Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-15-Speech-3-290"
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"en.20060315.23.3-290"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, did you know that yoghurt is a matter of national interest? That was the argument put forward by a large founding Member State on the question of whether a takeover of Danone was permissible, even though the company’s turnover and profits are predominantly generated abroad.
The present discussion is astonishing. Everyone is in favour of his country’s enterprises going on a buying spree around Europe and the world – but not in his own country. I did not hear anyone in Spain complaining when the Spanish Telefónica took over the German–British enterprise O2 or when Banco de Santander took over a large British financial services provider. I did not see anyone becoming agitated about France seeking to buy up an Italian bank, or Electricité de France acquiring a stake in Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, or UniCredito in Italy acquiring Hypo-Vereinsbank, even though ABN AMRO encountered problems when it tried to take a similar course of action in Italy.
We are seeing a great deal of hypocrisy here on the part of Member States and the Council. They are closing their own doors behind them and seeking to do business elsewhere; and thus weakening the European economy. We are labouring under a misapprehension if we believe that the Lisbon objectives can be achieved and we can become stronger by means of national protectionism, when we cannot even withstand the relevant competition in our own area. We need strong enterprises, and also enterprises that go to other countries and introduce more competition there.
The Commission faces challenges on two levels. It must examine each case carefully and answer the following questions. Does the fusion benefit consumers? Does it enhance competition? That is the Commission’s real task when it comes to examination, and the answer is often ‘yes’, and occasionally ‘no’. The Commission must take a strict line towards the Council, as confidence that Member States and the Council are thinking in terms of a European approach and of the internal market has suffered greatly in recent years."@en1
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