“Use collective state power”
Athens complains to the EU about the pricing policies of retail groups
May 20, 2024, 2:29 p.m
Corporations are artificially dividing the EU internal market and charging different prices in each country. In addition, retailers cannot buy in neighboring EU countries. This practice has met with criticism in Athens. A few weeks before the EU elections, the Greek government is turning the issue into a question of credibility.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for EU intervention in view of the extremely high consumer prices. “The recent inflation crisis has led to a significant loss of purchasing power for European citizens,” says a letter from the head of government to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The European statistics agency reported an inflation rate of 3.2 percent for Athens in April. Of the 30 countries surveyed, Greece was in 9th place. For Germany, 2.4 percent was given.
Mitsotakis primarily targeted large international corporations: Multinational companies pursue very different pricing policies compared to individual member states within the EU, and the market is asymmetrical. The “collective power of the confederation of states” and its consumers, on the other hand, is not being used sufficiently, the letter said. The EU must show – also in view of the EU elections – that it is able to intervene decisively and quickly.
Specifically, Mitsotakis is calling for legal measures against the practice of multinational manufacturers and suppliers of pursuing so-called territorial delivery restrictions within the EU. This practice (Territorial Supply Constraints or TSC) allows large branded goods manufacturers to artificially segment the EU internal market along national borders and charge different prices in each country. Retailers and wholesalers in an EU country are prevented from buying multinational products in cheaper neighboring EU countries. From the perspective of critics, the multinationals’ purchasing dictates make goods more expensive.
Mitsotakis calls for bolder steps “so that the internal market works with more competition and transparency for the benefit of consumers.” Otherwise people’s trust in the EU market will be impaired.