The EU and competition. A real Monti?

Neelie Kroes must work hard to match her predecessor's zeal

ONE of the surprises of the European Commission - for people who follow these things - was the fact that Neelie Kroes, a forceful Dutchwoman, was put in charge of competition, not transport.

The job is a tough one, and her predecessor, Mario Monti, is a hard act to follow. He strengthened the Union's competition department and was successful in most of his battles against cartels, state aid to sickly companies and mergers that harm competition. As the Union expanded in May, he devolved some of the oversight of EU competition rules to member states - so he could focus more on fighting what he saw as hard-core antitrust cases.

In July, Mr Monti introduced tougher rules on state aid, due to take effect in October. Most people expect Ms Kroes to show a similarly robust spirit when dealing with member states. She won her free-market spurs when she helped push through the privatisation of the Dutch post and telecoms agency.

Companies at odds with Brussels on competition rules, especially American ones, hope Ms Kroes will be more sympathetic to business than Mr Monti was. Having served on the board of several multinationals - such as Lucent, Thales and Volvo - she knows their concerns; but that does not mean she will be their patsy.

So her handling of Mr Monti's unfinished business will be an important sign of what corporate Europe can expect. The biggest pending case is Microsoft's appeal at the EU's Court of First Instance against the €497m ($613m) fine imposed by the commission in March for “bundling” new features into Microsoft's Windows operating system, to protect its near-monopoly of the personal-computer market.

Then there is another longstanding row with a big American company: Mr Monti's five-year campaign against Coca-Cola's allegedly unfair selling practices in Europe. The company says rebates and discounts are good for consumers, and the commission is penalising big firms' success.

Ms Kroes will also be confronted with the troubles of Alstom, France's sickly engineering group. The French government's latest rescue package for Alstom, approved by the commission on July 7th, is unlikely to win approval. The more you think about this daunting in-tray, the clearer it becomes why the French contender, Jacques Barrot, was not deemed the the right person to wear the Monti mantle.

Feature looks at the new European Competition Commissioner, Nellie Kroes.

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