Publisher:
University of Göttingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege), Göttingen
Abstract:
The European competition policy can look back at a successful forty-year old practice of application by the European Commission. However, non-competition factors in the competition policy has become more and more relevant with the increasing importance of the so called positive integration. In a multitude of merger and state aid cases such influence of non-competition factors can be shown. To protect the European competition policy from political influence and therefore from the influence of non-competition factors a new institutional framework for the European competition policy should be set up. The decision-making process in the field of competition policy should be institutionalised with an independent European Antitrust Office and with an independent State Aid Commission.