Altolà of the Antitrust to the Government. We must avoid other extensions in the liberalization of the energy market, warns the Market Guarantor. And, regardless of the economic trend, it is necessary to continue to affirm the culture of competition in all sectors, keeping it at the center of public policies. This is a warning that comes when, once again, for various reasons, due to the many opposing interests, most recently the protest of taxi drivers, the annual law on competition has in fact remained bogged down in Parliament. As for energy, another delicate issue in this phase of crazy prices, according to Antitrust President Roberto Rustichelli, “the liberalization process must be completed within the set deadlines, avoiding further extensions” because, as he has repeatedly reiterated, ” the advantages of liberalization for final consumers, also in terms of lower prices and consequent savings, will be able to fully unfold only in a context of effective competition between operators ». At the same time, “only if consumers are aware and active in choosing the most convenient offers on the market can real competitive dynamics be triggered”.
More generally, according to Rustichelli who in the Chamber illustrated his report to Parliament on the activity carried out in the last year, the culture of competition must be at the center of public policies. «Competition – he explained – has its roots in the principles of democracy and the overall freedom of the system. However, for the promotion of economic and social development along these lines, the action of the Antitrust Authority is not enough: a public policy willing to recognize itself in a single-minded and open vision of the market is needed, aware that competition can have initial costs for some. but it certainly generates benefits for all ». “Competition must continue to be central even in the current economic context,” the Guarantor then remarked.
In this context, the approval of the draft law for competition “constitutes a strategic step for the country system, not only because with it Italy complies with specific commitments undertaken at the European level with the PNRR, but also to give the right signals to international markets and investors “, recalling” the importance of the work that, in recent months, the Government and Parliament are doing on the annual competition law, precisely on the basis of the report sent by the Authority last year “.
As for the control activity on the markets, Rustichelli explained that from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2022 the Authority imposed sanctions on the protection of competition for over 1.4 billion euros. The Authority examined 123 merger transactions, starting the investigation in 8 “potentially problematic” cases; it then concluded 13 investigations on the subject of agreements and 11 on the subject of abuses, defining 11 proceedings with ascertainment of the offense and 10 with acceptance of the commitments. “The data – summarized the president of the Antitrust – show that, when the conditions are met, the Authority adopts negotiating measures that allow a more efficient use of resources, favor the deflation of litigation and above all promote a model of behavior virtuous by companies, which improves their reputation and relationship with consumers “.