Activities of Gunnar HÖKMARK related to 2018/2102(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on competition policy (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report on Competition Policy PDF (537 KB) DOC (92 KB)
Amendments (36)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission Report on Competition Policy 2017 and the Commission’s activities and efforts to ensure the effective application of competition rules in the Union;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes and further encourages the efforts of the Commission to maintain, in addition to the structured dialogue with the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, regular contact with the members of Parliament’s competent committee and its Working Group on Competition Policy; is convinced that the Commission’s Annual Report on Competition Policy is a key exercise in terms of democratic scrutiny, and welcomes the Commission’s feedback on all the specific requests adopted by Parliament;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Appreciates the efforts made by the Commission and Commissioner Vestager to ensure proper information sharing and regular exchanges with the Parliament concerning competition policy; calls on the Commission to maintain a close cooperation with the members of the Parliament's competent committee;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the Commission to continue monitoring the implementation of directives linked to the completion of the single market and to ensure the full enforcement of EU competition rules in order to avoid uneven application thereof in the Member States;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Notes that most decisions concerning antitrust issues and State aid are taken at national level; believes therefore that the Commission should monitor and take measures to ensure consistent policy measures within the internal market
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the treaty-based competition rules must be interpreted in the light of the wider European values underpinning the Union’s social market economy, notably environmental and social protection, equality considerations, consumer protection and public health, as mandated by Article 7 TFEU; takes the view, therefore, that activities which cause negative social and environmental externalities create market distortions that need to be addressed by means of competition law while, conversely, activities which bring social or environmental benefits should be explicitly taken into account when assessing treaty-based competition provisionsfully complied with;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the treaty-based competition rules must be interpreted in the light of the wider European values underpinning the Union’s social market economy, notably environmental and social protection, equality considerations, consumer protection and public health, as mandated by Article 7 TFEU; tTakes the view, therefore, that activities which cause negative social and environmental externalities create market distortions that need to be addressed by means of competition law while, conversely, activities which bring social or environmental benefits should be explicitly taken into account when assessing treaty- based competition provisions;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that taxation is a national competence; notes however that the taxation instrument can be used to grant implicit State aid to companies, which can create an un-level playing field on the internal market;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the urgent need for an effective framework tailored to the challenges ofadvantages of data innovation and the data-driven economy; notes in particularat the same time that digital platforms, in controlling ever-increasing data flows, generate considerable network externalities and economies of scale, and ultimately, by dint of excessive concentration, rent extraction and abusive market power, bring about market failures; underlines therefore the need to open up for new business models and competition which can enable new and smaller actors as well as broader services provided by big actors; stresses that this could offer new services to consumers and thereby also requires rules for fair competition;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that there is no trade-off between competition and innovation, nor between competition and investments and that effective competition is the best way to foster investments while ensuring innovation and high quality services for end-users at affordable prices;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Commission to take more ambitious steps to eliminate illegitimate obstacles to online competition, in order to ensure barrier- free online shopping for EU consumers purchasing from sellers who are based in another Member State, while at the same time not creating new barriers caused by existing variations in consumer law;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Considers that the steps towards ending consumer charges for roaming in the EU is, in the long term perspective, not sufficient if the single market is to be further deepened, and that incentives for intra-EU calls to be on the same level as local calls must be created by facilitating investments in fully European or shared network;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Calls on Commission to consult network operators and relevant stakeholders on how to bring down charges for intra-EU calls to the level of local calls in the most efficient way;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Underlines at the same time that Commission must encourages investments and secure global competitiveness and innovation;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Is of the view that the policies should favour efficient investments in new networks and take into account the impact on consumers and by that also prevent new digital divides between high and low income households;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Agrees with Commission that very high capacity networks, 5G Internet connections and coverage are preconditions for digital development and innovation;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 h (new)
Paragraph 4 h (new)
