de Gaulle (NI). – (FR) Mr President, the Treaty establishing the European Community does not prohibit dominant positions, only the abuse of them. It does not establish a system of prior approval for mergers. Therefore the creation of a dominant position following a merger does not have to be negotiated in advance with the Commission and such a dominant position is not in itself contrary to the Treaty. Once again the Commission, in order to maintain its importance, has taken on powers that it does not have, inventing entirely arbitrary, or worse, ridiculous criteria to serve its cause. An example of this is when it analyses market shares country by country and product by product, while taking advantage of the frivolity or even absence of the French authorities when it comes to safeguarding French industrial interests.

Meanwhile, while the Treaty establishing the European Community in no way forbids the development of state companies, the Commission in Brussels hounds French public companies as symbols, which in its eyes are intolerable, of triumphant Colbert-style state intervention. In this respect, any attempt at forcing the French Government to privatise public sector companies will provoke a vigorous response from all employees or, and why not, a general strike across all sectors of industry. It is not only the services of the Directorate General for Competition that need to be reformed, but also Commissioner Monti, who knows nothing about industry, who should be disowned, and the Commission in Brussels needs to be put back in its place.