24.2.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC49/9
Opiniononthe20thReportonCompetitionPolicy
(92/C49/05
TheCommissiondecidedon24May1991,inaccordancewithArticle198oftheEECTreaty,
toasktheEconomicandSocialCommitteeforanOpiniononthe20thReportonCompetition
Policy.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsiblefor
thepreparatorywork,adopteditsOpinionon4December1991.TheRapporteurwas
MrRamaekers .
Atits292ndplenarysession(meetingof18December1991),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionwithnovotesagainstand4abstentions .
1.Layoutofthereport
1.1.EveniftheCommission'sphilosophy—which,
however,claimstobeevolutionary—consistsofusing
itsannualreportoncompetitiontopaintasvastand
detailedapictureaspossibleofthegeneralpractices,
individualcases,decisionsandfutureguidelineswhich
constituteDGIV'sframeworkforaction,thereis
alwaysariskwiththepresentdesignofthereport,
whichisparticularlydenseanddetailed,ofobscuring
theaim,i.e.toprovideanoverallbalancesheetof
competitionpolicytogetherwithacriticalappraisalof
theresultsachieved.Itwouldthereforebeusefulifin
futurethepresentationofthereportweremorein
keepingwiththisaim—eventothepointoftransferring
routinedecisionsandtheanalysisofindividualcases
toanappendix—andifthe'body'ofthereportwere
devotedtoanalysesoftrendsincompetitionpolicy.
1.2.Onemustemphasizetheeffortsmadebythe
Commissiontobringthisreportoutintheshortest
possibletime.#Inthefuturesucheffortswillhavetobe
steppedupinordertoensurethatthereportcomesout
asquicklyaspossibleafterthegeneralreport.latedcases—thepublishingofmorestudiesandsum­
marydocumentsandawiderdistributionofbrochures
orfolderstoanumberofpreviouslydefinedtarget
groupsamongthepublic.
2.1.1.2.Itislogicaltothinkthatcompetitionpolicy
overthenextfewyearscouldstillbestrengthenedby
theeliminationofinstitutionalbarriersin1993andthe
advances—eveniftheyareonlytimidones—tobe
expectedfromthetalksontheharmonisation orconver­
genceofdirectandindirecttaxes;butinthisareatoo
theCommissionshouldcontinuethesamepoliticaland
mediaapproachasthatwhichrecentlyleduptothe
signingoftheSingleAct.Thismeans,inparticular,
definingpreciselyconceptswhicharelinkedtocompe­
titionpolicysoastobringoutclearlytheadvantages
whichCommunityfirms,workersandconsumersmay
expect.
2.1.2.TheCommitteealsofeelsthattheCom­
munity'sachievements inthefieldofcompetitionas
wellastheissueswhicharestillpending(*)andthenew
guidelines(2)aregenerallywellsetoutinthereport.
2.1.2.1.However,likeallthe'horizontal'policies,
competitionpolicyisfacedwithachallenge—whichis
allthemoreimportantbecausetheimplementation
ofaSingleMarketisimminent:theneedformore
consistencythroughasystematicdovetailingwithother
Communitypolicies,suchasthoseonagriculture,trans­
port,industry,theregionsandtradewithnon-EC
countries .2.Content
2.1.Generalapproachtocompetitionpolicy
2.1.1.TheCommitteewhollysharestheCom­
mission'sconcerntoseethatcompetitionpolicyismade
moretransparentintheyearsahead.
2.1.1.1.TheCommission'seffortstomakethepublic
moreawareoftheimportanceofcompetitionpolicy
shouldthereforebecontinuedandgivenmoreconcrete
support.2.1.2.2.However,itcannotbedeniedthatthe
restructuringofthesupplysideresultingfromthepro­
cessofmarketintegrationcannotoverlooktheimpact
thatcompetitionfromnon-ECcountriesalreadyhas
intheCommunityandincertainMemberStatesin
particular.
2.1.1.1.1.Thiscouldincludemoreofficialstatements
ofposition—onmattersotherthanindividualandiso­(')Regulatedsectors,Stateaids.
(2)Whichflowfromrecentinternationaldevelopments .

