Commissioner For Competition
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The Commissioner for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition is the member of the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
responsible for
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
. The current commissioner is
Teresa Ribera Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (; born 19 May 1969) is a Spanish jurist, civil servant, academic, and politician who is the First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition and Commissioner for Comp ...
(
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...
).


Responsibilities

The portfolio has responsibility for such matters as commercial competition, company mergers,
cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...
s,
state aid State aid in the European Union is the name given to a subsidy or any other aid provided by a government that distorts competition. Under European Union competition law, the term has a legal meaning, being any measure that demonstrates any of the ...
, and
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
law. The position became the sole merger authority for the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...
in September 1990. The Competition Commissioner is one of the most powerful positions in the commission, and indeed the world, and is notable in affecting global regulatory practices in a phenomenon known as the
Brussels effect The Brussels effect is the process of European Union (EU) regulations spreading well beyond the EU's borders. Through the Brussels effect, regulated entities, especially corporations, end up complying with EU laws even outside the EU for a variet ...
. For example, preventing the merger of two US companies,
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
and
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
, in 2001.The Commission prohibits GE's acquisition of Honeywell
Europa (web portal)
In 2007, Neelie Kroes (then-Competition Commissioner) was the only Commissioner to make
Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women Since 2004, ''Forbes'', an American business magazine, has published an annual list of its ranking of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Edited by prominent ''Forbes'' journalists, including Moira Forbes, the list is compiled using vario ...
; she held position 59.


Past commissioners


Mario Monti (1999–2004)

Mario Monti Mario Monti (; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...
is particularly notable for his ruling during the GE-Honeywell merger attempt in 2001.
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, a US company, sought to acquire another US company,
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
. This merger had been approved by US authorities, however Monti, with the backing of the rest of the commission, rejected the merger; Rather than be blocked from the European market, the merger was abandoned. This was the first time that a merger between two US companies had been blocked solely by European authorities, only the second time it had blocked just two US companies and only the 15th merger it had blocked ever since it started work. On 1 May 2004 Monti oversaw a radical change in the Competition powers of the Commission concerning antitrust regulation, merger controls, licensing agreements and air transport.


Neelie Kroes (2004–10)

During
Neelie Kroes Neelie Kroes (; born 19 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson who served as European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 to 1 November 2014. Kroes studied Economics at ...
' hearing at the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, MEPs expressed concern about whether Ms Kroes had a sufficiently detailed grasp of certain specific subjects, but was approved as part of the Commission in 2004. Since then she states that she promotes a fair and free business environment, achieving sustainable economic growth and higher employment. The commission has been involved in a number of high-profile cases fighting anticompetitive behaviour; such as the case against the merger of
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
– BMG, against
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
regarding
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
and the ongoing case against Microsoft. The latter has been an ongoing dispute on a number of issues, in April 2007 Microsoft became the first company to refuse to comply with the Commissions rulings, in response Commissioner Kroes is looking at more harsher methods to gain the co-operation of companies; "We have never, ever before encountered a company that has refused to comply with commission decisions ... We learned we may have to look for a more effective remedy." In September 2007, the
Court of First Instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...
(EU's second highest court) upheld the commission's decision to fine Microsoft 497 million euro and its order for to Microsoft for it to share its information setting what the Commission described as an "important precedent". Kroes stated that "Today's court ruling…shows that the Commission was right to take its decision, and right to take firm action to enforce that decision". Either party may appeal to the
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
. In response to the ruling the US Justice Departments top antitrust official, Thomas Barnett, criticised the ruling which sparked a response from Kroes stating that "It is totally unacceptable that a representative of the US administration criticises an independent court of law outside its jurisdiction ... It is absolutely not on. The European Commission does not pass judgement on rulings by US courts and we expect the same degree of respect from US authorities for rulings by EU courts." Kroes holds a strong belief in free market principles and was tough with offenders. By the time her term as Competition Commissioner ended, she had completed most major cases.Who’s who in the new Commission
Financial Times November 2009


Joaquín Almunia (2010–14)

Joaquín Almunia Joaquín Almunia Amann (born 17 June 1948) is a Spanish politician and former member of the European Commission. During his tenure in the two Barroso Commissions, he was European commissioner responsible for economic and monetary affairs (2004â ...
, previously the Finance Commissioner, took on the competition portfolio under the second
Barroso Commission The Barroso Commission was the European Commission in office from 22 November 2004 until 31 October 2014. Its President of the European Commission, president was José Durão Barroso, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from Member sta ...
in 2010 and was expected to have a tenure similar to Kroes' stringent run. His appointment was welcomed by competition lawyers as someone well qualified and experienced. He also impressed Parliament at his hearing and early on in his work had to deal with whether or not to pursue action against Google. He also come out in favour of the idea of a European Monetary Fund to deal with defaulting member states.


Margrethe Vestager (2014–2024)

Margrethe Vestager Margrethe Vestager (; born 13 April 1968) is a Denmark, Danish politician who formerly served as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age between December 2019 and November 2024 in the Von Der Leye ...
was the European Commissioner responsible for Competition matters during the 2014–2024 period. She was part of both the Juncker and Von Der Leyen I college of Commissioners. Her two terms at the European Commission were marked by strong enforcement across the full spectrum of competition policy. The cases brought against the abuse of dominance by large digital companies, as well as the Apple Tax case, are among the most notable. To date, she did not lose a single case concerning abuses of dominance before the European Court of Justice. Her leadership obtained much praise, as well as criticism. Her enforcement record is mixed, with big wins and major losses before EU courts.


Teresa Ribera (since 2024)

On 1 December 2024, Teresa Ribera was appointed First Executive
Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...
for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition and European Commissioner for Competition under the second Von der Leyen Commission.


List of commissioners


See also

*
Directorate-General for Competition Within the European Union (EU), Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility. Within the European Commission specifically, Directorates-General are the equivalent of national-level ministries. Most are headed by a ...
*
European Union competition law In the European Union, competition law promotes the maintenance of competition within the European Single Market by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies to ensure that they do not create cartels and monopolies that would damage th ...
* European Union v. Microsoft


References


External links


Juncker Commission's website



Case No. M.2220, General Electric/Honeywell
{{CommissionPortfolios
Competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
Commissioner Competition European Union competition law