Spoiler alert: according to the horse’s own mouth, the Commission has found that its competition-law accomplishments (cartels/antitrust enforcement, merger control, the EU-specific notion of state aid, etc.) were stellar.  The EU internal market is now — 10 years into the EC’s antitrust regulation no. 1/2002 — a model of competitiveness, according to the Report, available here in PDF.

The Report takes a slightly different tack from prior years, focussing more on IP issues (FRAND, SEPs, yet still no mention of Non-practicing Entities (NPEs)/patent trolls).  It also revels in legislative “milestones,” both historical and current:

2013 saw two important milestones for EU competition policy. Firstly, Regulation 1/2003, when adopted, ushered in a new era in the enforcement of EU antitrust rules and has now, a decade later, led to a stocktaking and reflection for further improvements. Secondly, on 11 June, the Commission adopted a Proposal for a Directive on antitrust damages actions – a long-awaited measure by stakeholders and a policy priority for the current Commission.