24.2.92 NoC49/10 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
2.2.Specificissues 2.1.2.3.Thisiscertainlythecaseincertainkeysec­
torsofindustrialpolicyand,assituationsvaryconsider­
ablyfromoneMemberStatetoanother,theCommittee
isconcernedaboutwhatwillhappentothecohesion
betweentheviewsoftheCommissionandtheCouncil.2.2.1.Decentralisation ofcompetition
rules/convergence ofnational
laws
2.2.1.1.ThecompetitionruleslaiddownatCom­
munitylevelare,inlaw,directlyapplicableinnational
legalsystems.However,thereareanumberofgrey
areas,whicharesourcesoflegaluncertaintyandshould
befullyclarified.TheCommitteeconsidersthatthe
completionoftheSingleMarketmustnowbethe
compulsoryyardstickforanyreflectionorassessment,
beitintheareaofissuesorofinitiativesatcompany
level.
2.2.1.2.Eventhoughtheconvergenceofnationaland
Communitylawsnowseemsassured,followingthe
repeatedcontactsbetweentheCommissionandthe
competentlegalandotherauthoritiesintheMember
States,theCommitteestillcallsupontheCommission
tocontinueitseffortsatclarification,particularly
through'adhoccommunications ',and,moregenerally,
toseekthemostappropriatemeansofencouragingthe
decentralisedapplicationofcompetitionpolicy.
2.2.1.3.Administrative systemsforregulatingprices
stillexistincertainMemberStates,andintheend
solutionstothisproblemwillhavetobefoundat
Communitylevel.Atrendtowardsconvergence is
emerging,since,forexample,arrangementsarebeing
introducedformoving,whereverpossible,fromprice
controltoaschemeforobservingcompetition .
2.2.1.4.Althoughitisdesirablethatgovernment
priceregulationsystemsbeabolishedintheMember
Statesinsectorswherecompetitionoperatesnormally,
itis,however,legitimateforgovernmentstohaveaccess
toproperinformationonpricetrends.
2.2.1.5.Itisessentialthattheproblemofthepossible
contradiction betweenCommunitycompetitionlaw
andthemaintenanceofgovernmentpriceregulation
systemsbeadressed.TheCommitteethereforetrusts
thattheCommissionwillaccordthisissuethenecessary
importance .
2.2.1.6.TheCommissionshouldstudythepossibility
ofintroducinginstrumentswhichgiveitaccesstopro­
perinformationonpricetrendsintheCommunity .2.1.2.4.TheCommitteeconsidersthatthegeneral
provisionsoftheTreatyrelatingtocompetitionmust
alsobeappliedtotheagriculturalsector.However,one
canimaginethatthiscanbedonebybalancingtheaims
ofEuropeancompetitionpolicyagainstthespecific
natureoftheCommunity'sagriculturalpolicy.
2.1.2.5.Asregardstransport,apolicyshouldbe
formulatedatCommunitylevelofcompetitionbetween
allmodesoftransport;itshouldincludeapolicyofaid
bothforintra-Community flowsandfortransportlinks
withnon-ECcountries .
2.1.2.6.TheCommitteewouldliketopointoutthat
ithasalreadyurgedtheCommissiontopaymore
attentiontopointsofconvergencebetweentheCom­
munity'scompetitionpolicyandnationalcompetition
policies(!).TheCommitteefeelsthatECrulesoncom­
petitionwithintheCommunityshouldbeappliedtoall
markets,includingnationalmarkets,by1January1993,
thedateonwhichtheSingleMarketistobecompleted.
ItwantstheCommissiontoclarifythepositionregard­
ingtheapplicationofECcompetitionrulestonational
markets.Suchclarification isconsiderednecessaryin
viewofArticle85oftheTreatyconcerningtrade
betweenMemberStates.
