Speech

30 October 2020

''[...]State aid rules can play a vital role in helping us get the most for our money – both to manage this crisis and to overcome it. When COVID hit in March, businesses were forced to shutter almost overnight; entire sectors of the economy had to close down. It was clear that large scale intervention was necessary to avoid otherwise healthy firms collapsing, to preserve jobs and economic activity.

We had to react quickly – and we did. We adopted temporary State aid rules that enabled Member States to provide much needed support, but with conditions to preserve our Single Market.[...]''

Speech by EVP Vestager,
AlgorithmWatch Online Policy Dialogue,
30 October 2020

[...] "And that's what the Digital Services Act is there for – not to undermine the great benefits we get from platforms. But to make sure that we, as a society, are in control. That these platforms are what they should be – tools that help us make sense of the vast amount of information that's out there, not guardians that decide what we can and can't see."

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
an event organised by the Berliner Gesprächskreis zum Europäischen Beihilfenrecht,
30 October 2020

[...] "With the green and digital transitions before us, the stakes really couldn’t be higher. Steering us to success now will mean using every instrument in our toolkit; whether that is to do with State aid, foreign subsidies or many other policy areas.
For a Europe that serves all European consumers and remains true to European values."[...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
EPC Webinar, Digital Clearinghouse,
29 October 2020

[...] "So for the world’s biggest gatekeepers, things are going to have to change. They are going to have to take more responsibility, for the effects that they have on our safety and our opportunities. The new rules that we’ll propose in a few weeks will give them that responsibility – they’ll also make sure we have the powers to enforce those duties. So that we can promise Europeans a safe, fair, trustworthy digital world, for the decades to come."

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
Munich Security Conference,
26 October 2020

[...] "To preserve our social market economy, it will be fundamental to ensure that the key decisions that shape our digital future are taken in our European democracy, and not by authoritarian governments or corporate board rooms.
[...] I am confident that if we keep strategic focus and show assertiveness and resilience, Europe can very much play a key role in shaping the digital world of tomorrow."

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
Fordham Competition Conference,
8 October 2020

[…] "And the extraordinary events of the last months bring up fresh challenges - challenges that call for serious discussion.
The corona crisis hit us hard and it hit us fast.
It is a crisis which has kept us apart. At times, I have found it very hard to manage the lack of face-to-face.
I think though that it has also brought us closer together, in some ways. For competition policy, it crystallises what we share in common, as practitioners and as policy makers." […]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
Tag der Industrie, Berlin,
5 October 2020

“[...] We also need to make sure the money we spend is spent well. Public investment should not be used to replace investments that private companies would have made anyway.

We also have to make sure we spend in a way that does not undermine European industry’s ability to compete, by harming competition, or weakening the single market. Our EU state aid rules can help with this. Because this is exactly what those rules are for.[...]”

Keynote address by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager (Virtual) Conference: 'Business, Big Tech & Competition Forum in the Digital Age' (Dublin) 2 October 2020 The address dealt with a variety of topics, including recovering in times of transition, artificial intelligence, digital skills, electronic government, and fair taxation.

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager
Ambrosetti Club
23 September 2020
[...]"Our sights are set on making a fast and sustainable recovery, but to get there we need the full force of competition behind us. Competitive markets drive the economy towards higher growth. And they do more: They deliver innovation; they push us onto the technology frontier. That was true a hundred years ago. It was true fifty years ago and it will be true in the future." [...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager
Renew Webinar
22 September 2020

[...]"That’s a big challenge for competition enforcers. But it’s also a reminder that we can’t do it all. This is a team effort – and none of us has to be, or can be, the saviour of Europe’s environment on our own.
So as our debate on greening competition policy takes shape, we won’t be competing to win applause, by single-handedly making Europe green. Instead, we want to find the right place in the team that will make sure we leave a healthier world to our children."[...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
Renew Webinar,
22 September 2020

“[...]A large part of the state aid that governments give today already supports the environment and cleaner energy. But we still want to see if there are ways to make the rest of Europe’s state aid spending greener.[...]”

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
International Bar Association 24th Annual Competition Conference,
11 September 2020.

[...] "Competition won’t take the place of these policies. But it will give us the strength and the adaptability, to make the most of the opportunities they offer.
That’s why we need to keep our merger rules working as well as they possibly can. And to do that, we need to draw on all the knowledge and experience that this international competition family has to offer." [...]

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
Competition Day,
Berlin, 7 September 2020

[...] "There can be no denying that this has been a difficult year so far. And the challenges will be different but no less difficult. But we have the tools and skills to overcome them, to ensure we create a society that is fair and green; one that makes the most of a new digital world." [...]

“[...]It is in our hands to shape our digital future. The Digital Services Act and the new Competition tool are two important initiatives to define Europe’s vision of a digital transformation that works for all.[...]”

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
ASCOLA Annual Conference,
26 June 2020

“[...]There’s a huge amount at stake here. If our society can adapt to the challenges that digitisation brings, we can look forward to wider choice, new services and devices, lower prices, new possibilities, better lives. But if we fail to adapt, then the dark side of technology will get the upper hand. And we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.[...]”

"In the past few months, everyone in Europe has made extraordinary efforts, to help control the spread of the new coronavirus. We've pulled together, in local communities and all across Europe. Because we all understand that none of us is safe until all of us are safe.

Those efforts have borne fruit. But the European economies are suffering. A lot of people are at risk of losing their jobs. Our lives and livelihoods still depend on us working together – not least, by pooling Europe's resources, to help our economy get through this crisis […]"

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager
Brussels, 29 May 2020

"[…] There are four vital areas that our guidance addresses, to enable tourism in a safe way this summer. Borders, travel, health and vouchers […] Today's guidance can give a chance of a better season for the many Europeans whose livelihoods depend on tourism. And for those who would like to travel this summer […]"

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager
Brussels
13 May 2020

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
D-Congress,
Gothenburg, 5 March 2020

"[...] technology itself is just a tool. It doesn’t have any purpose of its own. It’s just a source of possibilities – a kind of power source, a bit like an electrical socket, that will run whatever we plug into it. So if we decide to use it in the interests of our society – to make us happier and freer, to help us tackle climate change and live healthier lives – then it will do that. But if, as a society, we don’t take control of the direction that digitisation takes, then others will do it for us. We’ll leave the choices about technology’s future – and the future of our society – in the hands of powerful governments and big tech companies [...]"

Speech by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager,
College of Europe,
Bruges, 2 March 2020

"[...] So the state aid rules are a vital part of the green transition. And it’s important that we keep them up to date, so they can support the investments we need. That’s why we’ve decided to speed up our review of the rules on state aid for energy and the environment, so the new rules can be in place by the end of next year. [...]"