| dc.description.abstract | 2017 marked the 60thanniversary of the signature of the Treaty of Rome, which laid the foundations for today's European Union. That means that EU competition policy, too, has now been in place for over sixty years. Indeed, from the very first day of its existence, the EU has had rules that defend fair, undistorted competition. In the past decades, competition policy has made a big difference in people's lives: European citizens may not always be familiar with competition rules, but they deal with the market every single day. Competition drives businesses to compete on the merits –on prices, quality and innovation –and to meet consumers’ needs. By pushing companies to do better, competition puts power in the hands of consumers.Also, through the decades, all companies active in the single market have been able to rely on a stable set of rules and on their impartial implementation. Robust, consistent and predictable enforcement sends the clear message that every company is granted equal conditions to operate and equal chances to succeed. Competition enforcement ensures that a world of global trade, and global businesses, can be a world that gives small business and individuals a fair chance. Also, competition rules guarantee that all companies doing business in the single market play by the same rules –whether they're big or small, and wherever in the world they come from.Competition policy is also an essential player in supporting the Commission's political priorities. In 2017, competition policy actions contributed to bringing the Commission's agenda to life, delivering in those areas that matters to European citizens. The digital economy, energy, the pharmaceutical and agro-chemical sector, the network industries and the financial markets are among the sectors where competition policy efforts kept making a difference for European consumers. |
