Annexes to COM(2011)206 - Single Market Act Twelve levers to boost growth and strengthen confidence "Working together to create new growth" - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2011)206 - Single Market Act Twelve levers to boost growth and strengthen confidence "Working together to create new growth". |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2011)206  |
| date | April 13, 2011 |
The social partners should also have an enhanced role, by having the opportunity to present their positions on issues relating to economic and social cohesion.
Create partnerships and encourage cooperation
The need to strengthen and deepen partnerships between all single-market participants – in particular between the Member States and the Commission – has been emphasised by the territorial authorities, who have made it quite clear that they wish to be fully involved in the development of single-market policies. This will mean involving them more extensively in consultations on specific Commission proposals and improving ways of facilitating and encouraging cooperation between national authorities at the level where individual decisions are taken, i.e. often at territorial level. To that end, the legal certainty of the electronic information exchange system (IMI) – which already links 6 000 authorities – will be increased. Preferential use should be made of this system as a partnership tool for implementing Single Market rules in future Commission proposals. The technological possibilities of automatic translation should be developed, in order to facilitate exchanges between authorities.
Better information for better implementation of Single Market rules
The Single Market could contribute more to growth if all the Single Market acquis (in particular the European legislation currently in force) were implemented by all Member States and businesses and citizens were able to reap its full benefits . Businesses and citizens are the first in line to assert their rights, but in order to do so they need to know their rights, to be in a position to exercise them and to find assistance whenever their rights are not upheld. The Commission will develop its single entry point ("Your Europe" ) in partnership with the Member States, so that it becomes the single information and assistance point at European and national level. Improvements must also be made to the conditions under which practical solutions can be brought about rapidly and without cost to the citizens and enterprises whose rights are not being fully upheld. This is important if people are to trust the Single Market and be willing to engage with it. To this end the Commission and the Member States will bolster the " Solvit " network linking national authorities .
A level playing field for uniformly applied rules
The use of alternative dispute resolution systems should be systematic[65]. However, where difficulties persist and are the result in particular of problems of a more structural nature originating in national legislation, it is for the Commission to make full use of the procedures provided for in Article 258 of the Treaty (TFEU). During the consultation on the Single Market Act, stakeholders insisted on the importance of ensuring a level playing field for all in the Single Market and criticised a number of obstacles. The Commission will therefore initiate a more determined policy in this field and will call on the Member States to improve the transposition of – and compliance with – their national legislation, using numerical targets. This approach has already enabled the transposition deficit to be reduced to 1%. More efforts must be made now. As called for by the European Parliament, thorough and comprehensive implementation of Single Market legislation by all Member States requires by 2012: (i) the notification by Member States of correlation tables to be made public; (ii) numerical targets limiting the transposition and compliance deficit for national legislation to 0.5%[66] for the transposition deficit, and 0.5%[67] for the compliance deficit, respectively; (iii) more effective application of infringement proceedings through numerical targets relating to the stages of the procedure.
In addition, the mutual evaluation tool may be proposed by the Commission for the transposition of directives concerning a key sector in which national laws are particularly numerous.
Global rules
The success of the Single Market and of European businesses in international competition depend on the European Union's ability to ensure that its internal and external policies are consistent and complementary. The Commission will continue pursuing its policy of promoting regulatory convergence and will actively promote the wider adoption of international standards. It will negotiate trade agreements with a particular focus not only on market access but also on regulatory convergence. Special attention should be paid to the candidates for accession to the European Union (who will be expected to adopt the acquis communautaire ) and also to countries in the EU neighbourhood and to the Union's strategic partners, in order to promote economic integration and improve mutual market access and regulatory approximation, particularly on the basis of more far-reaching free-trade agreements.
4. NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSION
Setting priorities for the coming 18 months does not prevent us from already considering the steps beyond 2012. Indeed, the Single Market should be reoriented and boosted to serve the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy, which sets out objectives for the next 10 years. The Single Market should contribute more to the objectives of sustainability and more effective use of resources, to innovation, social inclusion and territorial cohesion and employment strategy..
