Favourite for EU anti-trust post vows to intensify attacks on tech giants
Teresa Ribera promises to continue EU crackdown on tech giants – despite none of them being European
Teresa Ribera, widely regarded as the favourite for the role of European Commissioner for Competition, has vowed to continue the bloc’s hard-line against big technology companies.
In a written response to questions from the European Parliament, Ribera pledged to “strengthen and better target competition enforcement”, while cutting red tape for member states.
She added: “I will push for a vigorous enforcement of the DMA [Digital Markets Act], shaping the Commission policy concerning this important new instrument, in order to deliver concrete results for European business and end users."
She continued: "We cannot afford unduly long antitrust investigations during which companies continue to benefit from their anticompetitive practices.”
At the same time, Ribera will also try to protect small and medium-sized businesses in the EU from being acquired in “killer acquisitions” by non-EU companies that, she claims, are intended to take out potential competition.
The European Union Digital Markets Act requires technology and online companies to make it easy for consumers to choose services from different “gatekeepers”, rather than being forced to take an entire bundle of services from one company, thereby reducing competition.
Hearings for nominated commissioners will be held next month. Whoever is selected will take over from Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, who during her tenure has revamped the Commission’s antitrust procedural rules and vigorously pursued several US tech giants over alleged antitrust violations.
Indeed, the European Commission is already investigating Alphabet, Apple and Meta over possible breaches of the Digital Markets Act in actions commenced earlier this year. Also in the crosshairs are Amazon, Microsoft and ByteDance, owner of the popular TikTok app.
A third element of Ribera’s pitch is to stem alleged unfair competition from subsidised companies overseas, particularly Chinese firms in wind, solar, and electric vehicles and batteries. Earlier in October, the European Union imposed tariffs of up to 45 per cent on electric vehicles made in China, a move Ribera defended as “grounded on solid facts and evidence and was carried out in line with World Trade Organization rules”.
That aside, Ribera has also pledged to help “modernize the EU’s competition policy to ensure it supports European companies to innovate, compete and lead world-wide and contributes to our wider objectives on competitiveness and sustainability, social fairness and security”. She also called for a “new approach to competition policy” to support Europe’s new industrial policy, dubbed the Green Deal Industrial Deal.
Ribera holds a degree in law from Complutense University, Madrid; and a diploma in constitutional law and political science. A candidate for the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in the June 2024 European Parliament elections, she has largely worked in politics and has minimal private sector experience.