Speech

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Romanian Competition Council Anniversary Event, Bucharest, 18 May 2017

"Competition enforcement doesn't play favourites. We base our decisions on the evidence and the law.
But that doesn't mean that our work is neutral. Quite the opposite. Our purpose is clear: we’re here to defend the consumer. So when Romania first adopted its competition law, twenty years ago, it sent a powerful message, that consumers' interests mattered."

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Speech International Competition Network Annual Conference, Porto, 10 May 2017

"We all know that among competitors, too much cooperation can get you in trouble. For us as enforcers, the opposite is true. We will get into trouble if we don’t cooperate.
So let’s operate like a global information exchange system – not just as monopolies in our own national markets"

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Washington DC, 31 March 2017

[…] We learned a lot from America when the EU began. And we keep learning from each other even today. Because in the end, though our systems are not the same, I think our basic aim is. In Europe, just as in the US, we’re here to make sure the economy works for everyone. Not just the biggest companies, but for every consumer.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
SKAGEN Funds New Year’s Conference, Copenhagen, 12 January 2017
"[This] needs to be a year when we make sure nothing stands in the way of Europe’s potential.
We need to make sure banks are strong and able to lend. That capital markets can serve innovative, growing businesses. That financial innovation has a chance to succeed, no matter what the source. And that consumers and taxpayers share in the benefits that growth and innovation bring."

1/12/2016 - Commissioner Magrethe Vestager, 15th OECD Global Forum on Competition, Paris
"As enforcers, we work to keep markets open and to foster competition. And those principles aren't just important for enforcement of competition law. They can also help us to design regulations that really work.
We want energy that is affordable and reliable. But to face the challenge of climate change, we also need it to be sustainable. And markets that are open and competitive can help us reach those goals."

28/11/2016 - Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, CERRE Dinner Debate, Brussels
"Everything today is getting connected to the Internet. Our homes, our cars, the objects we wear. And to get the most out of developments like the Internet of Things, we need investment in telecoms networks. We need to offer the latest high-speed Internet connections and ensure wide 5G mobile access. That will cost a lot of money. And a lot of the necessary investment will be the result of competition. Because every business knows that if it doesn't invest in better services, its rivals certainly will."

23/11/2016 - Commissioner Vestager, European Competition Day, Bratislava
"[E]very member of our team has a vital role to play. National competition authorities need to give everyone the protection of EU competition law. Not just by having the right powers, but by getting the resources and the independence to put those powers to good use. And national courts need to be able to compensate people who have suffered from cartels or illegal state aid. That's why helping our team to work better is just as important to me as any case that we’re investigating."

21/11/2016 - Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Chillin’ Competition Conference, Brussels
"[W]e need to act carefully when we deal with excessive prices. The best defence against exploitation remains the ability to walk away. So we can often protect consumers just by stopping powerful companies from driving their rivals out of the market. But we still have the option of acting directly against excessive prices. Because we have a responsibility to the public. And we should be willing to use every means we have to fulfil that responsibility."

9/11/2016 - Gert Jan Koopman, Deputy Director-General, ECMI Annual Conference Brussels
"State Aid rules continue to provide a tried and tested framework within which policies to bring down high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) can be developed in a manner that avoids undue reliance on the tax payer, incentivises banks to take their responsibility and protects the internal market. The State Aid rule book, therefore, remains part of the toolkit that can be deployed for developing solutions to address NPLs"

14/11/2016 - Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, 9th Luther Conference & the award ceremony of the LutherRose 2016 in Copenhagen
"Our belief in fairness and equality, in respect for diversity and for the individual, can help us to get through even the darkest times. It can help to give people confidence that there is another way. That they don't have to follow those who argue for isolation and division as the answer to our problems, but are really selling something that will only hurt those who are most in need."

29/9/2016 - EDPS-BEUC Conference on Big Data, Brussels
"[B]ig data has enormous potential. But it won't achieve that potential unless people are confident that their rights are protected.[..] So the future of big data is not just about technology. It's about things like data protection, consumer rights and competition. Things that give people confidence that big data won't harm them."

19/9/2016 - Press Event, Washington DC - Commissioner Margrethe Vestager

"Competition gives people choice. It stimulates innovation. It can drive companies to make the most of scarce resources, helping us to face big challenges like climate change.[..] And competition enforcement also sends a message of fairness. That public authorities are here to defend the interests of individuals, not just to take care of big corporations. And that everyone, however rich or powerful, has to play by the rules."

15/9/2016 - Forum for EU-US Legal-Economic Affairs, Paris

"Digital markets move fast. (…) But human nature doesn't change quite so quickly. So even though the technology is new, the issues that we have to deal with are very familiar.

Our job is – as it always has been - to make sure consumers are treated fairly. That powerful businesses can't just do deals that raise prices, or suppress innovation, or deny people the freedom to choose the products they want. And that Member States cannot grant subsidies to individual companies, selectively, which enable those companies to push competitors out of the market."

9/9/2016 - Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

"Most of us pay our taxes. Some with more enthusiasm than others. Still, we pay because we know that a civilised society, where no one is left behind, depends on it.
[..] But we do expect taxation to be fair. That those who have the most will contribute the most. And that no one, however wealthy or powerful they may be, will be able to avoid paying their share."