Mr President, Commissioner, I want to begin by thanking Mr Rapkay for a good report and constructive cooperation. I want to thank you, Commissioner Monti, for your outstanding cooperation and I want to tell you that, as we enter the new millennium, you have an especially important role. It is your job to tidy up the mess by national governments. These may well have grand visions when it comes to competition policy, but their capacity to wreak havoc seems boundless. Let me mention the latest examples we have seen: Holzmann, a company which receives considerable aid from the German Government; sawmills in former East Germany; and, especially, aid to shipyards. These are three areas in which many Danish companies are experiencing major problems and are being squeezed out of their markets. I want to say to Mr Poos that I very much agree with Mr Duisenberg that these examples show that some EU Member States are not in a position to restructure their economies and, to that extent, are helping to undermine the value of the euro. The Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party has tabled 80 amendments in the committee, all concerning state aid. These are amendments which we believe will lead to transparency and openness, which is very important with a view to making the internal market work. I should like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the committee for supporting the amendments tabled by the Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party. As I say, our amendments concern transparency, and I should like to emphasise the amendment which urges the Commission to propose uniform criteria and conditions for the type of state aids we consider to be lawful, specifically in order to ensure that companies can predict what their situation will be. Another issue is that of what we are to do when state aid is declared unlawful. How do we ensure that unlawful state aid is paid back? At present, there are no common rules in this area, and we vigorously urge the Commission to make a point of harmonising the rules on repayment. This is the way forward if we are to ensure uniform conditions of competition. Finally, we propose keeping both a register, as mentioned by a number of my fellow MEPs, and also a scoreboard showing where the Member States at present stand with regard to state aid. You have shown us the way, Mr Monti, with the single market scoreboard. It was this which inspired us to propose the same thing with regard to state aid. I very much hope that you, Commissioner Monti, will support these amendments, and I look forward to your comments and to finding out where you stand on this matter. To conclude, I want to welcome the Commission’s XVIIIth Report on Competition Policy, on which, once again, a good deal of work has been done. But, as I have already mentioned, our overriding objectives ought still to be those of transparency and openness. There is still a need to tighten up in the areas mentioned, and there is therefore good reason for continuing to work resolutely towards solving the problems concerning the lack of transparency and openness in the area of state aid. This is especially necessary in relation to the forthcoming enlargement of the Union, and I should like to thank Mr Jonckheer who, in his report, has considered very thoroughly the problems associated with enlargement and with ensuring that the applicant countries are able to meet our criteria, as well as with ensuring common conditions of competition. As Liberals and , we clearly have different opinions on how the world should look, but we are well on the way to agreement as to our objectives, and we shall try to find reasonable solutions to our problems.

Political group: ELDR