Speeches 
2012 - 2011 - 2010
Statement on the Google antitrust investigation
21.05.2012 - Press conference, Brussels
Europe's banking sector after the crisis: Oversight, regulation and responsibility
10.05.2012 - 23rd World Savings Banks Institute Congress, Marrakech
8.05.2012 - Press conference, Brussels
Integrating payments in the EU: A new approach
4.05.2012 - Conference on Card, Internet and Mobile Payments
International cooperation to fight protectionism
18.04.2012 - 11th Annual Conference of the International Competition
Vice President Almunia spoke on Wednesday18 April 2012 in Rio de Janeiro at a 11th Annual Conference of the International Competition Network.
Competition policy for the post-crisis era
30.03.2012 - Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice
Vice President Almunia spoke on Friday 30 March 2011 in Washington at a lecture series presented by the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice to honour the memory of Lewis Bernstein.
He praised the "excellent record of cooperation" between the European Commission and both the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, mentioning the acquisition of Motorola by Google and the Freight forwarding cartels as cases in point.
"A fair and robust competition policy is especially needed in times of crisis", the Vice President said. "We must preserve competition on the markets to create better conditions for doing business; to deter companies from adopting practices that bog down economic activity; and to deliver wider choice and lower prices to consumers when they most need them". To illustrate this, he shared his thoughts on the goals, achievements and challenges of EU competition policy in four major fields: financial services, energy, telecoms and intellectual property rights.
Coming back to US-EU cooperation in competition policy, Vice-President Almunia highlighted the "gradual convergence of our approaches" and the importance, in today's global economy, of "broadly shared principles and goals" overcoming the structural differences between the two systems.
Competition policy for innovation and growth: Keeping markets open and efficient
08.03.2012 - European Competition and Consumer Day
Mr. Almunia spoke first about the outcome of the latest European Council, which showed that "the time has come to find a better balance between austerity policies and the promotion of growth and jobs". In particular, "we need to fully tap the potential of a broader and deeper internal market and push forward the Europe 2020 strategy. (…) Competition policy can leverage the internal market, which is our most efficient – and underutilised - engine of growth".
Mr. Almunia showed how competition policy fosters innovation and growth by providing examples of the Commission's concrete action in various sectors, such as energy, the financial sector and information technology, in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. He also pointed to the need of a modern industrial policy where "competition, regulation and public support cooperate to foster a more efficient economic environment not for individual companies or sectors, but across the board".
"Promoting strong competition enforcement in Europe", both by the Commission and national competition authorities, "is a powerful energizer for the economy because its effects can be immediate", he concluded.
28.02.2012 - European Parliament: Internal Market and Consumer protection Committee (Brussels)
Vice President Joaquín Almunia spoke before the Internal Market and Consumer protection Committee of the European Parliament on 28 February 2012. He shared his views with MEPs on how competition policy can contribute to enhancing economic growth in the EU.
"Austerity is not enough", he said. "Today, the success of our policies depends on Europe's ability to return to real economic growth. (…) We cannot afford a growth strategy based on massive investment in expensive policies, but there are alternatives" such as completing the internal market: "nothing will boost growth more than turning this integrated economic powerhouse into a reality". Competition policy is a key complement to EU action on the regulatory side. This means "we must intensify the fight against anti-competitive practices and the protection of special interests".
Mr. Almunia gave various concrete examples of how competition policy promotes economic growth, focusing on the financial sector and the digital economy. He then turned to state aid policy, which can help Member States "better focus their public support to firms, for instance through aid that supports SMEs, research and development and the green economy".
He concluded his speech by emphasising that "our internal market will not be completed by decree. Regulation sets the rules, and competition policy makes sure that the rules are respected. Competition policy is a very efficient instrument because it costs European taxpayers nothing. It produces actual results, not promises".
Restructuring EU banks: The role of State aid control
24.02.2012 - CEPS Lunchtime Meeting (Brussels)
On 24 February 2001 Vice President Almunia spoke at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels about the role of state aid control in restructuring EU banks.
Since the introduction of crisis state aid rules for the financial sector, the Commission has taken decisions on the restructuring or resolution of 42 banks and is in the process of negotiating restructuring terms with 23 more. Vice President Almunia said: "The rescue package and our control have managed to preserve the stability of our entire financial system. Our control has also guaranteed that government bailouts would be conducted in the same way across Europe, which helped to preserve the integrity of the internal market". The Commission has asked the banks that received aid to restructure in order to return to long-term viability.
"Our work with banks in distress has followed – and continues to follow – one beacon; we want to give Europe a leaner, cleaner and healthier banking system. (…) I am confident that – in the landscape that will emerge from the crisis – our work is preparing Europe's banks to stand on their feet and focus on their traditional mission of financing the real economy. This is what matters most to millions of European taxpayers, whose efforts are making possible the huge financial support the European banks are receiving since the beginning of the crisis", Mr. Almunia added.
Modernising State aid control
23.02.2012 - European Economic and Social Committee – plenary meeting (Brussels)
Vice President Almunia addressed the plenary meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee on 23 February 2012. He presented his ideas on the recently announced modernisation of state aid control to the members of the Committee.