2.1.2.7.Ifonewishestopreventcompetitionpolicy
degeneratingintoaseriesofpiecemealmeasures,itis
importantthatitbesituatedwithinabroadereconomic,
financialandsocialpolicyprogramme .Itshouldbe
notedthatthedecisiontomaintainthetaxexemption
arrangementsfor'duty-freeshops'runscountertosuch
apolicy.Ofcourse,suchaconceptcallsforpolitical
choices,i.e.forachoiceofsociety.Suchaconcept
meansnotonlymoreclarityinCommissionpolicybut
aboveallinthatoftheCouncilofMinisters.Italso
requiresgreaterinvolvementofthepeopleofEurope
whoareconcernedbythesechoices.
2.1.2.8.Atatimewhentheeconomyandfinanceis
becomingincreasinglyinternational ,anoverallEuro­
peanpolicyisessentialifonlyasameansofplacing
Europeinabetterpositionwithregardtonon-EC
economicandfinancialcentres.
2.1.2.9.Weareawarethatsuchthinkingleadsonto
crucialpoliticalissueswhicharefarmorewide-reaching
thanthoseraisedbycompetition .Itisvitalthatcompe­
titionpolicybebettertargetedifwewishtoextract
specificelementsfromit,especiallyasregardssafe­
guardingthegeneralinterestandtheinterestofcon­
sumers .2.2.2.Mergercontrol
2.2.2.1.AsregardsRegulation (EEC)No4064/89on
mergercontrol,whichwasfinallyadoptedbythe
Councilafter16yearswaitingandwhichhasbeenin
forcesince21September1990,theCommitteeobvi­
ouslysharesthesatisfactionoftheCommission ,which
nowhasavitalinstrumentenablingittopreventthe(*)See,forexample,ESCOpiniononthe19thReportonCompe­
titionPolicy;OJNoC60,8.3.1991,p.19.

24.2.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC49/11
2.2.2.11.TheCommissionshouldthereforeaskitself
ifsuchahighthresholdshouldbekeptand,ifnecessary,
bringpressuretobearontheCouncil,whichhaspowers
torevisethefiguredownwards .
2.2.2.12.TheCommitteewouldalsourgetheCom­
missiontospelloutthedistinctionsbetweenCom­
munityandnationalpowersinthefieldofmerger
control.
2.2.2.13.Finally,theCommission'sattentionmust
bedrawntotheneedtotakemoreaccountofthesocial
aspect—includingjobsecurity—intheprocedurelaid
downbyArticle18ofRegulation (EEC)No4064/
89fortakingoralevidencefrominterestedandthird
parties.
2.2.3.Stateaidsstrengtheningoremergenceofdominantpositionslikely
toaffecttherulesofcompetition .
2.2.2.2.Itisdoubtlessstilltooearlytolearnanything
essentialabouttheeffectivenessandimpactofsucha
controlonCommunity-scale mergers.
2.2.2.3.InthisconnectiontheCommitteehasmuch
appreciatedtheinformationprovidedbythereporton
mergersandacquisitionsinvolvingCommunity-scale
firms(PartFour,Chapter1).
2.2.2.4.Fortheimplementation ofRegulation (EEC)
4064/89suchinformationisaworkingtoolofsome
importance ,althoughitmustbeimproved.
2.2.2.5.Itwouldbedesirableifthistoolwere
improvedincollaboration withtheMemberStates.
Thismustbeontwolevels:
—first,thestatisticsshouldbemadesystematic,and
heretheCommitteesuggeststhatadeclaration
shouldbemandatory,
—second,thereshouldbeanobligationfortheCom­
missionandtheMemberStatestoshareinformation
inaccordancewithspecificcriteria(Community
scaleornot—thresholdofthisdimension...).
2.2.2.6.ForthisreasontheCommitteewishesto
makeanumberofsuggestionswhichtheCommitteehas
alreadyvoicedinitsOpiniononthe19thCompetition
Report.
2.2.2.7.Thusthethresholdsabovewhichonecould
speakofaCommunitydimensionwerefixedatahigh
figure(ECU5billion)whilethegeographicalcriteria
definingtheconceptofa'referencemarket'wereinter­
pretedintoolimitedaway.
2.2.2.8.Asregardsverifyingandkeepingundercon­
troltherealconditionsofcompetitionresultingfrom
transactionswhichwillneverbeconsideredasbeing
onaCommunityscalewithinthemeaningofArticle1
ofRegulation (EEC)No4064/89,onemustexpect
conflictsoverjurisdictiontocropuponceagaindueto
thereferralofsimilarcasestooneormorenational
courts.
