Directorate General for Competition
Mission
The mission of the Directorate General for Competition (DG Competition) is to enable the Commission to make markets deliver more benefits to consumers, businesses and the society as a whole, by protecting competition on the market and fostering a competition culture. We do this through the enforcement of competition rules and through actions aimed at ensuring that regulation takes competition duly into account among other public policy interests.
Competition is not an end in itself. It is an indispensable element of a functioning Single Market guaranteeing a level playing field. It contributes to an efficient use of society's scarce resources, technological development and innovation, a better choice of products and services, lower prices, higher quality and greater productivity in the economy as a whole. Therefore, competition contributes to the wider objectives of boosting strong and sustainable growth, competitiveness, employment creation and tackling climate change. Historical evidence suggests that the causal link between effective competition and economic growth is particularly important in times of economic crisis.
DG Competition carries out its mission mainly by taking direct enforcement action against companies or governments when it finds evidence of unlawful behaviour – be it collusion between competitors, abusive behaviour by dominant companies or attempts by government to distort competition by providing disproportionate support for particular companies. It prevents mergers when they would significantly reduce competition. At the same time it helps direct state support more closely to improving competitiveness and/or reducing regional and social disparities and away from aid which distorts competition on the market without any compensating benefit. Typically this positive kind of state support addresses market failures by public aid to R&D, innovation and risk capital, SME's, environmental protection and training.
DG Competition works in partnerships with other policies to support the delivery of other policy objectives in a pro-competitive way at EU and national level. It works in partnership with national competition authorities and national courts to ensure an effective and coherent application of EU competition law, thereby contributing to a level playing field in the Single Market. It promotes the private enforcement of EU competition law. To this end, it also provides guidance and transparency about the competition rules and their enforcement to improve legal certainty for stakeholders.
In the international context, it strives to shape global economic governance by strengthening international cooperation in enforcement activities and making steps towards increased convergence of competition policy instruments across different jurisdictions.
The enforcement and development of EU competition policy is based on sound law and economics, drawing on in-depth knowledge of how markets and companies operate. DG Competition channels its limited resources on the most harmful practices in key sectors. It strives to take decisions in a time-frame relevant to the problem and the market concerned and to ensure transparency, due process and predictability for its stakeholders.
The more than 900 staff of DG Competition is committed to adhere to the highest standards of professionalism, intellectual rigour and integrity.
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