EU: Vestager considers lower fines for companies that cooperate

Companies that admit to breaking the law could be rewarded with lower fines to help speed up anti-competitive investigations, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Monday.

The European Commission typically takes several years to wrap up cases, which critics say is not helpful for consumers or competitors.

Its investigation into complaints that Google allegedly abuses its dominance of online search results has dragged on for nearly six years, and a case against Russian gas company Gazprom is also unresolved after six years.

“We should reward companies that admit to having broken the law, especially when they come up with remedies to make the markets more competitive, or companies that provide evidence voluntarily,” Vestager told a conference organised by the Global Competition Law Centre.

“Because the faster we can wrap up a case and restore competition to the market, the less consumers will suffer. And to get that result, I think it’s worth cutting the fines we impose.”

Vestager said the fines could be reduced by more than 10 percent, with the size depending on the level of cooperation.

Full content: Reuters

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