2.2.2.9.Itisdisturbingtonotethatbecauseofthis
thresholdofECU5billionwhichwasfinallyadopted
bytheCouncil—althoughafigureofECU2billion
couldalreadybelookeduponasconsiderable—the
MemberStatesstillhaveampleroomformanoeuvre.
2.2.2.10.WillahomogenousSingleMarketbeable
tocometoaccommodate nationallawswhichdiffer
(especiallyinthewaytheyareapplied)?Harmonisation
ofsuchlawsmayseemtobeasolutionbuteveryone
knowshowlonganddifficultaprocessthiscanbe.2.2.3.1.InthisfieldtootheCommitteesharesthe
philosophyoftheCommission ,whichwishestobe
morestrictasregardsmonitoringbothnewnotifi­
cationsandalltheexistingaidschemes.AllStates
aidstoindustrymustbeintegratedintoacomplete
Communityframeworkwhichtakesaccountofthe
relativeprosperityofeachregion.
2.2.3.2.Thepublicationofthesecondreporton
currentStateaidsintheCommunity—evenifitgives
asectoralpicturewhichisstillincomplete—iswithout
anydoubtamajorstepforwardtowardsgreatertrans­
parency.
2.2.3.3.Asregardsthemajorproblemswhichcould
ariseincertainMemberStatesiftherulesoncompe­
titionwereappliedtotheletter,theCommitteenotes
thereplyoftheCommission ,whichfeelsithasalways
paidattentiontothespecialdifficultiesofcertainsec­
torsandtotheparticularcircumstances ofagiven
regionorMemberState.
2.2.3.4.Itshouldbepointedoutthat,asfarasState
aidsareconcerned,someMemberStates,particularly
thefourlargestcountries,donotalwayssetagood
example.Implementation oftheprincipleofsubsidiar­
itymusttakeaccountofthegrowinginterdependence
ofMemberStatesandregions.
2.2.3.5.TheCommitteethereforefeelsthatsome
typesofaidcouldstillbecompatiblewiththespiritof
theTreaty,providedthattheywereauthorisedand
wereappliedonadiminishingscaleovertime.How­
ever,itwouldbedesirabletospeeduptherevisionof
existingaidprogrammes .
2.2.3.6.ToconcludeitsremarksonStateaids,the
Committeewouldliketostressonceagaintheneedfor
completetransparency .Thistransparencymustapply
bothtodirectaidsandtoindirect,andespeciallyfiscal,
aids.

NoC49/12 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 24.2.92
2.2.4.Deregulation
2.2.4.1.TheCommitteealsoagreeswiththeCom­
mission'sguidelinesforregulatedsectorsandsectors
benefitingfromexclusiverights.
2.2.4.2.Onatheoreticallevel,thechoiceofthe
criteriaforproportionality mayprovetobeusefulwhen
theCommission decideswhetherornotservicesof
generalinterestcanbeprovidedotherthanbyexclusive
rights.
2.2.4.3.However,inpracticechoicescouldalsobe
madeeasierbywholesalerecoursetothedirectiveon
thetransparencyoffinancialtransactionsbetween
MemberStatesandbusinesses .
2.2.4.4.Nodistinctionshouldbedrawnhere
betweenprivateorpublicsectorfirms.
2.2.5.International relations
2.2.5.1.TheCommitteeconsidersthatparticular
importanceshouldbeattachedtotheaccessofcentral
andeasternEuropeancountriestoamarketeconomy.
Onthispoint,onewillhavetoaskoneselfwhatwillbe
thefuturereferenceframeworkasregardscompetition
policy,bearinginmindtheprospectofgreaterinte­
gration.Itshouldbeemphasisedthatagreements
alreadyexistbetweentheECandthreeeasternEuro­
peancountries(Hungary,Czechoslovakia andPoland)
onthesubjectofthisreferenceframework .TheCom­
mitteewouldlikethistobeextendedtoothernon-EC
countriesinEurope.
