A competition policy at the heart of the EU’s competitiveness

Competitiveness

Background

The European economy lags behind the US and Asian economies in terms of productivity. The EU should further strengthen its international role in the current economic and climate transition, taking into account the following challenges: digitalisation, climate change and resilience.

It is necessary to increase the integration of the EU’s national economies to prevent subsidies from being misallocated and to enhance productivity. A lack of coordination of subsidies within the EU reduces their potential positive impact, while coordinated subsidies would increase productivity by more than 30%. The recently adopted competition instruments such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) also play a key role in supporting the EU’s competitiveness by addressing distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the EU single market.

Key points:

In its opinion, the EESC:

  • stresses that State aid can reliably support EU companies in their transition efforts, leveraging the massive investments needed to achieve this collective goal. It is essential to ensure that public support is used as efficiently as possible,  promoting cross-border projects and reinforcing European value chains.
  • emphasises that merger assessment should  evolve further, taking infrastructure investments, innovation and sustainability better into account.  All stakeholders’ views should be taken into consideration in merger analysis.
  • recommends that the review of the rules on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) must ensure a truly European approach and the European Competitiveness Fund must be designed and deployed with a European perspective too.

The text of the draft opinion can be found here.

Additional information

Section: Single Market, Production and Consumption

Opinion number: INT/1063

Opinion type: Own-initiative opinion

Rapporteur: Isabel Yglesias

Reference: Rule 52(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Date of adoption by section: 12/12/2024

Result of the vote: 72 in favour/0 against/0 abstentions                                                   

Date of adoption in plenary: 22/1/2025 – 23/1/2025

Result of the vote: in favour/against/abstentions

 

Contacts:

Press officers: Leonardo Pavan/Laura Lui          

Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9189

Email:  leonardo.pavan@eesc.europa.eu/laurairena.lui@eesc.europa.eu

Administrator: Silvia Staffa

Tel.: + 32 2 546 8378

Email: Silvia.Staffa@eesc.europa.eu

 

 

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