4h. Calls on Commission to encourage broadband rollout by promoting a high level of competition and to ensure a high level of connectivity in the EU and a rapid deployment of 5G across the Union in order to secure the Union's global competitiveness and attract investments;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission, in this regard, to adjudge the control of data necessary for the creation and provision of services as a proxy for the existence of market power, including when issuing its guidance on Article 102 TFEU, and to require interoperability between online platforms and social network providers; requests that the Commission provide a dedicated chapter on these issues in its next annual report on competition policy, including case studies on price caps in sectors such as online platforms for accommodation and tourism;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the factbenefits of the digital economy for consumers and the society at large; recognizes at the same time that the barriers to entry in the digital economy are becoming increasinglymust not become insurmountable,; as the more that unjust behaviour is perpetuated, the harder it gets to revert to anti-competitive effects; affirms, in this regard,ffirms, in this regard, that breaches of European competition law should be perpetuated and that the Commission should make effective use of interim measures, while ensuring due process and the right of defence of undertakings under investigation;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Points to thCalls on Commission to examine possible discrepancies between the rules on state aid in the area of liquidation aid and the resolution regime under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD); points out that in two recent cases, in spite of the Single Resolution Board’s (SRB) concluurges the Commissions that resolution could not be justified on the grounds of public interest, the Commission approved state aid on the basis that it would mitigate economic disturbance at a regional level, thereby demonstrating two distinct interpreo come forward with a transparent presentations of public interest; urges the Commission, therefore, to reconsider its interpretation of the relevant state aid rules in a manner consistent with the BRRD and to revise its 2013 Banking Communication accordingly, including the area of liquidation aidits interpretation of the relevant state aid rules in relation to the BRRD;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that temporary state aid to the financial sector for the stabilisation of the global financial system was necessary but that it nevertheless must be scrutinised and quickly reduced or totally removed;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Stresses in this perspective the importance of a restrictive approach to state aid;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on Commission to launch a roadmap for less but better targeted state aid, with the aim to reduce it;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that when applying state aid in order to promote services of general interest the aim should be to benefit the consumers and citizens, rather than strengthening old structures, individual companies or public entities;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is deeply alarmed at the far- reachingTakes note of the concentration of the food supply chain, whereby four companies, all with close financial ties, own and sell up to 60 % of the global seed market and 75 % of global pesticides, to the detriment of consumers, farmers, the environment and biodiversity alike; points out that such an oligopoly will make farmers even more technologically and economically dependent on a few globally integrated one-stop-shop platforms, produce limited seed diversity, re-direct trends in innovation away from the adoption of a production model which is respectful of the environment and biodiversity and ultimately, as a result of reduced competition, generate less; stresses in this regard the need for fair competition and more innovation;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Asks the Commission to come forward with a revisionew of the EU Merger Regulation, so that it may and analyse whether it should be vested with the powers, much as a number of Member States are at present, to adopt measures to protect the European public order and the rights and principles of the TFEU and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, including environmental protection;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recognises that the legally binding commitments undertaken by the Member States as part of the Paris Climate Agreement will not be realised without concrete state measures to promote and finance, enable and create incentives for the production and use of renewable energy; takes note of the forthcoming revision of the guidelines on state aid and energy, which will no longer exclude two of the sectors that benefit the most from state subsidies, nuclear energy and fossil fuel extraction, and which provide for greater flexibility for consumer-generated renewable energy;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Underlines the importance of boosting investments in new technologies and increase the competitiveness of the European energy markets;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Highlights the importance of completing the Energy Union through integration of markets, notably by investing in interconnectors where needed and based on market conditions and commercial potential, and by increasing the tradable capacity in existing interconnections, as well as measures at European level aimed at removing obstacles to free price formation;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Highlights the commonly agreed aims and targets of the Energy Union and points specifically to the dimension Security, solidarity and trust;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Underlines the importance of securing that the European energy markets are built on rule of law, competition, diversity of energy sources and suppliers, predictability and transparency and to prevent any market operator, established in the union or in a third country, from levering a dominant position to the detriment for competitors and consumers; in this regard, calls for increased scrutiny of, and, where necessary, measures and imposed obligations against such market operators;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13e. Reaffirms that new infrastructure projects, including those connecting a Member State to a third country, shall be the subject of European legislation, notably rules on unbundling and market price formation;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Underlines that Commission when making competition rulings must regard the internal market as one single market, not as a number of independent local or national markets;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Stresses the need to deepen the internal market, to open up for new competition and freedom of establishment in all sectors;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Underlines that taxation is a national competence and that the choice of policy therefore depends on the political view and orientation of the respective national governments and parliaments; stresses in this perspective the need to ensure that national tax policies does not distort fair competition;