actively monitoring and remove - with a pro-consumer approach allowing consumers to seamlessly shop across the EU - unjustified geo-blocking and other restrictions on cross-border online sales that persist as identified in the review; encourages the Commission to consider proposing follow-up appropriate measures;__________________1a COM(2020) 766 final

Or. en




6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with

6. Stresses the importance of clear, predictable, future-proof and comprehensive EU framework to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines

AM\1220902EN.docx 29/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

effective and proportionate penalties; that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties and that EU law should be equally enforced in all Member States; asks the Commission for establishing the clear guidance and best practices on enforcement in order to avoid legal uncertainty, arbitrary decisions and to prevent from the gaps between the Member States in terms of implementation and oversight of the ex-ante tool;

Or. en




6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties;

6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level, especially in the context of fast-moving markets; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties;

Or. en




6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement

6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective and efficient

PE662.163v01-00 30/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties;

enforcement and regulated supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties;

Or. ro

Amendment 53Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Maria da Graça Carvalho




6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties;

Or. en





6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties; notes that tackling anti-competitive practices such as social and tax dumping in the EU is a prerequisite for a fair single market;

AM\1220902EN.docx 31/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

Or. en





6. Stresses the importance of clear measures to ensure effective enforcement and supervision of competition law at the EU level; underlines that the compliance of provisions must be reinforced with effective and proportionate penalties; urges the Commission to further strengthen the role of the European Consumers Centres Network (ECC-Net) in the spirit of the ECN+ Directive1a with a view to setting up an EU consumers authority;__________________1a OJ L 11, 14.1.2019, p.3

Or. en


Draft opinionParagraph 6 – point 1 (new)


(1) Stresses the need to apply competition policy in a manner that is consistent with the European social acquis, including respect for the rights defined in the European Social Charter and the European Social Pillar and the relevant ILO Conventions;

Or. en

PE662.163v01-00 32/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

Amendment 57Marco Campomenosi, Alessandra Basso, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Isabella Tovaglieri



6a. Underlines that the significant state aid support related to the COVID-19 crisis by some Member States has resulted in a substantial variation in state aid intensity across the EU internal market; strongly encourages the Commission to ensure a balanced application of state aid schemes in order to avoid asymmetries that could endanger free and fair competition in the internal market;

Or. en




6a. Recalls that consumer protection must remain a central policy goal of both current enforcement practices and any future sectoral legislation; underlines that consumer welfare and the prevention of consumer harm must remain essential aspects of competition policy;

Or. en

Amendment 59Marco Campomenosi, Alessandra Basso, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Isabella Tovaglieri, Markus Buchheit, Virginie Joron, Jean-Lin Lacapelle

AM\1220902EN.docx 33/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN



6b. Encourages the adoption of measures to strengthen European start-ups and SMEs as a means of supporting their competitiveness with non-EU ones, in accordance with the level playing field principle; stresses the need of a proper application of competition policy to third-country companies operating in the EU internal market;

Or. en




7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data for all market participants; notes that it should empower consumers to control their data and provide them with additional rights in terms of data portability and interoperability in order to ensure that the single market for data is based on European values and fair competition.

7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair secure and open-data access to data for all market participants, and in particular SMEs and micro-enterprises; notes that it should empower consumers to control their data and provide them with additional rights in terms of data portability and interoperability in order to ensure that the single market for data is based on European values and fair competition; asks furthermore the Commission to take into account the effects of access to personal and financial data when assessing market and network power, i.e. whether merging data and customer information during a merger distorts competition and weakens data protection, and whether an enterprise's access to exclusive analytical methods and patents excludes

PE662.163v01-00 34/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

competitors;

Or. en





7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data in keeping with a European strategy of protection and sovereignty in their hosting, processing and management; notes that this should empower all consumers to control their data, whatever form they take and including the metadata of online services, such as connection details, interaction arrangements or information on the IT equipment used, and provide them with additional rights in terms of data portability and interoperability in order to ensure that the single market for data is based on the full and uniform application of European law.

Or. fr




7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data for all market participants; notes that it should empower consumers to control their data and provide them with additional rights in terms of data

7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data for all market participants without prejudice to the rules laid down by the General Data Protection Regulation; notes that it should empower

AM\1220902EN.docx 35/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

portability and interoperability in order to ensure that the single market for data is based on European values and fair competition.

consumers to control their data and provide them with additional rights in terms of data portability and interoperability in order to ensure that the single market for data is based on both, European values and European way of life as well as on fair competition.

