Abuse of a dominant position within the internal market
29.9.2015
Question for written answer P-013208-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski (ECR)
The abuse by a business of a dominant position within the internal market runs counter to the principles of competition enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 102), and hampers the economic growth of the EU as a whole. Unfortunately, however, such practices are now increasingly common in the ‘old’ Member States, at the expense of businesses based in the countries that joined the EU in 2004. The example of Velux on the EU skylight market shows how hard it is for companies from the ‘new’ Member States to compete on a level playing field with major firms from Western Europe. The subsidiaries of western corporations, along with state-owned companies, are predominant among the largest firms in each of the new Member States.
In the light of the foregoing:
- 1.Is the Commission aware of the problem surrounding the absence of a level playing field with regard to competition among companies from the ‘old’ and ‘new’ EU Member States?
- 2.Since enlargement in 2004, how many abuse of dominant position cases has the Commission opened (including ongoing cases, but not counting the Fakro-Velux case) in which the complainant is a company from a ‘new’ Member State, and the object of the complaint is a company from an ‘old’ Member State? What conclusions did the Commission reach in those cases?
- 3.What steps has the Commission taken in order to ensure that businesses from the ‘new’ Member States have a genuine opportunity to compete?