The basic principle of the European Union is to enable free and unhindered competition among member states. Through his work with the European Commissioner for Competition, Mario Monti was distinguished as a prominent European scientist, commentator, and politician. His work was always, and continues to be, supportive of the cause of European integration, particularly the protection of competition within the European market from both state interventions, such as subsidies and regulation, as well as from the suppression of competition created from mergers of large organizations.