Or. en





7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data for all market participants, taking current EU data protection legislation into account; notes that it should empower consumers to control their data and provide them with additional rights in terms of data portability and interoperability in order to ensure that the single market for data is based on European values and fair competition.

Or. ro




7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data for all market participants; notes that it should empower consumers to control their data and provide them with additional rights in terms of data portability and interoperability in order to

7. Calls on the Commission to ensure fair and secure access to data for all market participants; notes that it should empower consumers to control their data and provide them with adequate rights in terms of data portability as laid down in Union law in

PE662.163v01-00 36/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

ensure that the single market for data is based on European values and fair competition.

order to ensure that the single market for data is based on European values and fair competition;

Or. en

Amendment 65Jordi Cañas



7a. Stresses the need to guarantee fair competition in sectors that are essential to the everyday life of citizens, such as food and health sectors, for the benefit of consumers; calls on the Commission to carefully assess the extent and effect of its plans to clarify competition rules within the Farm to Fork Strategy on the economic functioning of the agricultural and food supply chain, taking particular account of the effects on small-scale suppliers and farmers, to make all operators more competitive and fully benefit from the Single Market;

Or. en

Amendment 66Tomislav Sokol, Edina Tóth, Romana Tomc, Dan-Ştefan Motreanu, Maria da Graça Carvalho



7a. Notes that some digital platforms, despite penalties, have repeatedly violated competition rules; stresses that sanctions for infringers must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive; calls,

AM\1220902EN.docx 37/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

therefore, on the European Commission to examine whether the sanctions currently imposed on the various forms of infringement of competition rules are sufficiently appropriate and dissuasive and whether they meet general and special prevention; furthermore, calls on the Commission to report to the European Parliament in particular on the effectiveness of the application of structural remedies in EU Competition Law.

Or. en




7a. Recalls that consumer welfare is and remain an essential aspect of competition policy; stresses in this perspective that the concept of a ‘fair price’ should not be equated with the lowest consumer price possible, but instead should be reasonable and enable the fair remuneration of all actors; considers that a focus on lowest-possible consumer prices ignores the negative externalities associated with certain types of production;

Or. en



PE662.163v01-00 38/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN


7a. Calls on the Commission to fully consider the recommendations of the Court of Auditors, including improving performance reporting of its enforcement decisions, in order to enhance transparency and accountability to the European Parliament and citizens;

Or. en




7a. Considers that competition policy should also cover ways of improving customs checks on products from third countries;

Or. ro

Amendment 70Jordi Cañas, Andrus Ansip



7b. Underlines the risk of market distortions and of generating an uneven playing field due to increased divergences between the levels of State aid support granted by Member States when applying the Temporary State aid Framework during the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the Commission to undertake in a timely manner a detailed evaluation of its impact

AM\1220902EN.docx 39/40 PE662.163v01-00

EN

on the Single Market and to put forward medium and long term measures with the aim of bridging the gap and supporting European companies, with a particular focus on SMEs;

Or. en




7b. Asks the Commission to include the summaries and statistics of antitrust cases opened and closed in the Member States, including where relevant identified best practices and the total amount of imposed and paid fines for cartels in the Commission´s Annual Report on Competition Policy;

Or. en

Amendment 72Jordi Cañas



7c. Is concerned that the recently revised EU Emission Trading System State aid guidelines may adversely affect the competitiveness of key SME participation-intensive sectors; calls therefore on the Commission to review the methodology and use of certain indicators to guarantee the fair participation of European companies of all sizes in the process towards a cost-effective

PE662.163v01-00 40/40 AM\1220902EN.docx

EN

decarbonisation of the economy;

Or. en




7c. Highlights that State aid in the form of a financial injection for selective market competitors, including the financing of activities with environmental objectives, distorts competition; Recalls that these objectives can also be achieved, for example, by increasing fees for negative externalities.

Or. en

Documents

AM Com NonLegOpinion - European Parliament...AM\1220902EN.docx 7/40 PE662.163v01-00 EN conscious and safe choice by promoting tools that will ensure the highest level of transparency