20 Amendments of Alfred SANT related to 2019/2131(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas competition policy must benefit the consumer whileall EU citizens, especially those in a weak consumer position, while also defending European businesses, in particular SMEs, against unfair competition practices, both from within as well from outside Europe;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas competition policy must be tailored to tackle digital, ecological, industrial and social challenges, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the EU green deal priority;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to develop the influence of competition policy in the worldfurther develop its competition policy towards third countries, in particular by stepping up cooperation with the USA and China;
Amendment 56 #
3. Calls on the Commission to ensure reciprocity with third countries in public procurement and in investment policy, state aid, data protection and investment policy; all while paying particular attention to those least developed countries, which should not be harmed due to their inability to fulfil the reciprocity requirements;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to ensure the balanced application of State aid control to European operators in order to avoid asymmetries with their foreign competitors, who are not subject to itat state aid control is applied equally to European and non-European operators and to prevent distortion of competition by firms receiving government subsidies abroad;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to adopt a more favourable approach to industrial cooperation in order to foster the emergence of European leaders that are globally competitive; stresses however that such drive should not come at the detriment of small and medium size actors that form the backbone of the European economy;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Requests the Commission to carry out a preliminary study on the concentration of media ownership in Europe, also in the context of MNCs buying out European Mediaproviders;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to review merger rules and strengthen antitrust action, taking into account the effects of market and network power on individuals, society and democratic values associated with both personal and financial data; proposes that every merger in the market for such data should be subject to prior monitoring, regardless of thresholds;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that the buying-out of start- ups by dominant players operating according to business models, involving constant tracking, profiling and targeting of individuals which are incompatible with core European values and fundamental rights, dries up innovation and threatens sovereignty, and calls on the Commission to reverse the burden of proof with regard to such buy- outs;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Stresses that concentration in digital markets for example for social media in favour of a few non-European companies has contributed to the dissemination of misinformation, online manipulation and the undermining of social cohesion and trust in democratic institutions;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Encourages the Commission to increasecontinue with its work towards protecting freedom of choice for consumers and to set up a European consumer protection authority with the aim to strengthen and expand the role of the European Consumer Network;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses the damaging effect resulting from the slowness of the application of antitrust rules; stresses the financial and structural risk to which some actors are exposed if they initiate lengthy and costly proceedings; calls on the Commission to consider setting deadlines which take into account the economic timeframe of businesses;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Reaffirms the need for the EC Directorate General for Competition to be fully equipped also with experts on artificial intelligence and tech engineer’s specialists in order to fully understand and evaluate the remedies that are presented by the dominant technology companies with the aim to ensure fair competition in the digital sector;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Reiterates its alarm at the concentration in the European food supply chain and emphasises that European consumers and small-scale farmers are those most negatively affected through a concentrated food market structure;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. With regard to the food sector, calls on the Commission to guarantee fair competition and greater transparency in supermarket and hypermarkets chains commercial practices; European farmers should receive a fair price for their products; stresses the need for the Commission to look at hypermarkets powers in the distribution chain and commercial practices in placing competing products on the shelves;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Repeats its calls on the Commission to give particular attention to the delivery of services of general economic interest (SGEI) including energy, transport and telecommunication, when applying EU state aid rules, especially in the context of state support dedicated to isolated, remote or peripheral regions in the Union;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21 b. Calls on the Commission to devote special attention to supermarkets and hypermarkets bargaining powers with their clients and suppliers; notes that supermarkets and hypermarkets actions often serve their own interests and not necessarily those of their customers; in particular, hypermarkets sovereignty may permit deliberate damage to brand value, restrict product choice, cut corners on their own brands quality, limit price comparability, restrict innovation and allow for the manipulation of prices to distort category price architectures in their favour;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22 b. Calls on the Commission to bring forward a proposal requiring competition, data protection and consumer authorities to cooperate proactively with each other, including in enforcement cases raising questions of compliance with more than one area of law; in particular, the competition authorities should carefully assess antitrust and merger cases where there may be negative impact on both the interests of consumers and the democratic rights of citizens;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Insists on a more regular and transparent exchange with Directorate General for competition and its responsible Commissioner beside the existing structural dialogue inter- institutional agreement; notes that the Economic committee competition working group could be an appropriate place for a deeper and more detailed cooperation; stresses that the European Parliament representing directly the500 million EU citizens should be considered a privilege partner for the Commission, precisely because competition has consumers at its heart;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Recognizes that preventing distortion of competition as the paramount objective of EU competition policy requires a measure of political independence for the Commission and public scrutiny of lobbying efforts in all EU institutions, reiterates calls for an enhanced Transparency Register;