2.2.5.2.FortheresttheCommitteewelcomesthe
resultsachievedinthejointEEC/EuropeanFreeTradeAssociation (EFTA)negotiationsonmergercontroland
thegrantingofexclusiverights,andcallsuponthe
Commissiontopursueitscontactswiththeanti-trust
authoritiesofthetwogreatnon-ECareas(USAand
Japan),abandoninganyreferencetotheprincipleof
reciprocity .
2.2.5.3.StartingwiththeprinciplethattheCom­
munityisnot,ordoesnotwishtobecome,aclosed
area,theCommitteeurgesthatallformsofunnecessary
protectionismmustbeavoided,aspartofaworld-wide
systemof'fair'competition .Inparticularoneshould
considerwhetherthepresentanti-trustlawsinthe
Communityshouldnotbere-examined .TheCom­
mitteewouldpointoutonceagainthatbilateralEEC­
USAcooperationisapositiveandencouragingpoint
ofdeparture,butonewillalsohavetoconsiderwhether,
andhow,thiscooperationcanoroughttobeextended
tootherspartners,forinstance,withintheframework
oftheOrganizationforEconomicCooperationand
Development (OCDE),whichhasalreadyaccomplished
someusefulworkinthisarea.TheCommitteealso
thinksitwouldbedesirable,withintheframeworkof
theGeneralAgreementonTariffsandTrade(GATT),
tocontinueanalysesofworldcompetition .Itisessential
thattherulesadoptedbyGATTincludeasocialclause.
2.2.5.4.Lastly,theCommitteewouldpointoutthat
competitioninthevastmajorityofsectorsmustbe
assessednotonlyintermsoftheEECbutalsoona
worldwidescale.
Inparticular,theCommissionshouldinfuturesup­
plementitsAnnualReportbycomparativesurveysof
thesituationasregardscompetitionintheindustrialized
countries(notablytheUSAandJapan).
DoneatBrussels,18December1991.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
FrancoisSTAEDELIN

24.2.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC49/13
APPENDIX
totheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
Thefollowingamendment,whichreceivedatleastaquarterofthevotescast,wasrejectedduringthe
proceedings :
Paragraph2.2.5.3:
Deletethelastsentence'itisessentialthat...socialclause.'
Reasons
Socialclauseshavenoplaceinmultilateraltradeagreementsandmaybemisusedforprotectionistends.
Voting
For:31,against:62,abstentions :6.
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiverelatingtotyresformotorvehiclesand
theirtrailersandtotheirinstallation
(92/C49/06)
On26August1991,underArticle100AoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomic
Community,theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommitteeonthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon4December1991.The
RapporteurwasMrPerrin-Pelletier .
Atits292ndplenarysession(meetingof18December1991),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction
1.1.ThepresentproposalforaDirective,putfor­
wardunderTreatyArticle149(1),(unanimousCouncil
decision)amendstheproposalsubmittedbytheCom­
missioninApril1990('),onwhichtheCommittee
issuedanOpinionon4July1990(2).
1.2.Theamendmentprocedureselectediswarranted
onthegroundsthatitmeetstheneedforspeedinthe
run-uptotheinternalmarket.Asmajorchangesare
involved,boththeEuropeanParliamentandtheEcon­
omicandSocialCommitteemustbeconsulted.1.3.TheCommitteenotesthatindraftingthisdirec­
tive,theCommissionhastakenaccountofcomments
madebyinterestedbodies,interaliaETRTO(3).
1.4.TheCommitteeendorsesthewaythatthisdraft
directiveispresented;ithighlightsthespecificnature
oftheproductbymakingacleardistinctionbetween
theonepartdealingwithtyresandtheotherdealing
withtheirinstallation .Indeed,thetyresalonemake
contactwiththeroadsurface,andafaultinjustone
ofthemwouldbeenoughtojeopardizethewhole
balanceofthevehicle.Moreover,notonlydotyrestake
thestrainofaccelerationandbraking,buttheyalso
(!)OJNoC95,4.4.1990.
(2)OJNoC225,10.9.1990. (3)ETRTO:EuropeanTyreandRimTechnicalOrganization .