Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-23-Speech-1-107"
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"en.20001023.9.1-107"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to say a warm thank you for the reports we have heard about today, and which do not just record what happened in the past, but also pick out the central themes of the present debate, and even incorporate the Commission’s plans. Competition is not, as has already been said, an end in itself. It must serve the interests of consumers, companies and local conditions. Competition is therefore always a means to an end. It is a vital cornerstone of our model, in terms of political order, of the socio-economic market economy. I stress this point because the market cannot regulate everything, which is why competition is not completely unrestricted, nor should it be.
We therefore need two things: firstly, in the interests of increased transparency, we need to make the public aware of all the approved subsidies that influence competition, and secondly there must be areas of our day-to-day lives and behaviour which are not subject lock, stock and barrel to the dictates of European competition policy. The sports sphere or the numerous non-governmental organisations in the social and health spheres, to quote two examples.
Who, like us, says ‘yes’ to a functioning internal market, must also have the courage of their convictions to say ‘yes’ to European competition policy. Therefore, we welcome the modernisation of competition policy, which is initiated and then maintained by a stream of new proposals.
The Community’s competition policy has been given a new European and international dimension. In view of the enlargement process and globalisation, it is playing an increasingly important part in economic relations within and outside the European Union.
I therefore welcome the modernisation going on within the Community on the one hand, and the fact that European competition policy now extends beyond Union borders.
On a final note, we need a more precise definition of the relevant market because, increasingly, the market is not the national market. We need to promote the citizens’ awareness of competition policy, so that they recognise the advantages. We also need to step up debate in the European public arena on the relevant proposals, because they are frequently misunderstood. What I mean – and this is directed at the public, not the Commission – is that its decentralised application must not lead to renationalisation, but must instead lead to Europeanisation. When you delegate responsibility, you must take care not to surrender your key responsibility!
Lastly, boosting the citizens’ autonomy must not create legal uncertainty, rather, European competition policy must well and truly leave its mark on the thoughts and actions of the people beyond the institutions. We still have a lot to do on that score, Commissioner!"@en1
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