Six months later Neelie Kroes is revenge

European Commissioner for competition from 1993 to 1999, Karel Van Miert, disappeared this week, had given the function titles of nobility. Neelie Kroes, who has served since 2004, has avoided that it did to be stripped. Crisis requires, the Community rules of competition, have a time, been muted. But the "Iron Lady" Commission European, which should pass the hand at the end of the year, so well held Cape Town, in the storm financial that is the Union, rescued from the sinking a European policy of competition including many observers, even a few months ago, simply predicted the disappearance of body and property.

In the Emergency Department, the Commissioner for the competition was first able to make other that to say amen to all bailouts that he submitted, the last quarter of last year, Member States have themselves another choice than to fly to the rescue of their banks. It has authorized, in just six months, not less 50 of State aid, whether recapitalisations or public guarantees. The "24 hours chrono" in which the Commission then pandered to meet Governments were supposed to demonstrate its reactivity. They were especially, at the time of his impotence.

Six months later, Neelie Kroes is revenge. Community law giving a semester to a company having benefited from a rescue aid for the refund or, in default, to present a restructuring plan in the medium term, the Commissioner of competition now has the means to make its voice heard. And it is not to deny. Commerzbank and WestLB, which impose a course of slimming to lead to reduce their size by half, learned to their costs.

All shows that the Commission took the hand. Sign that she is in a position of strength, the Commissioner, but deemed hard business, should even afford the luxury of a little ballast release! In guidelines expected publication for mid-July, it should allow banks to spread in time plans for disposal of assets that it will impose them in exchange for the extension of the public aid they receive. It also plans to relax the conditions in which institutions are required to contribute, on their own behalf, to restructuring efforts. Who, after this, can be said that European competition policy sinning by excess of dogmatism

This flexibility to business could be perceived as an admission of weakness if it went hand in hand with a clear political line, applied for five years with an iron without velvet glove hand. It was first to thoroughly renovate the regulations governing State aid in order to, as much as possible, in the service of the competitiveness of European companies. She then sought to accelerate the fight against cartels, including creating a procedure of friendly settlement with the companies. She finally helped to clarify the rules applying to the abuse of dominant position, showing the strongest sanction from Microsoft or from Intel, but also to force giants like RWE and E.ON energy to separate from their networks. Sectoral surveys, speech shocks, record fines: in all these areas, the Kroes method has been proven. Better, it has contributed to strengthening the credibility of the European competition policy.

"We are not the problem, but part of the solution", repeatedly reiterated the Commissioner to those who, for example the negotiation of French banks support plans and then to automakers, found that she was too. Translation: the Commission state aid policy is not to put a spoke in the wheels of the Governments, but rather to ensure the respect of the fairness in the market despite the crisis, avoiding that the decisions of each infringe the interests of others.

Say that the idea is now imposed in all heads would be optimistic. But it has, in any case, his way. There is to see how it has relied on the Commissioner, in Paris, to impose safeguards to States which, as the United Kingdom put in place mechanisms designed to relieve banks of their toxic assets...