WRITTEN QUESTION E-0616/01 by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Prices paid by supermarkets.
Date: 2001-03-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: competition law, dominant position, foodstuff, producer price, purchase price, supermarket

C 318 E/88

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

(2001/C 318 E/090)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0616/01

by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 March 2001)

Subject: Prices paid by supermarkets

Does the Commission consider it improper for supermarkets to purchase food products for less than the
cost of production?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(26 April 2001)

The Community competition rules address the matter to which the Honourable Member refers, namely
that of prices that are below the cost of production, only in the specific case of a purchaser in a dominant
position imposing unfair purchase prices within the meaning of indent (a) of the second paragraph of
Article 82 (formerly Article 86) of the EC Treaty.

In order to determine whether the purchaser, in this case the supermarket, is a purchaser in a dominant
position, the relevant product and geographic markets and their structures would have to be analysed in
detail.

Given the national or even regional, rather than Community, nature of the relevant markets, such issues
are primarily dealt with by national competition authorities, such as the Office of Fair Trading in the
United Kingdom. In some cases, these authorities have developed specific rules on the state of economic
dependence, which do not exist as such at Community level.

(2001/C 318 E/091)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0624/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Lisbon European Council and financial services

The 2000 Lisbon European Council
indicators and to report by the end of 2000.(cid:146) Was this goal achieved?

invited (cid:145)the Council to step up work on structural performance

The 2000 Lisbon European Council Council stated that steps should be taken (cid:145)to set a tight timetable so
that the Financial Services Action Plan is implemented by 2005.(cid:146) What steps have been taken?

The 2000 Lisbon European Council Council stated that steps should be taken to facilitate (cid:145)the widest
possible access to investment capital on an EU-wide basis, including for SMEs, by means of a (cid:147)single
passport(cid:148) for issuers.(cid:146) What steps have been taken in this regard?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2001)

indicators on 27 September 2000 (1). The
The Commission published a Communication on structural
Ecofin Council approved on 7 November 2000 a report by the Economic Policy Committee entitled
(cid:145)Structural
Indicators: an instrument for Better Structural Policies(cid:146) which included a set of structural
performance indicators. The Ecofin Council also agreed on 7 November 2000 a list of structural indicators
with the Commission to be used for the Commission(cid:146)s synthesis report to the Stockholm European
Council. The agreed list was based on the Commission Communication and the Economic Policy
Committee(cid:146)s report. The French Presidency of the Ecofin Council sent the list of indicators to the European
Council in Nice at the end of 2000 meeting the remit set in paragraph 18 of the Lisbon European Council
conclusions that called on (cid:145)the Council to step up work on structural performance indicators and to report
by the end of 2000(cid:146). These indicators have now been used in the Commission(cid:146)s synthesis report to the
Stockholm European Council.