European Commissioner for Competition

Responsibilities

The portfolio has responsibility for such matters as commercial competition, company mergers, cartels, state aid, and antitrust law. The position became the sole merger authority for the European Economic Area in September 1990.

The Competition Commissioner is one of the most powerful positions in the commission, and indeed the world, and is notable in affecting global regulatory practices in a phenomenon known as the Brussels effect. For example, preventing the merger of two US companies, General Electric and Honeywell, in 2001. In 2007, Neelie Kroes (then-Competition Commissioner) was the only Commissioner to make Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women; she held position 59.

Past commissioners

Hans von der Groeben (1958-1967)

Hans von der Groeben was a close collaborator of Ludwig Ehrard and one of the main negotiators of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community. He became the first commissioner for competition and played an important role in bringing about the first European law on cartels, Regulation No. 17/62.

Mario Monti (1999–2004)

Mario Monti is particularly notable for his ruling during the GE-Honeywell merger attempt in 2001. General Electric, a US company, sought to acquire another US company, Honeywell. This merger had been approved by US authorities, however Monti, with the backing of the rest of the commission, rejected the merger;

The merger between GE and Honeywell, as it was notified, would have severely reduced competition in the aerospace industry and resulted ultimately in higher prices for customers, particularly airlines. However, there were ways of eliminating these concerns and allowing the merger to proceed. I regret that the companies were not able to agree on a solution that would have met the Commission's competition concerns.

Rather than be blocked from the European market, the merger was abandoned. This was the first time that a merger between two US companies had been blocked solely by European authorities, only the second time it had blocked just two US companies and only the 15th merger it had blocked ever since it started work. On 1 May 2004 Monti oversaw a radical change in the Competition powers of the Commission concerning antitrust regulation, merger controls, licensing agreements and air transport.

Monti also promoted the "modernization" of EU competition policy, both in procedural and substantive terms, including the adoption of the "consumer welfare" standard.

Neelie Kroes (2004–10)

During Neelie Kroes' hearing at the European Parliament, MEPs expressed concern about whether Ms Kroes had a sufficiently detailed grasp of certain specific subjects. She was still approved as part of the Commission in 2004.

Since then, she stated that she promotes a fair and free business environment, achieving sustainable economic growth and higher employment. The commission has been involved in a number of high-profile cases fighting anticompetitive behaviour; such as the case against the merger of Sony – BMG, against Apple Inc. regarding iTunes and the ongoing case against Microsoft.

The latter has been an ongoing dispute on a number of issues. In April 2007, Microsoft became the first company to refuse to comply with the Commission's rulings. In response, Commissioner Kroes looked at harsher methods to gain the co-operation of companies. In September 2007, the Court of First Instance (the EU's second highest court) upheld the commission's decision to fine Microsoft 497 million euro and its order for to Microsoft for it to share its information, setting what the Commission described as an "important precedent". In response to the ruling, the United States Department of Justice's top antitrust official, Thomas Barnett, criticised the ruling. Kroes, in turn, stated that"It is totally unacceptable that a representative of the US administration criticises an independent court of law outside its jurisdiction ... It is absolutely not on. The European Commission does not pass judgement on rulings by US courts and we expect the same degree of respect from US authorities for rulings by EU courts."Kroes held a strong belief in free market principles. By the end of her term, she had completed most major cases.

Joaquín Almunia (2010–14)

Joaquín Almunia, previously the Finance Commissioner, took on the competition portfolio under the second Barroso Commission in 2010. He was expected to have a tenure similar to Kroes' stringent run. As an experienced appointee, he was welcomed by competition lawyers. He also impressed Parliament at his hearing. Early on in his term, he had to decide whether or not to pursue action against Google. He also came out in favour of the idea of a European Monetary Fund to deal with defaulting member states.

Margrethe Vestager (2014–2024)

Margrethe Vestager was part of both the Juncker and Von Der Leyen I college of Commissioners.

Her two terms at the European Commission were marked by strong enforcement across the full spectrum of competition policy. Some of the most notable cases were against the abuse of dominance by large digital companies and the Apple Tax case. To date, she had not lost a single case concerning abuses of dominance before the European Court of Justice.

In 2023, Vestager drew criticism for selecting Professor Fiona Scott Morton of Yale University, former chief economist of the Obama Administration, as Chief Competition Economist of DG COMP. Both her American nationality and consulting work for big tech came under fire by EU leaders, leading her to turn down the position.

Teresa Ribera (since 2024)

On 1 December 2024, Teresa Ribera was appointed First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition and European Commissioner for Competition under the second Von der Leyen Commission. She is the first Competitoin Commissioner to have such a broach portfolio, as previous commissioners were responsible solely for competition policy, or almost exclusively so.