Speech

Speech by EVP Vestager at the European Commission workshop on "Competition in Virtual Worlds and Generative AI",
Brussels, 28 June 2024.
[...] "The commercialisation of AI and its powerful tools is going to be lead by a few companies that already have a lot of market power. And these firms could leverage powerful network effects to control emerging markets. So we remain vigilant. Not just because of AI's huge potential to boost growth and competitiveness but also to protect things like freedom of expression and equality." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Open Markets Institute,
Brussels, 27 June 2024.
[...] "We are not just concerned with the concentration of market power. We are concerned that this power is in the hands of online platforms that have gained a huge space in our lives. That control how we get our news. How we share it. How we interact with each other.
The ties that we built across the Atlantic serve a common purpose. To restore competition. To empower companies and consumers. To set guardrails against disinformation and impediments to plurality. We have built far-reaching tools. We owe it to our citizens to use them with purpose." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at DG COMP's conference "Protecting competition in a changing world",
Brussels, 27 June 2024.
[...] "And to be clear, the advancement of competition policy means the advancement of the Single Market. Competition policy is about breaking down barriers and market partitioning. Progress in the Single Market's integration will both improve competition and provide more opportunities for scale economies and growth." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the European Competition Network conference on the DMA,
Amsterdam, 24 June 2024.
[...] "The Commission and the ECN members will work hard to ensure the DMA is effective. We will make sure that the stadium gates are kept open, the pitch is level and play is fair. You can leave that to us.
But we need you—startups, SMEs, and investors—to take the ball, run with it and score those goals. We are at a crucial point for digital markets, and we all need to pitch in. Together as Team DMA, we can make the digital game competitive again."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the European Young Bar Association summer conference,
Brussels, 21 June 2024.
[...] "When you read Norse mythology, the interactions with the jötnar are never simple. Sometimes it involves negotiations, sometimes it involves more active persuasion.
I think that is also how it must be with today's digital giants. The fact is, we are only at the beginning of a new digital era. The new rules we have put in place will need to be honed over time – I'm sure of it. But one lesson from the Viking myths will still be true: power is neither ‘all good' nor ‘all bad' – it's a mix of the two; and it all depends on what you do with it." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the High-Level Forum on State Aid,
Brussels, 3 June 2024.
[...] "State aid policy must continue to fulfil its mandate to avoid undue distortions to competition, while allowing the EU to stay at the forefront of innovation, cater for cohesion and lead the twin transition. The EU will need to maintain a balance and continue to adapt its State aid policy to changing market conditions and other policy developments while preserving a competitive Single Market." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the EU Competition Day,
Brussels, 26 April 2024.
[...] "I think we have made it clear that we will protect the Single Market. We will tackle distortive subsidies from wherever in the world they arise. But we will only act on the basis of clear evidence and in full respect of our international engagements and commitments." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Merger Regulation 20th Anniversary Conference,
Brussels, 18 April 2024.
[...] "And so like a tall and towering tree, the Merger Regulation has stood its ground, firmly rooted in the rule of law for the last 20 years. The secret to its success has been its robust but flexible framework. But we are on a constant learning curve, and always open to hear your feedback.
That said, I do think we have to be careful about tinkering with the basic framework of the Merger Regulation. Some are calling for some hard pruning to the tree. Others would like to see it chopped down altogether. If you ask me, I would prefer to see it continue to grow and blossom."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Orgalim 2024 reception,
Brussels, 16 April 2024.
[...] " what separates us from the next mandate is a lot more than just a few months. It is the distance between regulation, and its implementation. Because with regulation, you change perceptions. But with implementation, you change behaviours."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Institute for Advanced Study,
Brussels, 9 April 2024.
[...] " When it comes to digital, this is our 1955. And the policy choices we make today will shape how technology develops and how it is used, for decades to come.   
“This isn't a new weapon, it is a new world”. Indeed, just like nuclear decades ago, technology has the power to unfold a completely new world. But it is up to this world to decide what to make of technology. A weapon to diminish our humanity, and turn us against each other. Or, how I tend to see as a realist, a formidable source of human progress.."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Clean Energy Summit,
Brussels, 18 March 2024.
[...] " In conclusion, the green transition remains a ‘must'. The question is how we go about it, and here we must advocate for a market-driven approach, accompanied, where necessary, by targeted and proportionate public support.
Competition policy is part of the solution. It can support a cost-efficient transition, while ensuring that no one is left behind."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Global Competition Law Centre, College of Europe, Bruges, 1 March 2024.
[...] " indeed, Article 102 is the beating heart of EU antitrust enforcement. Like any muscle, the heart must exercise to keep in shape. We have been exercising intensely and we will continue to do so. The Guidelines on exclusionary abuses will set the frame for future enforcement. We need to get them right. An important part of the exercise right now is to listen to the voices of academics and practitioners in the field." [...]

Speech by EVP Vestager at the 22nd International Conference on Competition,
Berlin, 29 February 2024.
[...] " And so, as we are witnessing an upswing in digital M&A activity after the disruptive period of recent years, I believe that we are well equipped to rise to the challenge. We will continue to make sure that markets remain open and that tech giants keep facing competition. When needed, we will stop anticompetitive walls from being built. Because, as history teaches us, once a wall is built, it can take an awful long time to see it come down."

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Renew Europe event at the European Parliament,
Brussels, 19 February 2024.
[...] " A second lesson we've learned is that digital markets are wide-reaching, sometimes affecting the economy in ways you might not have expected. So we have to look carefully at vertical integration and at ecosystems. We have to take account of the impact of AI in how we assess mergers. We even have to think about how AI might lead to new kinds of algorithmic collusion. [...]"

Speech by Commissioner Didier Reynders at Annual CRA Conference,
Brussels, 6 December 2023.
[...] " competition policy is in motion. It is moving because the markets that demand our attention are being shaped by the great trends of our time – digital transition, a new era for global markets, and historic geopolitical shifts. If we are to protect the contestability of markets at the centre of these changes, we are obliged to adapt. [...]"

Speech by Director-General Olivier Guersent at VI Lisbon Conference,
8 November 2023.
[...] " The Commission has an important role to play in ensuring that AI remains innovation-intensive, and that consumers and businesses have a broad choice of AI systems. This is why we are monitoring the development of the AI sector."

Speech by Commissioner Didier Reynders at 22nd ICN Annual Conference,
Barcelona, 18 October 2023.
[...] " But “fit for purpose” also means that competition enforcement has to fit market realities. And those realities have changed: digital services are everywhere, monetary payments are no longer the norm and data has become a valuable input. [...]"

Speech by Director-General Olivier Guersent at Competition Day,
Barcelona, 17 October 2023.
[...] " because by embracing change we have the chance to shape it in a more positive direction. All of our policy work is about doing just that: keeping us open, fair and competitive, so that Europe can continue to play its part in a more prosperous, more just and more peaceful, global future."

Speech by Director-General Olivier Guersent at the 50th Conference on on International Antitrust Law and Policy,
Fordham University New York, 22 September 2023.
[...] " Of course, we have different legal systems, different enforcement traditions and also different priorities, so 100% alignment is neither realistic nor even desirable – especially not when it comes to the design of instruments themselves. But I believe there is scope for adequate convergence when it comes to outcomes.. [...]"

Keynote speech by Director-General Olivier Guersent at the 27th International Conference of the IBA,
Florence, 15 September 2023.
[...] " The EU is just one part of a highly globalised and integrated economic world order. We simply cannot escape the fact that successful cooperation between authorities contributes to healthy competitive markets, and also that it improves the transparency and efficiency of our work, in a way that makes it easier for companies to do business.. [...]"