Report from the Commission on competition policy 2015. Commission staff working document accompanying the report.

Abstract

The EU remains the largest economic and trading area in the world, with more than half a billion consumers and 20 million companies forming its strongest lever –the internal market. The on-going process of improving and expanding the functioning of the single market goes hand in hand with developing competition policy. In essence, competition policy ensures that companies can compete on equal terms all across Europe. Competition can make a real difference by keeping the single market open and turning it into a driver of innovation and growth in Europe. Competition policy enables competitors to cooperate on innovation without misusing such cooperation to anti-competitive ends. In this way it ensures that mergers do not reduce or harm innovation and it enables EU governments to contribute to private-sector investments in innovation. In addition, competition-friendly regulation and competition culture create favourable conditions for investments and innovation, which enhances consumer welfare and efficiently functioning markets, enable growth and contribute towards more convergence. A competitive EU internal market also prepares European companies to succeed on global markets.