The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission report on Competition Policy 2004 (SEC(2005)0805) (the 2004 Competition Report),

–   having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000, the Göteborg European Council of 15 and 16 June 2001, the Laeken European Council of 14 and 15 December 2001, the Barcelona European Council of 15 and 16 March 2002, and the Brussels European Councils of 20 and 21 March 2003, 25 and 26 March 2004, and 22 and 23 March 2005,

–   having regard to the report of November 2004 entitled 'Facing the challenge - The Lisbon strategy for growth and employment', by the High Level Group chaired by Mr Wim Kok,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty(1) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty(2),

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings(3),

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty(4), Commission Regulation (EC) No 363/2004 of 25 February 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid(5) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 of 25 February 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 as regards the extension of its scope to include aid for research and development(6),

–   having regard to the Commission communication entitled 'Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty'(7),

–   having regard to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities on services of general interest and, in particular, the Altmark judgment(8),

–   having regard to Rules 45 and 112(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A6-0065/2006),

1.  Welcomes the fact that, since 1 May 2004, the Community's competition policy has been extended to the ten new Member States whose national competition authorities (NCAs) have joined the European Competition Network (ECN), with the aim of integrating them into the EU;

2.  Points out that competition policy is a fundamental instrument for contributing to the Lisbon Strategy, to make Europe the world's most dynamic knowledge-based economy, and to achieve its objectives by safeguarding the level and transparent operation of the single market, keeping markets open and stimulating growth, efficiency and innovation so as to create more sustainable value and provide increasingly improved services, particularly to consumers;

3.  Continues to argue that a more active and growing role for the Parliament in the development of competition policy is likely to import greater transparency and legitimacy, and repeats Parliament's aspirations with regard to the extension of the co-decision procedure;

4.  Supports the competition policy pursued by the EU in general, and expresses its appreciation of the modernising reform which the Commission has carried out in this field;

5.  Regrets the fact that the 2004 Commission Report still lacks an assessment of the Commission's main decisions on the relevant markets, particularly in the case of mergers and State aid;

6.  Calls, as a matter of urgency, for the speedy completion of the final part of the competition policy modernisation, namely as regards the application of the prohibition of abuses of dominant positions under Article 82 of the Treaty; stresses that account must be taken in this connection of the dynamics of increasingly globalised markets;

7.  Welcomes the fact that the judgments of the Court of Justice now less frequently cast doubt on Commission competition decisions, but regrets that there are still great differences as regards the Commission's interpretation of the Altmark test in practice; calls on the Commission to issue a clear and precise interpretative communication on the fourth criterion set out in the Altmark judgement;

8.  Regrets that the 2004 Competition Report does not dedicate a separate chapter to a discussion of services of general interest, as was the case in the competition reports of 2001 to 2003, and urges the Commission to reinstate this approach in its future reports;

9.  Welcomes the Commission's modernisation package, its new scheme for block exempting technology transfer agreements, and the progress made towards distinguishing between accessible and inaccessible documents and laying down standards for dealing with confidential information in the context of competition proceedings;

10.  Points out that the Commission investigated some areas of great importance during 2004, such as broadband Internet services, roaming for international mobile calls, and telecommunications generally, and urges the Commission to keep a close watch on the development of these sectors in order to encourage competition in areas that are of importance to the development of the Information Society;

11.  Calls on the Commission to study and analyse in detail the problems associated with collective bargaining in sensitive economic sectors such as agriculture, particularly in connection with relations between small and medium-sized producers or producer associations on the one hand, and major processing or marketing firms on the other;

12.  Congratulates the Commission on its firm and professional approach to the fight against abuses of dominant positions and welcomes the Commission's consultation on a more effective implementation of Article 82 of the Treaty;

13.  Urges the Commission to take measures to optimise the exchange of information among NCAs within the ECN, and to enhance the quality of such information, with a view to guaranteeing the uniform application of EC competition policy;

14.  Urges the Commission to make an effort to promote the correct application of the competition rules in all Member States, and to intervene in good time where the competition rules are being applied unsatisfactorily or in a discriminatory manner;

15.  Notes that an effective competition policy must constantly take account of the interests of the consumer and must not be an instrument for the disruption of the market;

