Competition policy. 30th report 2000

The committee adopted the report by Alejandro AGAG LONGO (EPP-ED, E) on the Commission's 30th annual report on competition policy (2000). While welcoming the report as an accurate description of events at a time of unprecedented change in EU markets (with a record number of mergers taking place in 2000), the committee regretted the Commission's failure to pursue cases of unfair competition caused by tax concessions. It welcomed the Commission's plans to reform competition policy but warned that these must not lead to any distortions of the market. The report also said that the Commission's new powers under the reform proposal as "regulator, judge and executor" of Community rules were excessive. The committee also wanted to see more effective international cooperation, for example within the WTO, to deal with the growing number of world-wide mergers. However, it pointed out that "effective cooperation begins at home" and that the Commission should ensure that cooperation between European competition authorities functioned correctly. There was support for speeding up the process of liberalisation of energy, transport and postal services. The committee also wanted the European Parliament to be more involved in legislative procedures through the extension of the codecision procedure to competition policy. Decisions could also be speeded up by more application of qualified majority voting in Council. Other points made in the report included a call for more transparency with regard to privatisation, the removal of restrictions on the single market, thus enabling consumers to buy goods at the lowest price, and a reform of the rules on car distribution to take more account of the interests of consumers. The committee also acknowledged the role of public investment in infrastructure and called for more data on the repayment of illegal state aid. �