ABSTRACT
Central to many of the EU’s actions within the European business environment is the belief that nothing is better for competitiveness than competition itself. This underlines a belief that intense competition within both indigenous and global markets is a pre-requisite for the successful performance of European business. In this context, the role of competition policy is to seek to preserve the desired intensity of competition within the EU by setting a series of rules and regulations which limit the ability of enterprises to operate in a manner which is contrary to this objective. This policy stance represents an important sea change, for in many EU states the traditional thinking was that economic success could be influenced by limiting the intensity of competition faced by indigenous firms. Frequently such strategies failed and look increasingly outdated within internationalising economies. The growing interdependence between states (especially within the context of the EU) implies that there is little to be gained from policy makers offering favours to indigenous over foreign enterprises.
