The Future of EU Competition Policy: Balancing Competitiveness and Sustainability
Dinner and Discussion with Pierre Régibeau, Teresa Ribera, Jean Tirole, Antoine Chapsal, and Séverine Schrameck
Four months into her role as the EU’s new head of competition policy, Teresa Ribera focused on her directive to modernize the EU’s markets and economies in ways that promote innovation as well as broader objectives, including sustainability and climate concerns. Her remarks came at a March 5 event in Brussels hosted by Analysis Group and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, in association with Concurrences.
Modernizing competition policy doesn’t mean a dramatic change but rather a continuation of a strategy “that allows us to evolve,” said Ms. Ribera, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. “We need to find a balance between transparency, impact on consumers, both final consumers and industrial consumers, and capacity to promote more efficient, sustainable, and more performant products in the time to come.”
Ms. Ribera was joined by Nobel Laureate in Economics Jean Tirole and Analysis Group affiliate Pierre Régibeau, former chief competition economist of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. Professor Tirole considered the role of competition authorities and questioned whether they should intervene on social objectives such as environmental protection, or whether they should focus more narrowly on a mission of ensuring effective competition. He further emphasized the need for reliable data and sound economic analysis to underlie policy decisions. Dr. Régibeau discussed the rising importance of state aid in EU competition policy, emphasizing the fundamental role it can play in addressing market failures.
The panel discussion also covered topics such as the forthcoming updates to the European Commission’s merger guidelines, green innovation, and country-specific variations in competition and industrial policy. Managing Principal Antoine Chapsal and Cleary Gottlieb Partner Séverine Schrameck chaired the panel.
Following the panel, Professor Tirole gave a keynote speech focusing on the issue of global competitiveness and the strategic autonomy of the EU. Professor Tirole emphasized the need to drastically increase investment to accelerate growth, and discussed how EU competition policy and the broader integration of the common market can enable greater competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
Listen to a recording of the panel discussion (in English) or read a transcript of the panel discussion (in English).
