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EU competitiveness: consumer protection must be a driver for growth

The EU Commission is publishing today its economic vision for the next five years - dubbed the ‘Competitiveness Compass’ - to help the European Union...

EU competition policy
Consumer groups plead before EU Court that Google abused its dominance in Android case

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) represented the interests of consumers at a hearing today at the Court of Justice of the European Union to...

Competition in digital markets Antitrust
Meta, Apple and Alphabet (Google) continued possible non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act

Meta, Apple and Alphabet (Google) are likely not fully complying with the Digital Markets Act based on updates the three gatekeepers recently made to...

Competition in digital markets
Commission proposed guidelines on tackling abuses of dominance will make enforcement more effective

Consumers suffer serious harm when dominant companies reduce choice and stifle innovation by illegally keeping competitors out of a market or by...

Antitrust
Consumers welcome EU Court of Justice landmark ruling on Google Shopping antitrust case

BEUC, representing consumer groups in 31 European countries, welcomes the EU Court of Justice September 10 ruling in the Google Shopping case. The...

Competition in digital markets
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containers with European Union flag and Chinese flag at the docks
EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars must ultimately lead to more competitive and affordable market for consumers
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Sustainable mobility
Competition and sustainability
Customs
Available in English
Today the European Commission has imposed tariffs of up to 38% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles into the EU. For the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), this move is part of a legitimate bid to rebalance competition in the EU electric car market. It must now be complemented by action at EU and national level to ensure consumers have access to affordable and innovative electric cars.
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Oreo
Hands off my coffee break: BEUC welcomes European Commission decision to fine Mondelēz for cross-border trade restrictions
- PDF Document - 100.21 KB

Antitrust
Available in English
The European Commission has fined multinational food company Mondelēz €337.5 million for hindering cross-border trade in chocolate products like Milka and Toblerone, Oreo biscuits and Jacobs coffee throughout the EU’s Single Market. According to the Commission, for several years Mondelēz took measures to prevent traders from buying and selling Mondelēz products in other EU countries to maintain higher prices, harming consumers. These measures prevented suppliers from making full use of the Single Market.
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Consumers benefit when competition can thrive on fair and open markets. This is because competition gives companies the incentives to invest in new, innovative goods and services and to offer consumers more choice and better value for money.

Consumer organisations are in a strong position to provide essential insights into how markets are functioning and people’s expectations because they receive feedback from their members who are in daily contact with consumers. That is why consumer organisations can give valuable input to competition authorities when they investigate anticompetitive behaviour and mergers or to alert them when markets are not performing as consumers expect.

BEUC has been and continues to be involved in a number of important and high-profile antitrust cases. These include the Google Search (Shopping) and Google Android cases, the case against Aspen Pharma for excessive pricing of pharmaceuticals, the geo-blocking of cross-border pay-TV (Canal+ case), the investigation into Apple using its App Store rules to distort competition for music streaming services, and the investigation against Amazon for competing unfairly with sellers on its marketplace to name but a few. The conduct of the companies in these cases harmed or could harm consumer choice or lead to consumers paying higher prices.

We also work to highlight the consumer perspective when the European Commission investigates mergers concerning consumer products and services, such as Google’s takeover of Fitbit.
In addition, BEUC actively engages with EU policy makers when the competition framework is being updated or when policy changes and related legislation might impact consumers.

  • Ensure the European Commission and national competition authorities prioritise consumer interests when enforcing EU competition rules
  • Ensure the EU upholds consumer interests when it updates its competition and related instruments, including changes to face the challenges of digital markets and the climate crisis. 
  • Work with competition authorities to encourage them to engage with consumer organisations more systematically.