New Yorkers, good morning,
Good morning colleagues and friends of the extended competition family,
Many thanks for your kind words and for bringing us all together today.
Through open dialogue, different societies can cultivate a shared perspective.
Diplomacy and multilateral relationships have historically made societies more prosperous and have raised equality standards worldwide.
At the heart of all this cooperation lies a deeper principle: respect for democratic values and the rule of law.
Democracy is about sharing power – power shared between public administrations and people to the benefit of all.
People want to avoid excessive or arbitrary power in their workplaces, in their communities, and in their economies. People also want to support businesses that improve their lives and that act fairly in the market, protect the environment, and contribute to a prosperous society creating wealth and opportunities for all.
And there we are, discussing on competition law and its increasingly important role; ensuring a fair and firm enforcement without fear or favour.
Because when markets are open and competitive, they become part of the democratic fabric, ensuring that no single company holds disproportionate influence over our choices, our information, or our futures.
Competition policy is not just about economic efficiency. It is one of the relevant tools we can count on for safeguarding democracy. For balancing power and ensuring that it does not become excessive.
Think back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there it came responding to concerns about the power and influence of corporations and monopolies, like Standard Oil or US Steel. By passing the Sherman Antitrust Act, you, Americans, showed us the way, rejecting the concentration of economic power when it comes at the expense of the citizens.
Do never forget: antitrust enforcement was and still is a movement for justice. A movement for people and for wealth creation.
Now, that so many are again debating over what kind of future we want, its time to underline that. More than ever today, shared democratic values must guide our societies and our future.
Democracy and digital markets
In too many sectors – from food to energy, pharmaceuticals or digital platforms – we see a handful of companies concentrating market power.
This raises several questions, one of which is how to avoid that these companies monopolise and capture markets. And this is not about targeting companies or jurisdictions, but about ensuring that we protect fair competition and consumer welfare. And ultimately, democracy itself.
And in this we continue to take a strong stance in Europe.Take for example our latest decision on Google.
As you know, we fined Google for abusing its dominant position in the advertising technology supply chain. We also required that Google eliminates its conflicts of interest within the AdTech chain.
And we [Europe] are not alone in this.
In April this year, a US Federal Court upheld the main claims of a Department of Justices complaint against Googles advertising business, reaching essentially the same conclusions we did.
This means that there is room to ensure that Google puts in place an effective remedy on both sides of the Atlantic.
We believe that it is in everyones interest to get to a joint outcome, both for the public authorities, for users worldwide, and for Google itself. At this point, it seems that this can be done only by selling some part of its AdTech business. But it is up to Google to decide to how to do it. If it fails to come up with a viable plan within 60 days, we will impose an appropriate remedy.
Its just an example but a good example to show that, above all, our two great democracies are moving in the same direction: towards a people-first economy.
And many questions are still ahead around new realities. Take for instance artificial intelligence and cloud. But I am sure we will find the right answers to keep building together a fair and prosperous world.
Regulation vs self-regulation
We Europeans are sometimes accused of over-regulating.
Some believe markets should self-correct without intervention. That we should deregulate, defund enforcement, replace qualified regulators…But others recognise that markets do not or cannot always self-correct effectively or fairly.
In fact, in certain markets such as the digital industry, the concern is that some very large companies can gather unprecedented power spilling over markets and aspects of our lives, and even acting beyond any neutral regulator.
So, the real question becomes: how do we make sure the power to set and enforce rules remains accountable to citizens? How we can enable the potential of markets, while regulating where necessary? That is our mission.
We engage with stakeholders, citizens and experts, aiming to act quickly to stop dominant companies from stifling start-ups and innovation.
Our recent work on regulation of big tech is part of a global effort to address the shared challenge of monopolistic power.
Europe has been the first jurisdiction but not the only to act.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is the worlds first specific regulation designed to make digital markets in Europe fairer and to create new opportunities for smaller businesses and consumers.
It shows democracy in action – recognising that traditional antitrust instruments are sometimes not enough in a fast-changing digital economy.
A few months ago, we found that Apple breached the DMA by blocking app developers from steering users to alternative offers outside the App Store. We fined Apple and ordered it to end these restrictions.
This led to positive results, including for US companies. For example, US firm Epic Games launched its store for iPhones in the EU and can also inform users of other offers and payment systems, which address concerns raised in lawsuits elsewhere. In parallel, in April, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Epic Games an injunction to restrain and prohibit Apples anticompetitive conduct and fees.
So, again in the end we are not alone in seeking to address these problems. And it makes sense: todays challenges are no longer confined by national borders.
Democracy in reviewing merger guidelines
Another area where our challenges are not confined by borders, but only by the realities of local or global trade is our merger policy.
We are just now in the process of modernising our rulebook through modernizing our Horizontal and Vertical Merger Guidelines. We do this with a focus on transparency, fairness, and long-term impact.
