Report from the Commission on competition policy 2012. Commission staff working document accompanying the report.

Abstract

The key aim of EU competition policy is to protect competition so that markets work better for consumers and businesses. In this regard, EU competition policy supports the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. In particular, EU competition policy forms is an essential part of and a complement to the EU's key asset: its Single Market, which encompasses over half a billion consumers and some 20 million businesses. Tapping the full potential of the Single Market is therefore essential for the EU to recover from the economic and financial crisis and to launch a new period of growth. During the past year, EU competition policy has made significant contributions in terms of protecting, strengthening and developing the Single Market. Crucially, the enforcement of EU competition policy was not relaxed as a result of the crisis, since that would have been directly harmful to the Single Market and the process of economic recovery.