Speech

Keynote speech by EVP Vestager at the NordicSIF Conference,
Copenhagen, 9 June 2023.
[...] " Competition policy is another great instrument for creating subsidiarity. When we work to ensure markets are fair and contestable, we put more power in the hands of individual consumers and families. Not only does this help them secure lower prices, but crucially, it gives them the power to make more sustainable choices... [...]"

Keynote speech by EVP Vestager at the International Forum of the Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht,
Brussels, 25 May 2023.
[...] "You told us to cut even more red tape for mergers that bring no risk to competition. We listened. You told us to ‘focus your resources on the cases that really matter', and we agree. Last year, we launched an exercise that resulted in a Simplification Package, that was just adopted last month.. [...]"

Speech by EVP Vestager at the Competition Day,
Stockholm, 5 May 2023.
[...] "Because whether it is the energy crisis or the climate crisis, a crisis cannot be an excuse for bad behaviour: our enforcement tools serve to ensure that sustainability, or inflation, are not used as covers for illegal collusion. In other words, we do not forget the basics. [...]"

Keynote speech by EVP Vestager at the Global Competition Law Conference,
Brussels, 20 April 2023.
[...] "With floods, droughts and wildfires like we've never seen before, it should be clear how urgent climate action has become. We have to do everything we can to make that transition as effective and durable as possible - and for that healthy competition has an important role to play. [...]"

Remarks delivered by EVP Vestager at the State aid and tax conference,
Copenhagen, 20 March 2023.
[...] "We are not out of the crisis period yet. Change remains the norm, and because of this, we will continue to react and act to achieve our priorities and defend our interests, including when it comes to State aid policy. [...]"

Keynote delivered by EVP Vestager for the Concurrences Conference on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation,
Brussels, 6 March 2023.
[...] "The role of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation is therefore to ensure fairness across the board: fairness vis-à-vis foreign subsidies, in a legal system consistent with the rule that we impose on ourselves under the State aid rules. Fairness is also imbedded in the new rules, in the form of a constructive balancing test that will secure duly justified subsidies [...]"

Keynote delivered by EVP Vestager for the Keystone Conference,
Brussels, 2 March 2023.
[...] "one thing stands clear: whatever the multi-polar world order looks like; however digital we become; however much we advance on our green objectives, one thing will always be true – preserving fair competition will be our fundamental driver."

Executive Vice-President Vestager's welcome address to the 7th Battery Ministerial,
Brussels, 1 March 2023.
[...] "What we are proposing is, first, to make the calculation of State aid simpler and its approval faster to accelerate the deployment of renewables and the decarbonisation of industrial processes. And second, to enable aid for accelerated investments in strategic sectors that are at risk of relocation, like batteries, of course." [...]

Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the proposal for a State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework,
Brussels, 1 February 2023.
[...] "This is a broad, far-reaching temporary proposal of changes to our current State aid system. But looking at the whole proposal, I would urge Member States to focus on the second component. Because using State aid to establish mass production and to match foreign subsidies is something new. And it is not innocent. It comes with significant risks for the integrity of the Single Market. And for our cohesion. And because of that, also for our unity." [...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
Cleantech for Europe Summit, Brussels,
25 January 2023.
[...] "But more may be needed in sectors strategic for the green transition and impacted both by high, volatile, unpredictible energy prices and by large amounts of subsidies in third countries. That’s why we are working on simplifying our State aid rules and speeding up the use of those rules. We have red lines too. One is that we will not sacrifice the Single Market. Because as said, a well-functioning Single Market is part of the engine that will make this work." [...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
State aid High Level Forum of Member States, Brussels,
25 January 2023.
[...] "We also need to complete the Single Market: reducing barriers and regulatory burden, enforcing existing rules. The untapped potential of the Single Market can bring much more than what State aid will ever be able to deliver. The benefits of removing Member State-level barriers to the Single Market for goods and services alone could amount to €713 billion by the end of 2029.
We must make sure that the word ‘green’ doesn’t become a euphemism for a new kind of protectionism." [...]

Remarkst by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
EP Plenary session - Ceremony on the 30th Anniversary of the Single Market, Strasbourg
16 January 2023.
[...] "More ambition and more efforts are needed to simply pursue further the integration of the Single Market.
There are intense discussions about how to improve Europe's competitiveness and accelerate the twin transition.
We are looking at our State aid rules to amend and simplify them where necessary. It can be a short-term boost. But we don't build competitiveness out of subsidies. This must be a temporary adjustment." [...]

Blogpost by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
15 December 2022.
[...] "State aid is a powerful solution to the current challenges, but you can’t build competitiveness out of subsidies. Only a seamless, strong and well-functioning single market can provide for sustainable, long-term growth. So all our efforts should be put to lift-up the remaining barriers to the single market." [...]

Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
OECD 21st meeting of the Global Forum on Competition,
1 December 2022.
[...] "That is the very essence of policy complementarity - for the DMA, for the Foreign Subsidies regulation, and for tax fairness. And when the limits of one tool are reached, we learn from this and develop new tools. This is how we evolve and stay relevant in a dynamic environment.
But for us, the core philosophy must never change: Our mission is to protect competition. It's as simple as that."

The European Commission takes note of Kronospan's and Pfleiderer's decision to terminate their agreement according to which Kronospan intended to acquire sole control over Pfleiderer Polska, the Polish subsidiary of the Pfleiderer Group.

Keynote by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
Making Markets Work for People conference, Brussels,
27 October 2022.
[...] "competition policy and regulation have a common role to play in keeping digital markets open and fair. Digital markets have special features, as we have learned over the last years. It has to do with the scale and the role played by data. These markets can still work for people, but for that to happen, we need to ensure they remain fair and contestable. So, we continue with our competition lave enforcement on a case-by-case basis and also supplement it with new regulation." [...]

Keynote by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
European Competition Law Tuesdays, Brussels,
25 October 2022.
[...] "in our interactions with global stakeholders, it is not the ‘EU's way of doing things' that we are seeking to defend and promote. Rather, it is the principles which underpin fair and effective competition, which protect the well-being of consumers and which lead to growth and innovation."

Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
the Schwarzkopf Foundation,
13 October 2022.
[...] "for competition to be fair, the playing field must be level. Our competition rules are there to make sure that happens - in other words, to make sure that what determines the winners and losers is how well they play the game, and nothing else." [...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
Annual Conference of the EU Heads of Delegation, Brussels,
11 October 2022.
[...] "Dear colleagues, in this global technology race, digital has become the new way of speaking about human rights. Take it on board, make it part of your core tasks as diplomats. Do not ignore it because it sounds technical or complicated. We have a duty towards human rights, and that is a matter of the heart. One should not ignore matters of the heart."

Speech by Executive Vice-President Vestager,
European Competition day 2022, Prague,
10 October 2022.
[...] "But the sense of common purpose that I feel all around Europe is also present in our work as competition policy enforcers. With ECN+, and with the new application of Article 22 of the Merger Regulation, the Commission and the National Competition Authorities are more a team now than ever before." [...]