The future head of the EU Antitrust Commission, Ribera, plans

The new head of the European antitrust watchdog, Teresa Ribera, is looking to ease competition rules to strengthen European industries, according to an interview Thursday with Spain’s El Pais. She also plans to speed up regulatory scrutiny of mergers.

Ribera’s comments underscore growing protectionism in the 27-nation European Union and efforts to help companies better compete with larger U.S. firms.

Her position also echoes a report written by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the request of Ursula von der Leyen, which calls for a rewrite of EU competition rules and for regulators to review mergers on a pan-European basis.

Ribera said that “(the rules) can be relaxed in different directions, but in the sense of strengthening European opportunities.”

We are reforming them. We are gaining agility and concentrating our efforts to give the industry a European strategic dimension.

She said Europe should not focus solely on a few industrial leaders.

“Europe’s competitiveness cannot be solved by just three or four national champions.” “We need to be able to compete on international markets, but also have a functioning internal market with an ecosystem that is reasonably sustainable,” Ribera said.

She added that she will also try to shorten the time it takes to process transactions.

Ribera has warned against using public money for nuclear power. He is also responsible for driving the EU’s green transformation.

“In response to the question of whether nuclear power should be promoted, I would say that each country should choose what it wants. Public incentives are another matter. She said, ‘That is another matter.’” (Reporting by Inti Landauro, Belen Carreno and Pietro Lombardi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

(source: Reuters)