He first clarified the rationale of state aid control. The Commission's action in this field, he said, has protected competition in the internal market, keeping governments from giving selective advantages to firms and preventing excessive market power and entry barriers. He added: "In our social market economy, government intervention is justified – in fact, it is necessary in some cases – to complement market forces when they fail to produce the desired outcomes. In these cases, State aid can target market failures and fix them (…). But the support should go only to activities that the market would not finance up to the socially optimal level. It should complement private spending, not replace it".
"Public spending must be efficient, effective and targeted at growth-promoting policies", the Vice President stressed. In a time when Europe needs to boost its growth potential while also consolidating public budgets, "state aid control has a strategic role because it helps Member States to improve the quality of their public finances. Government support should go where it can make a difference for EU competitiveness". This is one of the main objectives of the recently launched state aid modernisation process. "Shifting the focus of our control where it matters most is another important objective of the reform", he added. "We will use the reform to cut down on red tape and make our rules simpler and more consistent". The main elements of the reform should be in place by the end of 2013.
Quo vadis Europa? New Frontiers of Antitrust 2012
10.02.2012 - Revue Concurrences (Paris)
Vice President Almunia spoke on 10 February 2012 at the "New Frontiers of Antitrust 2012" meeting organised by the French journal Concurrences. He addressed the relationship between industrial policy and competition policy.
"Governments should foster an environment where companies can grow and innovation can flourish. But it would be a mistake to go back to post-war industrial policy", he said, adding that "competition policy lies at the basis of a modern industrial policy". "By imposing competition on their merits – that is, competition on innovation, quality and price – competitive markets are best placed to produce firms that are equipped for long-term success". Competition policy also "ensures that new companies can enter the market and compete effectively".
There is also room for direct public support of firms. However, the use of such measures, he stressed, "must be limited to finance activities that the market would not fund". State aid control must help public authorities to make a smarter use of taxpayers' money and redirect public spending to boost growth. This is a key objective of the recently unveiled plan for state aid modernisation.
Focusing on the question of European champions, the Vice President said: "We know that companies need to reach a certain size to be competitive – especially in certain sectors and markets – and when a proposed merger does not present competition problems, we clear it. (…) But size is not the only thing that matters; Europe's economy must be competitive and innovative. It should be easier for European entrepreneurs to set up the business, challenge the established players and grow on their ability to bring innovation to the market".
Priming Europe for Growth
2.02.2012 - European Competition Forum (Brussels)
Mergers: Commission blocks proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext
1.02.2012 - Press conference (Brussels)
Commission adopts a package of four decisions concerning the incumbent postal operators in Germany, Belgium, France and Greece
25.01.2012 - Press conference (Brussels)
Banking sector and State aid
24.01.2012 - The Third Future Of Banking Summit (Paris)
Vice-President Almunia spoke on "the Banking sector and State aid" in Paris. He showed how the difficulties in the banking sector and in public finances are interconnected, although the huge transfer of public resources to banks since 2008 is by no means the only cause of the sovereign debt crisis. Today large parts of the banking sector in Europe must restructure while a permanent solution to the sovereign-debt crisis must also be found.
He gave an outline of decisions taken by the Commission on State aid to banks in the recent period, stressing that banks must restore long-term viability and pay back the aid received. "We want to give Europe a leaner, cleaner and healthier banking system centred on the financing of the real economy", he said. In 2012 many banks will have to restructure in order to comply with new capital requirements and some of them will seek further public support. Mr. Almunia made clear that the Commission would carry out a proportionate assessment to each restructuring plan, based on the situation of each individual bank.
Mr. Almunia ended his speech by emphasising the need to find a permanent response to the sovereign debt crisis. "Fiscal discipline is only part of the solution", he stressed, adding that "improving our economic performance is the surest way to leave this crisis behind". This requires national governments to coordinate their economic policies much more tightly.
Improving Europe's competitiveness in the global economy
17.01.2012 - The Future of Europe (Brussels)
Vice-President Almunia spoke on 'The Future of Europe' in Brussels. He described how the EU – and the euro area in particular – is coping with the crisis and the role of competition policy in the exit strategy and for the recovery of Europe's economy.
After a review of the crisis in the EU since 2008, he said: "Today we have learnt the lesson, albeit the hard way". The Europe 2020 strategy is now being implemented and "the European institutions have embarked on a fundamental reform of the governance of the euro area. Mr Almunia added: "We are not talking about fiscal discipline only, but also about the need to restructure and to adjust other macroeconomic imbalances within the EU. […] Improved governance of a monetary union goes hand in hand with more effective economic integration. And this requires, first and foremost, a clear political vision and determination".
Mr Almunia then turned to competition policy as an instrument in the resolution of the financial and sovereign-debt crisis. Referring to the State aid rules designed by the Commission for the rescue of the banking sector, he said "thanks to the crisis regime, structural problems that had been affecting many banks well before the crisis are being addressed". Vice-President Almunia ended his presentation giving several tangible examples of how competition policy can "promote the kind of efficient markets that we need for the medium-term objectives of economic growth and innovation".