PRESS RELEASE

ANTITRUST: TURNOVER FOR PITRUZZELLA AND CATRICALÀ

The new president: “Competition is our growth leverage. There will be no false steps with Monti and Catricalà. We will come out of the crisis with more Europe."

Giovanni Pitruzzella took over as the new president of the Antitrust Authority today as his predecessor, Antonio Catricalà, was appointed Undersecretary to the Presidency before the College and the entire Antitrust organization. "This Institution," Catricalà said, "is admired throughout Europe for its professionalism and independence, a fact that was confirmed in my interactions with the European Commission. I will carry this unique and enjoyable experience over into my new role," recalling how the decree passed by the Government responds to "many things the Antitrust asked of them." "In the course of history," emphasized the new president, Giovanni Pitruzzella, "times of economic hardship can tempt us to downplay the value of competition, but this is an error that will not be repeated with Prime Minister Mario Monti's government and Antonio Catricalà as Undersecretary. Today's challenge is to navigate the Antitrust through times of crisis, a crisis that needs to be transformed into an opportunity for promoting  growth and protecting competition in the interest of consumer well-being, and to do it all within the framework of a closely-integrated Europe. We will come out of the crisis," added Pitruzzella, "with more Europe. We need to whet our blades against the crisis starting with local markets that are still too closed. We need to gather the many threads of the Antitrust's invaluable experiences and reaffirm the deterrent effect of its sanctioning powers, which help make the most of the commitments tool, while acting under the European umbrella and in close contact with other competition Authorities. An on-going relationship will be maintained with consumers' associations, and we will channel our independence through the technical capacities of the College and the organization as a whole, which represents an enormous reserve of professionalism. We will keep up a continuous, fluid relationship with the Government in full respect for our autonomy, and we will continue to stimulate needed changes in the sector-based regulations that are stifling our economy."

Pitruzella also took this opportunity to announce, "with regret," the resignation of general secretary Luigi Fiorentino, who has been called on to serve as cabinet chief of the Ministry for Education, Universities and Research.

Rome, 6 December 2011