The European Commission published on the 2nd JUne 2020 an inception impact assessment as well as an open public consultation inviting comments on exploring the need for a possible new competition tool that would allow addressing structural competition problems in a timely and effective manner. Stakeholders can submit their views on the inception impact assessment until 30 June 2020 and respond to the open public consultation until 8 September 2020.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “The world is changing fast and it is important that the competition rules are fit for that change. Our rules have an inbuilt flexibility which allows us to deal with a broad range of anti-competitive conduct across markets. We see, however, that there are certain structural risks for competition, such as tipping markets, which are not addressed by the current rules. We are seeking the views of stakeholders to explore the need for a possible new competition tool that would allow addressing such structural competition problems, in a timely and effective manner ensuring fair and competitive markets across the economy.” [...]
Against this background, the Commission has concluded that ensuring the contestability and fair functioning of markets across the economy is likely to require a holistic and comprehensive approach, with an emphasis on the following three pillars:
(1) the continued vigorous enforcement of the existing competition rules making full use of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), including the use of interim measures and restorative remedies, where appropriate;
(2) possible ex-ante regulation of digital platforms, including additional requirements for those that play a gatekeeper role; and
(3) a possible new competition tool to deal with structural competition problems across markets which cannot be tackled or addressed in the most effective manner on the basis of the current competition rules (e.g. preventing markets from tipping).
The parallel impact assessment on platform-specific ex ante regulation, for which a separate stakeholder consultation has been launched today, covers the second pillar, while this stakeholder consultation deals with the third pillar.
The Commission's experience with enforcing the EU competition rules in digital and other markets, as well as the reflection process on the fitness of the existing competition rules by the Commission and national competition authorities, have helped the Commission identify certain structural competition problems that the current rules cannot tackle or cannot address in the most effective manner.
The new competition tool should enable the Commission to address gaps in the current competition rules and to intervene against structural competition problems across markets in a timely and effective manner.
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