PRESS RELEASE

ANTITRUST TO GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT: OVERCOME OBSTACLES TO COMPETITIVENESS TO STRENGTHEN THE GROWTH OF THE COUNTRY

The message has been sent to prepare the annual parliamentary bill for the market and the competition: A lot has already been done on market liberalisation and simplification, but a long way remains to be covered. It is essential to deliver the structural reforms so as not to endanger the growth in the medium term. Areas of intervention in all the most important sectors: energy, communications, postal services, banking, insurance, local public services and public companies.

A lot has been done on simplification of regulation and liberalisation of markets in recent years, but a long way remains to be covered. This was written by the Antitrust Authority in the report sent to the Government and Parliament for the preparation of the annual parliamentary bill for competition in implementation of the Law of 23^rd July 2009, No. 99.

The message represents the technical contribution of the Authority towards institutions, the Government and Parliament, called upon to make choices of economic policy, identifying the measures deemed useful for the process of economic renewal.

According to Antitrust Authority, it is essential to achieve in a complete manner the structural reforms of the markets by accelerating the effective implementation of those initiated: this is the only way to remove barriers that restrict competition and competitiveness of national production, while overcoming still existing infrastructure bottlenecks.

There are many areas where action is needed: from the fields of electricity and gas to the fuel distribution, from communications to the banking and insurance sector, health care, at the post offices up to the professional services. The proposals of the Authority include also the revision of the port and airport sectors as well as that of waste management sector.

The Authority also notes the need to intervene in local public services and public companies in order to overcome the "public capitalism" that does not allow achieving adequate levels of efficiency and quality of services.

Since the infrastructure is essential to the competitiveness, the report suggests, finally, the adoption of forms of prior public consultation on the model of French public debate, avoiding the occurrence of disputes subsequent to the decision phase, allowing an acceleration of the times and a reduction of costs of realisation.

Rome, 4 July 2014