Digital Markets Act: Renew Europe secured key elements of the interinstitutional agreement

The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament welcomes today’s interinstitutional agreement on the Digital Markets Act, securing a number of key provisions allowing businesses to freely and fairly compete online, just as they do offline.

Our political group put European consumers at the centre of its efforts, aiming to give them choices between different platforms and applications and on how their data is used online and for what purpose.

We managed to add web browsers and virtual assistants to the scope of the regulation, a regular assessment of the DMA impact on business users, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and end-users, plus a complaint mechanism for business users, competitors, or end-users.

Another important aspect for Renew Europe is the DMA’s common European approach, the involvement of member states through the competition and other relevant authorities, while preserving the leading role of the Commission to make final decisions.

During the negotiations with the Council and the Commission we also insisted on having better services for consumers to choose from and fairer prices in the digital world, on creating new opportunities for start-ups to compete and innovate in the online platform environment without having to comply with unfair terms.

Renew Europe also strengthened the structural measures that the European Commission can impose against gatekeepers that repeatedly violate the rules of the DMA.

MEP Andrus Ansip (Estonian Reform Party), Vice-Chair of IMCO Committee and shadow rapporteur on DMA, said:

“This is an important milestone for the digital single market. For a long time, European SMEs struggled to compete with digital giants that were able to bend the rules of the internet to their own benefit. Today’s agreement puts an end to these unfair practices. The DMA will enable all businesses, whether they are big or small, to compete online as freely and fairly as they do offline. It will also provide more choices and fairer prices for consumers. I am convinced that the DMA will transform the dynamics of the digital economy in Europe by boosting innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Renew Europe MEP, Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Liste Renaissance, France), rapporteur on the opinion in ECON Committee on this file, added:

"Once again, Europe is asserting itself as a normative power. After the RGPD, with the DMA Europe is laying a new stone for its digital sovereignty. Thanks to this regulation, the Internet will no longer benefit only a few companies, innovation will be stimulated and consumers will be better protected. We look forward to the taxation of the tech giants and the DSA, the digital content legislation."