| dc.description.abstract | The European Union remains the largest economic and trading area in the world, with more than half a billion consumers and 20 million companies forming its strongestlever –the internal market. The on-going process of improving and expanding the functioning of the single market goes hand in hand with competition policy enforcement. The ultimate goal of EU competition policy is making markets function better for the benefit of consumers –both households and businesses –and the society as a whole, as well as fostering a competition culture in the EU and worldwide. This is achieved by giving individuals a wide choice of products at prices they can afford, as well as by encouraging and enabling companies –big or small –to innovate, invest, and compete on equal terms on the market. Equally, enforcement of competition policy contributes towards an open and fair single market in which businesses and individual consumers can directly obtain, or lawfully claim, their fair share of the benefits of growth. Taken together, competition policy actions in the antitrust area, under the merger control and State aid control can make a real difference towards the benefit of European consumers and businesses. By stimulating innovation, preventing abuses from dominant players, helping achieve a connected Digital Single Market, an integrated and climate-friendly Energy Union, supporting competition-friendly regulation, and fostering a global competition culture, competition policy actions contribute to the right conditions for economic growth. |
