During the ECON meeting which took place online on 20 April, members agreed to appoint Mr Tadeusz Truskolaski, EA Coordinator and the Mayor of Białystok (Poland) as the rapporteur on the European Commission's Report on Competition Policy 2020. Competition policy is of particular interest this year as state aid rules have been drastically relaxed, albeit temporarily, in an attempt to mitigate the devastating economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A possible consequence of this is that the differences between richer and poorer regions may have further increased, as the former have had the financial means to support businesses to a greater extent than the latter.
During the meeting, members also discussed the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The debate on SDGs resulted in a clear commitment to reinforce the implementation of the 2030 goals, with the inclusion of the civil society, a stronger pro-active attitude and the need to have data and better monetarization mentioned as priorities. After the meeting, Mr Truskolaski stressed the key role local and regional authorities play in delivering on the agreed goals.
During the debate on the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, members pointed out the need to provide specific rules and specific definitions when it comes to regulating the digital market. Europe has become the first continent to put new and clear rules on the digital market and the discussed opinion goes into the direction of making sure that the biggest tech companies do not make it impossible for smaller companies to exist. The opinion also promotes closer cooperation and a common European framework in order to achieve more transparency and algorithm regulations.
