Zitat des Tages von Margrethe Vestager:
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.
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.
You need to have the advice from experienced people coming from different kinds of educational and backgrounds in general, and then you can make a decision. But you need people around you that you trust to give you advice, and you need to make sure that the facts of the case are presented.
Planning is like taking on blinders. I think it is a wise thing to be open to whatever shows up on your doorstep.
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 you want things done, you need to be able to find solutions.
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.
Where I grew up, it was a very open home.
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.
Most politicians are either generalists or specialists. It's very rare that a politician is both.
Part of being not only a liberal but also a human is to make your own decisions.
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.'
I'm definitely a techno-optimist. I think we can do amazing things. But in my experience, if a thing has great potential, there is also a risk of great downsides, so to speak. Coming from a truly, really enthusiastic 'wow decade,' we are now moving into waters where we are somewhat more cautious.
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.
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.
I get all my U.S. politics from 'The Daily Show.'
In Europe, we would congratulate anyone who is successful. But congratulations stop if we find that you start to misuse a dominant position.
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.
The list of plane reservations I keep on my phone - it's very, very, very long.
I think it is one of the fundamentals, not only of the European Union but also of free trade, that competition is fair.
Being a politician, I know how motivating it can be when the public is outraged.
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.
Very often, I think about the people that I represent. I meet people who have thousands and thousands of employees and millions and millions of customers - and also make a lot of money. But I think about the millions of Europeans that I represent in order to try to balance that so we can meet on more equal terms.
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.
No government can give a selective advantage to a specific company, because that would make competition unfair.
I think a lot can be said for consolidation, but I think it should be done for the right reasons.
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.'