We recently closed a public consultation on this matter, which has attracted an impressive engagement - another exercise in democracy.
We are now working to translate the input we received into clear and practical rules to provide both predictability and clarity on our approach.
This process is complex but necessary. And despite the complexity, our priorities are clear.
Allow me to highlight two main areas:
First, Europe wants Single Market champions that operate across borders and beyond national borders.
Second, innovation is central to our competition and productivity.
So, its no surprise that the EU Single Markets resilience and competitiveness are top priorities.
Our new rules will not only focus on harmful mergers, but also on supporting companies that want to enter new markets, build resilient supply chains, and offer more choices to consumers.
But make no mistake: we wont be soft on mergers that only benefit companies or vested interests.
We will oppose mergers that enrich shareholders but hurt consumers, that concentrate market power, kill innovation or make strong companies even stronger while Europeans pay the price.
True champions must compete within the Single Market. Like Olympic athletes, real champions win global contests by training and competing against opponents.
Many businesses have welcomed the debate on company scale during our consultation. They noted the need for clearer rules for when scale brings real long-term benefits. Meanwhile, consumers and small businesses warned that these benefits can sometimes be misleading excuses for higher prices that raise profits but not competitiveness.
It is now the moment to address innovation as central to our competitiveness and productivity.
Businesses urged us to adopt a more innovation-friendly approach, even if it means accepting some negative price effects. Some start-ups and innovators stressed that over-intervention and red tape risk discouraging investment, especially when it creates uncertainty about their ability to scale or exit.
Our guidelines will seek to stop harmful practices that threaten small innovators. We will also support European start-ups and innovators seeking investment and growth to scale up in European and global markets.
Our new rules will clearly explain when we wont intervene and highlight mergers that promote innovation, giving these dynamic companies certainty and reducing red tape.
The work ahead of us is complex but we plan to do it in a transparent dialogue.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders – academics, citizens, lawyers, trade unions – and in 2026 we will share a draft of our new Guidelines.
I want these guidelines to be shaped by proper and deep thinking and not by ephemeral headlines.
In Europe, we are doing this exercise for the first time in more than 20 years, and it is a priority.
We have to get it right: these rules will apply to all companies that want to invest and do business in Europe.
Democracy and sustainability
Let me comment about another relevant market driver: sustainability and its role as a competition parameter.
Just as todays society demands fair competition in tech, it equally demands transparency and fairness in the path towards a sustainable, green future.
In the EU it has become mainstream to look into sustainability aspects in our competition cases. So, being transparent about the hidden environmental costs of business practices is essential for a level playing field. Just as much as being transparent about the benefits of more sustainable production.
This transparency allows consumers and companies to make informed choices that reflect the true cost and benefits. Access to accurate information empowers everyone and is key for democracy.
When companies merge, its not enough to assess only market dominance in the short term; we must also weigh the long-term impact on sustainable development and fair competition. But we can only assess that impact if there is transparency and methods to calculate both green benefits and environmental costs.
One factor that can help in making these costs and benefits transparent is to work with financial markets to make environmental costs visible and properly accounted for. Thats the goal of the so-called green taxonomy and the improvements in accountability and reporting to improve market clarity and investor awareness, helping drive better competition and a greener economy.
Efforts to promote sustainable finance should be seen as positive steps toward stronger competition and global economic strength. They bring transparency and fair assessment and valuation of assets. But this is not the only aspect to be considered.
We also encourage initiatives by companies to cooperate on sustainability. Just as much as we dont tolerate anti-competitive behaviour, we welcome procompetitive sustainable cooperation.
Even more, we have decided to provide adequate guidance for those jurisdictions willing to back these efforts.
Take the State aid subsidies as a means to face market failures. Think of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US the CISAF in the EU. Transparent, predictive and proportionate means to facilitate the deep transformation that we need in our economies, in the ways we produce wealth without minimising or delaying harm. Or think on how we may assess its relevance when evaluating criteria to prevent unlawful cooperation.
That also been reflected in our work as we have included a new chapter on sustainability agreements in our horizontal conduct guidelines. Also, for this reason, we invite market players to come and present their ideas.
By integrating sustainability into competition policy, we strengthen our markets, paving the way for economic growth that is socially and environmentally responsible and provide long lasting fair play in well-functioning markets.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends
In Europe, we are committed to facilitate a clean, just and competitive transition of our economy.
We want companies to succeed; we are happy to see them grow; we welcome their contribution to prosperity.
But as a society, we set limits to their power.
Because we know that innovation suffers under monopoly. Sustainability suffers under monopoly. And freedom and democracy suffers under monopoly.
And we also know that as law enforcers, we are mandated to ensure a well-functioning market, without fear or favour.
We count on you.
Thank you.
