The Quiet Driver of Economic Success

An effective competition policy strengthens Europe’s international competitiveness by promoting innovation, investment, and market entry. More competition — not less — will also put European companies on the path to global success. Industrial policy approaches such as relaxing merger control rules in order to create “European champions” do not constitute a promising strategy and can easily backfire. State support for specific technologies or industries may be justified in individual cases, for example where market failure has been demonstrated, but such support should remain technology-neutral, temporary, and designed in a competition-oriented manner.

The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) requires sufficient personnel and technical expertise in order to effectively apply both traditional antitrust instruments and newer powers, such as remedies following sector inquiries. The latter also allow for state-ordered structural separation measures, which in exceptional cases may constitute a necessary instrument for restoring competition and strengthening long-term economic dynamism. For this reason, the high legal thresholds for such measures should be reviewed.

In merger control, greater reliance should be placed on economically grounded presumptions and, where appropriate, on reversals of the burden of proof. This would help accelerate and simplify proceedings. In this context, newly substantiated theories of competitive harm, as well as more recent considerations regarding merger efficiencies, should be taken into account more strongly — including beyond the affected market, provided that European consumers benefit. By contrast, incorporating non-competition objectives such as industrial-policy-driven size considerations or employment protection into competition assessments is viewed critically. Separate legal mechanisms are preferable for addressing such objectives.

A modern competition policy can take resilience and security considerations into account, yet even under changing political and economic conditions it should remain guided by the principle of preserving effective competition. Because competition and consumer interests are closely interconnected, a stronger role for the Bundeskartellamt in consumer protection may also be appropriate in order to exploit synergies and reinforce the pro-competitive elements of consumer law.