MADRID, Sept 19 (Askume) – Incoming European anti-competition chief Teresa Ribera has called on competition to strengthen European industries and speed up the review of merger deals, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported in an interview on Thursday, adding that the regulator plans to speed up reviews and relax rules.
Ribera’s comments underscore growing protectionism in the 27-nation European Union and efforts to help companies better compete with bigger U.S. and Chinese rivals.
their positionIt is also in line with a report written by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen , which called for reform of the EU’s competition rules and regulations to scrutinise pan-European mergers.
“These rules can be softened in many ways, but always with a view to strengthening European capacities,” Ribera said.
“We will improve them, bring dynamism and focus on giving the industry a European strategic dimension.”
He said Europe should not focus only on producing a few industrial leaders.
“Europe’s competitiveness cannot be solved by three or four national competitions,” Ribera said. “We need scale to compete in the international market, but we also need a functioning internal market, including a commercial ecosystem.”
She also took aim at the EU’s merger rules, which critics say are time-consuming and cumbersome. She said she would try to reduce the time it takes to review deals.
Ribera, who is also responsible for leading the EU’s green transformation, has warned against spending public money on nuclear power.
“On the question of whether nuclear energy should be promoted, I would say every country should do what it wants to do. Public encouragement is another thing. That is a very different question,” she said.
