mr president i would like to start by congratulating the commission on its flexibility in applying the competition rules during the current financial and economic crisis
it is very important that the crisis is not used as a pretext to eliminate competition and the commission has already shown a very firm attitude against cartels which is a good thing
we need to make sure that there are exit mechanisms and that we come back to normal market conditions as soon as possible
there are some areas and you spoke about that commissioner where competition can be enhanced
these include the energy market where regulated energy prices still distort competition the completion of the single railway market can also bring important benefits to european travellers
the commission should also be particularly careful concerning competition on the medicines market especially with regard to those practices of originator producers which restrict the entry of generic medicines
furthermore i call on the commission to be firm in securing competition between public and private hospitals by means of bold action against cross-subsidies which favour public hospitals
the commission needs to communicate the benefits of competition policy to consumers more effectively
