We want a free market, but we know that the paradox of a 'free' market is that sometimes you have to intervene. You have to make sure it's not the law of the jungle but the laws of democracy that works.
Margrethe Vestager
It's not in my mission to work against Euroskepticism; it's my mission to work for fair markets. In antitrust, what is at stake is, in some ways, as old as Adam and Eve because it is about greed, to get more.
I was brought up with a very strong value that you should always protect the small and the few against those who want to misuse their muscle and weight in order to get what they weren't supposed to.
In Europe, we would congratulate anyone who is successful. But congratulations stop if we find that you start to misuse a dominant position.
I think it is one of the fundamentals, not only of the European Union but also of free trade, that competition is fair.
Dominant companies can't abuse their position to create advantage in related markets.
Consumers depend on us to make sure that competition is fair and open, and it's my responsibility to make that happen.
I have a very strong tool in competitional enforcement: To do merger control, to look into cartels, misuse of dominant position - when member states hand out favors, for instance, in terms of tax breaks. But even though that's a strong tool, it cannot solve everything.
In Europe, we have three tools when it comes to fair competition. One is antitrust, one is merger control, and the third is state aid control. And the third you don't have in the States.
When a government gives special tax treatment to a few companies, that makes it hard for anyone else to compete on equal terms.
I think a lot can be said for consolidation, but I think it should be done for the right reasons.
We have to take our democracy back. We cannot leave it to Facebook or Snapchat or anyone else. We have to take democracy back and renew it. Society is about people and not about technology.
No government can give a selective advantage to a specific company, because that would make competition unfair.
When I was very young, I took no interest in party politics. My line of interest was how can you be part of an influence to the society that you live in.
I've asked myself what is the worst thing that can happen if I take this decision and go along with it. Very often, I find that the worst thing that can happen is something that I can live with. And if that's the case, I will do it.
A huge part of Apple profits generated in Europe, in African countries, Middle East, and India were all booked in Ireland. And I think it is a very basic principle in taxation that your profits are taxed where the profits are generated.
History shows the power-grab in every religion once it gets organised. And then it's people making you do things that you don't agree with and setting the rules. But it does mean something to me to believe that we are not alone - the human animal is quite a scary thing, left on its own.
If you're successful in the market, it should be because you have the best products. Then your customers like you, not because then you cut corners, or you get a tax break, or you don't inform authorities about how things actually are.
Technology is, in many respects, an enabler for an open, transparent society. But it's also an enabler for supervision to a completely unforeseen degree. And for commercialising personal space to an unforeseen degree.
I think it's a completely good thing to want to do business, to want to make money and be a success in the marketplace, to get the attention of customers. I'm not in the business of pointing fingers or blaming companies, but there is a limit to everything.
You can be big, and you can be successful, but you cannot abuse your power to stop others from challenging you from being the next big thing in five or ten years.
Most politicians are either generalists or specialists. It's very rare that a politician is both.
If you want things done, you need to be able to find solutions.
It's my impression that investment in Europe is done for the right reasons. Europe is a very good place to do business; it's a large market.
Part of being not only a liberal but also a human is to make your own decisions.
Competition is one of the most important drivers of innovation because you have to stay in the race. You have to think of something new, and if you don't, well, of course you should leave the market.
It is very important, to have a robust digital economy, that the citizens regain the trust in how their data are being processed and who can access them.
I do not have an issue with specific countries or companies; what I'm interested in are schemes which allow for preferential treatment, for selectivity... If this has to change, it's countries that will have to change this.
If you, as a company, can get a deal that I, as a company, cannot get, you can compete with me but not on the merits, because your tax burden is not the same as mine.
I think I am like anyone else. I respect other people and, of course, I expect that it works the other way around.
The list of plane reservations I keep on my phone - it's very, very, very long.
When I was very young and came into politics, I basically thought ideas would do the trick.
I get all my U.S. politics from 'The Daily Show.'
What I have come to realize over the twenty years when I have worked in different roles as a legislator is that no legislation is as good as the enforcement of it.
Being a politician, I know how motivating it can be when the public is outraged.
I'm quite enthusiastic about any kind of gadget and app and feature and things that enable me to have a very convenient lifestyle. We buy our groceries on the Internet; I buy furniture, clothes for myself and my kids.
When we do merger rulings, we have strict deadlines: 25 days. It is extremely intensive, and you must decide how you can do it before your spouse says, 'You know I still love you, but please spend some more time at home.'
My parents didn't do office hours, and they did not do vacations, so if you had a problem, you could always come around. I watched them and thought, 'OK, this is what you are supposed to do.' I was very engaged in my local primary school and when I went to secondary school and to university. And one thing led to another, and here I am.
If I had a motto, it would be, 'Believe in God, fear the church'.
On Amazon, you find retailers that want Amazon to do part of their services. Those, you don't find to the same degree on Google Shopping. On Google Shopping, you find sort of the bigger brands, those who want to have the customer relationship themselves - the data, the payment details, the search patterns.
I know what I need. I don't want people to tell me what I need.
You have to teach your algorithm what it can do and what it cannot do because, otherwise, there is a risk that the algorithms will learn the tricks of the old cartels.
I remember when I cut my hair. I used to have hair to my shoulders. Immediately, people said, 'Oh, but that's the power cut. Now she looks like a man.'
Planning is like taking on blinders. I think it is a wise thing to be open to whatever shows up on your doorstep.
Basically, I come to Washington a couple of times a year, sort of on a strictly business basis: talk to my counterparts at the Federal Trade Commission, of the DOJ, give an occasional talk, very often in a lawyer or academic environment.
Where I grew up, it was a very open home.
Elephants are social, thoughtful animals. They live in communities and - I have to say it - in matriarchal societies. They bear no grudge, but they remember well.
The benefits of globalization do not trickle down automatically. It takes politics to make sure that there is a benefit.
Few people think about politics every day. But they are in the market every day.
If you're in a situation where your effective tax rate is so much lower than any other company, then obviously you have a much better position when it comes to compete on prices and everything else.