16.  Encourages the Commission to clarify the occasionally obscure relationships among NCAs and 'national champions', so as to remove any suspicion of complicity and safeguard consumers' interests (for instance, at the beginning of 2005 the media revealed secret agreements between the three main French mobile telephony operators); recognises that there has been insufficient time so far to assess the effectiveness of the reforms devolving the implementation of EC competition law to NCAs; points out that the ECN, which is comprised of the Commission and the NCAs, is a cooperation forum and is essential, as a body, for the strengthening of the consistency and effectiveness of the application of the EC competition rules, and urges its members to play an active part in that body and to provide impetus for its enormous potential in accordance with the strategic role given to competition policy in the EU;

17.  Congratulates the Commission on its vigilance with regard to the regulation of mergers and acquisitions that could lead to the strengthening of dominant positions;

18.  Expresses its concern at the continued failure to achieve full liberalisation on the EU gas and electricity markets and welcomes the sector inquiry launched by the Commission into the functioning of the internal market in gas and electricity;

19.  Welcomes the sector inquiries launched by the Commission in relation to bank payment systems and business insurance, but urges that the inquiry process be undertaken in a way that allows adequate time for full and thorough responses to the Commission;

20.  Suggests that in the case of major networked public services, competition must be guided by strong public service obligations so as to ensure necessary investment and prevent the emergence of new monopolies;

21.  Recognises the important contribution which an effective competition policy makes to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy;

22.  Welcomes the environmentally friendly criteria of the Commission applied in the approval of several environmental aid schemes, including those concerning rail transport, and urges the Commission to develop further the conditions for transparency for such schemes, so that they may serve as precedents for other regions and Member States;

23.  Calls on the Commission to defend its doctrine of combating monopolies and illegal cartels and of providing reasons to justify State aid in future negotiations on the organisation of international trade; also urges the Commission to promote international cooperation in competition matters by means of instruments of a multilateral or bilateral nature and to encourage emerging and developing countries to participate increasingly in that cooperation;

24.  Highlights the importance of encouraging consumer information, draws attention to the fundamental role of consumer information in ensuring that there is a genuine competition culture, and points out the need to consider, at Community level, private compensation in cases of anti-competitive conduct;

25.  Reaffirms its support for a more proactive role of Parliament in the development of competition policy by enhancing the co-decision powers of the Parliament;

26.  Urges the Commission to continue to review the operation of the judicial system in relation to competition cases in order to consider improvements to the speed of access to justice and in order to maximise the experience and skills of the judiciary dealing with competition cases;

27.  Urges the Commission to build on the appointment of a Consumer Liaison Officer in order to develop a closer dialogue and closer cooperation between the Commission and consumers;

28.  Believes that the effective application of competition policy is an essential tool to achieving an efficient market structure, which operates in the interests of consumers and which has a positive and significant impact upon consumers' daily lives; wishes to emphasise that closer integration of the internal market sometimes makes it more natural to analyse the state of competition on the internal market as a whole rather than on different submarkets; and calls on the Commission to produce clearer guidelines on its market definition in such cases;

29.  Welcomes the Commission's positive response to Parliament's recommendations concerning the further development of European Competition Days (ECDs), including the integration in the planning process of ECDs of consumer organisations and the national media;

30.  Encourages the Commission, in accordance with the new guidelines, to focus on relevant questions, predominantly on the Union's objectives and the impact on citizens" living conditions, committing itself not just to responding to change but also to anticipating change and to encouraging it when it is needed;

31.  Welcomes the Commission's continued commitment to the International Competition Network, particularly as regards its work undertaken in assisting China in the development of its draft antitrust law;

32.  Welcomes the continued progress which the ten new Member States are making in rapidly adapting to the competition rules, EC merger control and, in particular, State aid regulation and urges the Commission to pursue the process of technical assistance and cooperation;

33.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 1. (2) OJ L 123, 27.4.2004, p. 18. (3) OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1. (4) OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1. (5) OJ L 63, 28.2.2004, p. 20. (6) OJ L 63, 28.2.2004, p. 22. (7) OJ C 244, 1.10.2004, p. 2. (8) Case C-280/00, Altmark Trans GmbH and Regierungspräsidium Magdeburg v Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Altmark GmbH [2003] ECR I-7747.