Activities of Sander LOONES related to 2017/2191(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual Report on Competition Policy (debate) NL
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report on Competition Policy PDF (504 KB) DOC (105 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the annual report on competition policy
Amendments (38)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises the overriding importance of consistency between commercial policy, competition policy and all other Union policies; adds that EU competition policy must take account of developments in international competition; Encourages the Commission to conclude bilateral cooperation agreements with third countries on the enforcement of competition rules, along the lines of the second-generation cooperation agreement of 2013 between the EU and Switzerland;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission Notice of 19 July 2016 on the notion of State aid as referred to in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union3a, _________________ 3a OJ C 262, 19.7.2016, p. 1
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for trade defence instruments to be updated to make them stronger, faster and more effective; stresses the importance of the Union devising a reliable new method of calculating anti-dumping duties; that succeeds in safeguarding at least the same effectiveness as previously imposed anti-dumping measures in full compliance with our WTO-obligations;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that reciprocity must be one of the key principles underpinning Union commercial policy, with a view to ensuring that our trading partners open up their markets more toa level playing field for EU firms, in particular in the area of public procurement; emphasises the importance for the Union of an international instrument on public procurement; takes the view that the Commission proposal on the monitoring of foreign investment should make for greater reciprocity in the area of access to markets; stresses, in this regard, that these proposals should address the benefits of foreign direct investment, and that the EU should remain in principle open as such, to avoid retaliatory measures, and to address the negative impact of economic slowdown;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Believes that a strict and impartial enforcement of competition policy can make a significant contribution to key political priorities such as a deeper and fairer internal market, a connected Digital Single Market, and an integrated and climate-friendly Energy Union;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Draws attention to the importance of effective, harmonised EU customs checks in combating unfair competition;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Union to continue to promote fair competition rules at international level; calls for fresh progress to be made at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference towards guaranteeing fair international competition, although account should also be taken of the sensitive nature of certain sectors, in particular agriculture. Stresses that global cooperation on the enforcement of competition rules helps resolve inconsistencies and improve the outcomes of enforcement, and helps businesses to reduce their compliance costs;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of directives linked to the completion of the single market, particularly in the digital, energy and transport sectors, and to enhance thesure a strict and impartial enforcement of EU competition rules in order to avoid uneven application thereof in the Member States;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to reallocate adequatmake financial and human resources tofor its Directorate-General for Competition in order to cope withadequate to this DG’s increasing workload and range of tasks by shifting away resources from other Directorates with less European added value;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to adopt guidelines to limit the duration ofconsider ways to accelerate antitrust investigations, in order to avoid uncertainty or excessive burden for businesses and shape a competitive landscape which is not detrimentbeneficial to consumers;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines that whilee policy objective to find an adequate balance between the speed of investigations has to be balanced withand the need to adequately preserve the rights of defence, clear time frames would help the antitrust authorities to make more efficient use of their resources;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Takes note that most of the decisions concerning antitrust issues and State aid are taken at national level, and believes that the Commission should guarantee; calls on the Commission to monitor the global consistency and independence of competition policy measuresenforcement within the internal market, with the support of the European Competition Network (ECN);
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to send Parliament regularly information Parliament on the activities of the ECN and to include in its; calls on the Member States to ensure that NCAs make public annual reports containing statistics and a reasoned synthesis of their activities conducted by the NCAs;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights that global cooperation on competition enforcement helps to avoid inconsistencies in remedies and outcomes of enforcement actions and helps businesses to reduce their costs of compliance; supports an active participation of the Commission, national and where applicable regional competition authorities in the International Competition Network;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Reiterates its support for international trade and investment agreements to include strong competition sections;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Welcomes the constant efforts of the Commission to clarify the different aspects of the definition of state aid, as demonstrated in its Notice on the notion of State aid as referred to in Article 107(1) of the TFEU which constitutes an important building block of the State Aid Modernisation initiative; notes in particular the efforts to clarify the notions of 'undertaking' and 'economic activity’; observes nonetheless that it remains difficult, especially in the field of social affairs, to draw the line between economic and non-economic activities; further points out that is the role of the European Court of Justice to ensure the proper interpretation of the Treaty;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates that all market players should pay their fair share of tax; welcomes the Commission’s in-depth investigations intofair tax competition is essential for the integrity of the internal market and that all market players should pay their fair share of tax to compete on equal terms; emphasises the need to eliminate distortive anti-competitive practices such as selective tax advantages and excess profit ruling systemswelcomes the Commission's in-depth investigations in this regard; stresses that the reduction ofackling tax fraud and aggressive tax avoidance is fundamental in order to consolidate sound public budgetsensure a level playing field;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Emphasises that the notion of selectivity in State aid is an essential criterion that needs to be investigated thoroughly; notes that this concept is not free from discussion, especially not in tax cases; believes that an exception from a tax system is not selective if it is a priori open to all tax payers;
