Brussels admits multinationals’ foul play
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that there is problem with the pricing policies adopted by multinational companies in the European Union in her reply that was published on Friday to a letter sent by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on this issue before the European Parliament elections on June 6-9.
Von der Leyen said that the European Commission has launched a process to investigate the unfair practices of multinationals, which lead to identical or similar products being sold at different prices within the EU.
In her letter, dated June 28, von der Leyen said that she had instructed the European Commission’s services to collect data from all countries so that initiatives may be taken and the EU’s legal and regulatory framework can be made stronger. With this data, Brussels will then launch a dialogue with all parties involved, with scrutiny into company practices and rules that lead to territorial supply constraints (TSCs), which obstruct the free flow of goods in certain EU countries.
Von der Leyen, who is very likely to stay on for a second five-year term as head of the European Commission, said the issue of TSCs will be on the Commission’s agenda in its next term and could well lead to the enrichment of the EU’s legal and regulatory “arsenal.”
She noted in her response that these issues were possibly outside the current framework and that the findings “will allow us to examine various options in areas such as competition or the single market rules,” in order to deal with such unfair practices.
The German politician also thanked Mitsotakis for his “valuable contribution” and the solutions proposed in his letter, expressing confidence that the investigative process will indicate the next steps “so that all European citizens can equally enjoy the benefits of the single market, wherever they might live.”
In his letter, sent in mid-May, Mitsotakis had spoken of unfair practices by multinationals which charged different prices for the same or similar products, usually at the expense of consumers in countries with a smaller population, such as Greece.
The PM’s intention was to try and set in motion a European Union response to pricing policies that are driving prices in Greece higher than in richer EU countries.
