Economy
Steadily increasing market power over the past decades has led to higher prices, lower production and suppressing wages. Open entry for competitors by preserving competitive market structures ensures economic and social progress for the people. To stop harmful market consolidation, Pirates want to update and strongly enforce the antitrust rules.
European antitrust policy
The consumer welfare model used in antitrust ignores the externalization of costs associated with a merger. It is biased in favor of big business and the wealthy, and it suffers from serious internal inconsistencies. In examining only the relevant market and harm to consumers, antitrust enforcement agencies ignore external costs of a merger in the rest of the economy such as job loss.
Inclusive economy
Pirates promote policies that improve human well-being regardless of their race, gender, or ethnicity. Concentration can worsen diversity across firms and hinder women from climbing the professional ladder. Under the consumer welfare standard, these harmful outcomes are deemed irrelevant. An antitrust standard must account for the impact of mergers on marginalized groups.
Antitrust reinforces democracy
Concentration of economic power can lead to replacement of the democratic order with autocracy. The role of antitrust is to prevent the aggregation of undue economic power, and of keeping open channels of political discourse and participation, such as news media or online platforms.
Economic democracy
Extractive corporate power reduces competitiveness. Pirates want stakeholders to participate in corporate governance.
Information monopolies
Information monopolies prevent, restrict or distort technical or economic progress. Exclusive use of so called âintellectual property rightsâ limit or control production, markets, technical development, or investment. Antitrust authorities shall ensure competition within the internal market.
The effective competition standard
Firms have market power if they, for example can: fix prices; price-discriminate; impose trading conditions; limit or control entry of competitors; or earn above-normal profits. Quality, privacy, and innovation become increasingly important in the 21st century economy.
A modern antitrust standard meets several essential objectives:
- to protect individuals, purchasers, consumers, and producers;
- to preserve opportunities for competitors;
- to promote individual autonomy and well-being; and
- to disperse and de-concentrate private power.
Pirates propose the effective competition standard:
âAgencies and courts shall use the preservation of competitive market structures that protect individuals, purchasers, consumers, and producers; preserve opportunities for competitors; promote individual autonomy and well-being; and disperse private power as the principal objective of the European antitrust laws.â
The European competition authority
Enforcing antitrust is not the job of politicians. To ensure the competition authority acts in the best interest of the European people, it has to be set up specifically as an independent institution. An independent institution would separate antitrust policy from direct political influence. This way, the competition authority is able to pursue antitrust policy that fosters economic growth and job creation in Europe. Pirates strive for an independent European competition authority with a mandate to render the economy competitive.