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At a conference organised by the Hungarian Competition Authority in Budapest Kroes highlighted that DG comp avoided in part the collapse of the EU's banking and financial system by letting exceptional measures on state aid in that particular sector. She said that the time to restructure is now.
On the financial crisis, she said that it is especially difficult to maintain an efficient Single Market because there is far greater political pressure on Member States to adopt protectionist measures.
The Commission, therefore, has to maintain a strong line on enforcement and avoid any kind of protectionism so that the Single Market does not become fragmented along national lines.
She added that effective competition law enforcement is the key to maintaining the Single Market.
State Aid temporary measures have avoided the collapse of the EU's banking and financial system and have been instrumental in ensuring that lending to consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises remains possible. Every element of this crisis matters. The aid element of crisis support to business is at least €220 billion, while the total liabilities assumed by governments amount to around one trillion Euros. Every taxpayer would rightly expect that we work night and day to protect that investment.
She concluded by encouraging the Hungarian authority, saying that ‘Hungary has worked hard to embed the principles of EU competition law in to Hungarian society and it should be proud of what you have achieved so far. Moreover, ensuring the right regulatory settings and maintaining effective competition law enforcement in the crisis environment is a challenge, but one that we must face.’