Amendment 128 #
15. Welcomes the Commission decision taken against Luxembourg on the illegal tax benefits granted to Amazon (around EUR 250 million); notes that both Luxembourg and Amazon could appeal the decision;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines that the bailout of Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza was based on the assumption that these were systemic banks in their region, and calls on the Commission to developexplain this line of thinking in compliance with EU rules and the bail-in principle;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Recalls that according to the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive, the use of deposit guarantee schemes to prevent the failure of a credit institution should be carried out within a clearly defined framework and should in any event comply with State aid rules;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Calls on the Commission to re- evaluate on an annual basis whether the requirements for the application of Article107(3)(b) TFEU in the financial sector continue to be fulfilled;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Believes that following the financial crisis has increased concentration in the banking sector and calls on the Commission to carry out a region-by-region study at European level to examine this phenomenon andhas increased in some Member States and regions; calls on the Commission to monitor this phenomenon region-by-region and to examine its effects on competition;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Welcomes the commitments made by the Commissioner for Competition in the structured dialogue with the Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs on 21 November 2017 to reflect on possible distortions of competition arising from the European Central Bank's Corporate Sector Purchase Programme and to report back with a qualitative answer; emphasises in this regard that the notion of selectivity in State aid is an essential criterion that needs to be investigated thoroughly; further points in this regard to Article 4(3) TEU which contains the so-called principle of loyalty;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Considers that it is a priority to ensure that State aid rules are strictly and impartially adhered to when dealing with future banking crises, so that taxpayers are protected against the burden of bank rescues;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that, following the Commission decision, Google’s shopping comparison serviTakes note of the Commission's antitrust decision to fine Google EUR 2.42 billion for abusing its dominance has been judged illegal and the company is now a dominant player subject to specific obligations; search engine by giving illegal advantages to another Google product, i.e. its shopping comparison service; notes that Google appealed the decision but meanwhile implements the remedies requested by the Commission;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to ensure that Google implements this remedy effectively; believes that the greatest danger now would be if the Commission were to settle for aremedies are implemented fully and effectively; warns in particular against partially effective remedy,ies that failing to truly restore the level playing field required for competition and innovation to thrive;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Warmly invites the Commission and the Google CEO to attend a joint public hearing of the Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Iinformation and communications technology sector to closely cooperate with the European Parliament, intern al Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)ia by attending public hearings;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls onTakes note of the Commission to speed up and conclude the Android investigation by the spring of 2018; stresses that Google is accused of's Statement of Objections of 20 April 2016 and its preliminary conclusion that Google has abusinged its dominant position as a search engine by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators, and that Google Search is pre- installed and set as the default or the only search engine on most Android devices sold in Europe;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Welcomes the revision ofCommission's proposal to revise Regulation (EC) No 868/2004 on safeguardaddressing unfair competition, aimed at ensuring reciprocity and eliminating unfair practices, including alleged State aid to airlines from certain third countries; belieurrent practices, such as selective State aid, which are neither adequate nor effectives, that transparency in the fair competition clause is an essential element to guarantee a level playing fieldus shedding light on major concerns surrounding potential distortions of competition;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Stresses, however, that neither an unacceptable trend towards protectionism, nor, on their own, measures to ensure fair competition can guarantee the competitiveness of the EU aviation sector;
Amendment 254 #
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Notes the importance of a favourable regulatory framework for airports to attract and mobilise private investment; considers that the Commission's evaluation of the Airport Charges Directive, in conjunction with effective airline/airport consultation, should help clarify whether the current provisions are an effective tool to promote competition and to further the interests of European consumers, or whether a reform is needed;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Considers that ensuring a level playing field for companies in the internal market also depends on decisively combating social dumping;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 b (new)
Paragraph 31 b (new)
31b. Underlines that the application of competition rules to mergers must be evaluated from the perspective of the entire internal market;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and, the national parliaments of the Member Statand where applicable regional competition authorities.