Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000812/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Marco Falcone (PPE), Fulvio Martusciello (PPE)
In a letter to Vice-President Ribera, Commission President von der Leyen called for a new approach to competition policy to enable European businesses and consumers to reap the full benefits of competition while protecting them from speculative price increases.
In recent years, Visa and Mastercard have consolidated their dominant position in the payment card market. The ECB has also stressed that card payments have acquired a market share of 64% in the eurozone and that 13 Member States have no local competitor to these companies. This has led to a significant increase in the commissions charged by international networks to payment providers (estimated to have increased by EUR 1.5 billion from 2016 to 2021).
These rising costs are making life difficult for European businesses and directly affecting consumers since part of the rise in fees is ultimately passed on to them in the prices of goods and services, thus reducing their disposable income. Consumers have sounded the alarm about the economic impact of these increases and are calling for urgent action.
In the light of this, can the Commission answer the following questions:
- 1.Does it intend to conduct an in-depth market survey to identify any unjustified increases in prices in Europe?
- 2.What specific measures will it take to respond to this pressing problem?
Submitted: 21.2.2025