Philip Lowe

1
European Competition Day Brno, Czech Republic
14 May 2009
Keeping Markets working effectively Europes
challenge in recessionary times

• Philip Lowe
• Director General

2
State aid to the financial sector

• EU State aid rules assessing state support to
  the financial sector
• Firm on key principles, flexible on process
• Commission measures
• Guidance on state aid, recapitalisation, impaired
  assets working on guidance on restructuring
  financial institutions
• 50 decisions approving national schemes and
  individual rescue measures

3
State aid to the real economy

• Commissions Economic Recovery Plan November
  2008
• Temporary Framework for State aid numerous
  measures and schemes already approved
• Aid for the transition (employment, training,
  retraining, SMEs)

4
Mergers and the crisis

• Important to preserve competitive market
  structures
• Challenges
• Dealing with nationalisations
• Timing of the review process
• EC Merger Regulation allows us to take account of
  rapidly evolving market conditions in our
  substantive assessment

5
Antitrust policy and the crisis

• Relaxing the rules would hinder recovery see
  the US in the 1930s
• Crisis cartels not a solution
• Focus on consumer harm

6
Conclusions

• Competition policy should be part of the
  solution, not part of the problem
• Importance of competition advocacy initiatives to
  achieve competition-friendly regulation