30 Amendments of Jonás FERNÁNDEZ related to 2019/2131(INI)
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 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas European competition authorities should be equally attentive to avoid under-enforcement in digital markets as they are wary of over- enforcement;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Draws the Commission’s attention to companies benefitting from favourable treatment in their home market entering European markets, thus distorting competition in those various markets; Calls on the Commission to increase scrutiny of investments by entrants from countries granting advantages not available to European operators to combat unfair practices;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Calls the Commission to strictly safeguard fair competition, level playing field and equal treatment by the dominant platforms operating and making huge profits in the EU 500 million consumers digital single market;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls forWelcomes the Commission launch of a review of the definition of the relevant market in the Commission’s merger and antitrust enforcement (Market Definition Notice), so as to move towards a longer- term vision encompassing the global dimension, digital markets and potential future competition; highlights the need for particular attention to be given to zero price markets and multi-sided markets;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Reiterates the importance of social objectives in our competition policy; believes that where suppliers of goods or services lack market power vis-a-vis purchasers, as is the case with many self- employed contractors, this can be remedied by coordinated pricing;
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 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Stresses that, by enabling personalised micro-targeted advertisements personal and behavourial data provide an important source of revenue for platforms; considers that such micro-targeting puts market power in the hands of the few platforms holding most personal data and, when it concerns political advertisements, endangers the functioning of our democracy by strengthening echo chambers and; calls on the Commission to draft legislation that severely constrains personalized and behavioural targeted advertisement;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that the buying-out of start- ups by dominant players dries up innovation and threatens sovereignty, and calls on the Commission to reverse the burden of proof with regard to such buy- outs and to take into account transaction value as part of merger thresholds;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Recalls that abuse of market power can take place even when products or services are supplied for free; believes that the passing on of private data to third parties for marketing or commercial purposes is frequently done without the consumer’s proper consent, as alternatives to sharing data are often not provided; considers that in the digital economy, the concentration of data in a small number of companies leads to market failures, excessive rent extraction and a blocking of new entrants; calls on the Commission to consider the structural unbundling of digital monopolies to restore competition and a level playing field in the European digital market;
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 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that some entities, benefiting from dual status as both platforms and suppliers, abuse their position to discriminate in favour of their own products and services and impose unfair terms on competitors; calls on the Commission to penalise them; assess the possibility to impose ex-ante regulatory obligations where competition law is not enough to ensure contestability in digital markets avoiding competitors' foreclosure and ensuring that emerging bottlenecks are not perpetuated by the monopolization of future innovation;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Draws the Commission’s attention to recent acquisitions by foreign monopolies of digital operators of health and educational data and the privacy risks involved, over and above the damaging effects of these transactions on competition and calls on the Commission to prevent competition amongst companies to gather personal health and educational data;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Notes that European citizens have now realised that there is no such thing as “free services” offered by platforms; European consumers pay a high price for these online services with their personal data1a; underlines that some recent scandals have shown how personal data is being collected, used, sold to third parties and misused by platforms; _________________ 1ahttps://edps.europa.eu/press- publications/press-news/blog/sharing- caring-depends_en
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that, while intermediation platforms play a major role in access to consumers for online services, some abuse their privileged position by acting as gatekeepers; calls on the Commission to conclude its preliminary investigation into Spotify’s complaint about Apple’s anticompetitive practices and to launch a formal procedure as soon as possible; moreover notes that the behaviour of powerful digital platforms is jeopardising competition law in that they often act as bottlenecks for third-party services and favour their own services, preventing consumers from benefiting from unfettered competition and innovation; notes furthermore that the Commission has received a series of complaints that big digital platforms prevent their direct competitors from offering consumers their best deals and from directly communicating with their customers, and make it difficult for consumers to use rival services; expects the Commission to act urgently to stop these discriminatory practices;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that, while intermediation platforms play a major role in access to consumers for online services, some abuse their privileged position by acting as gatekeepers; calls on the Commission to give explicit attention in its competition policy to these gatekeepers and to conclude its preliminary investigation into Spotify’s complaint about Apple’s anticompetitive practices and to launch a formal procedure as soon as possible;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Notes that some dominant platforms have become gatekeepers of the Internet1a; addressing and solving urgently the abuses that certain dominant digital platforms exercise over smaller direct competitors is essential for the future of the European digital single market and most importantly in the interest of European consumers; platforms self-preferencing their own services over others or discriminating direct competitors such as competing Apps should be carefully assessed by competition authorities; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/information_society/ newsroom/image/document/2016- 7/uclouvain_et_universit_saint_louis_140 44.pdf
Amendment 212 #
15 a. Notes also that in lengthy antitrust digital cases, fines have proven their limits in putting an end to certain discriminatory practices; underlines that fines are simply a calculated cost of doing business for dominant technology companies that see the European single market as a market worth paying for; urges the Commission to urgently look at alternative behavioural and structural remedies; in particular the cease-and- desist order should be much more prescriptive in upcoming remedies;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Welcomes the initiative of Commissioner Vestager to review the market definition concept; recalls that digitisation has indeed created new challenges; stresses that it can be difficult for consumers to switch from one ecosystem to another despite a specific ecosystem is not dominant apparently, however the ecosystems can leave consumers locked in, interoperability reduced and therefore consumer choices limited1a; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/competition/publicati ons/reports/kd0419345enn.pdf
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Calls on the Commission to take a particularly careful look at closed ecosystems, where the same providers control different layers of the market, such as operating systems, intermediation services and vertical services, as also underlined in the report “Competition policy for the digital era”1a; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/competition/publicati ons/reports/kd0419345enn.pdf
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Urges the Commission to be more attentive to the phenomenon of companies grabbing significant market shares through questionable practices; whilst antitrust rules cannot stop companies from exploiting workers, operating without the required licenses, ignoring data privacy regulations, or circumventing taxes, any position built on violating the law or fundamental rights should be considered illegitimate;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls on the European Commission to revise its policy when it comes to commitments and remedies in digital antitrust cases; calls for the cease- and-desist order to be revised, become much more prescriptive and include obligations and indications in order to change discriminatory conducts;
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 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Reiterates that taxation is sometimes usedDeplores the usage of tax rulings and advanced pricing arrangements to grant indirect State aid, creating an uneven playing field in the internal market;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20 a. Stresses that in order to achieve a more coherent EU economic policy; fair tax policy should be implemented at the European level in particular with regard to digital businesses; recalls the principle that companies should be taxed where their profits are generated should be applied; supports the commitment of the Commission President to propose an EU solution for a fair taxation in a digitalised and globalised economy, should an international deal not be reached by the end of 2020, on the condition that this EU solution is not limited to digital businesses; understands that such solution would strengthen the Single Market through the establishment of a minimum level of tax that would prevent unilateral measures;
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 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 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Stresses that the current complaint form for state aid cases asks for many specific details on when state aid has been accorded, which ordinary citizens can’t possibly know and therefore calls on the Commission to simplify the complaint form, in order to give ordinary citizens the possibility to send in complaints;
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;