EU legal and competition policies should acknowledge global challenges

Today, Executive Vice President-designate Margarete Vestager will be heard in the European Parliament hearing, especially on her strategy for the future of EU law and competition policy. BusinessEurope takes the opportunity to remind that EU policy should consider developments on global markets.

BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: "We clearly recognise the fundamental role that well-functioning competition rules play in the internal market and EU competition policy has strong teeth to ensure effective competition between companies, contributing to job creation, growth and investment. At the same time, however, Commission should take into account the global challenges we are facing."

BusinessEurope has just published its "Legal Affairs Strategy for the Next Political Cycle" and its position paper on "Improving EU Competition and State Aid Policy two essential strategy", two essential strategy documents that cover different legal areas: competition law, intellectual property, company law/reporting, insolvency and consumer law.

"It is essential that EU legal policies work towards improving the competitiveness of EU companies both inside and outside EU borders. Merger rules should define markets in a realistic way, taking account of global market conditions. State aid policy should support good aid and investment in research and innovation projects that contribute to the EU’s edge on a global stage. We should ensure a level playing field for all business models allowing them to be competitive and to respond to customer demand, also in a rapidly changing digital environment. The EU should put in place a smart implementation of EU competition rules to allow the emergence of new innovative firms that can grow into sizeable European companies, able to compete with global enterprises operating by different rules. To this end we must ensure that national and local rules are proportionate and fit for purpose. EU policies should converge towards common objectives," said Beyrer.