By the end of 2012, a new stage in the development of the Single Market will be launched. The discussions will draw upon a comprehensive economic study, the results of which should enable the identification of specific areas with untapped growth potential, together with possible new levers for growth. The Commission will also consult civil society and all Single Market actors through its new governance instruments.
Citizens and businesses will not be able to reap the full benefits of the Single Market unless the Single Market Act and its priority actions are implemented swiftly and boldly . This set of actions is an essential contribution to the efforts being made to make the European economy more competitive and should therefore be given the very highest priority. It requires the full involvement and support of all European Institutions, Member States and stakeholders.
Consequently, the Commission:
- calls upon the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to give their full support to the Single Market Act;
- calls upon the European Council to support the 12 priorities established by the Single Market Act and the priority implementation thereof;
- calls upon the European Parliament and the Council to give the highest priority in the legislative process to the key actions contained in the Single Market Act by agreeing that they should be swiftly adopted by the end of 2012 at the latest;
- in connection with the European Semester and with a view to an examination of the matter at the Spring European Council, will report regularly to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council on progress achieved in implementing the Single Market Act and its key actions;
- will work with the Member States to facilitate the swift implementation of the Single Market Act and its key actions;
- calls upon national, regional and local authorities in the Member States to ensure that Single Market rules are applied and enforced;
- calls upon all interested parties, Members of the European Parliament and of national parliaments, representatives of national, regional and local authorities and all stakeholders to participate actively in a "Single Market Day" designed to take stock of progress achieved and to focus on priorities ahead at national and European level, in particular in the Single Market Forum.
Annex 1: Key actions
Key action | Lever | Proposal by the Commission |
1 | Legislation designed to make it easier for venture capital funds established in a Member State to invest freely in any other Member State, without obstacles or additional requirements | Access to finance for SMEs | 4th quarter 2011 |
2 | Legislation modernising the system for recognising professional qualifications | Mobility for citizens | 4th quarter 2011 |
3 | Legislation setting up a unitary patent protection for the greatest possible number of Member States and a unified patent litigation system with the objective of issuing the first EU patents in 2013 | Intellectual property rights | 2nd quarter 2011 |
4 | Legislation on Alternative Dispute Resolution. This action will also include an electronic commerce dimension. | Consumer empowerment | 4th quarter 2011 |
5 | Revision of the legislation on the European standardisation system, to extend it to services and make standardisation procedures more effective, efficient and inclusive | Services | 2nd quarter 2011 |
6 | Energy and transport infrastructure legislation serving to identify and roll out strategic projects of European interest and to ensure interoperability and intermodality | Networks | 4th quarter 2011 3rd quarter 2011 |
7 | Legislation ensuring the mutual recognition of electronic identification and authentication across the EU and revision of the Directive on Electronic Signatures | Digital single market | 1st quarter 2012 |
8 | Legislation setting up a European framework for social investment funds | Social entrepreneurship | 4th quarter 2011 |
9 | Review of the Energy Tax Directive in order to ensure consistent treatment of different sources of energy, so as to better take into account the energy content of products and their CO2 emission level | Taxation | 2nd quarter 2011 |
10 | Legislation aimed at improving and reinforcing the transposition, implementation and enforcement in practice of the Posting of Workers Directive[68], together with legislation aimed at clarifying the exercise of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services alongside fundamental social rights | Social cohesion | 4th quarter 2011 |
11 | Simplification of the Accounting Directives | Business environment | 2nd quarter 2011 |
12 | Revised and modernised public procurement legislative framework | Public procurement | 4th quarter 2011 |
Annex 2: Indicators for the Single Market
- Intra-EU trade in goods and services: in 2009, intra-EU trade in goods represented 37% of GDP (EUR 4 320 billion) and intra-EU trade in services 10.5% of GDP (EUR 1 233 billion)[69].
- Intra-EU electronic commerce: in 2009, 9% of EU citizens carried out purchases from suppliers in other Member States[70].
- The number of applications for the award of a European patent introduced and approved: in 2010 (provisional data) – 235 029 requests for a European patent were filed with the European Patent Office; 58 108 European patents were approved[71].
- Cross-border cooperation between public authorities in the EU (IMI): at the end of 2010, 5 737 competent authorities were registered in IMI[72].
- Deficit in the transposition of internal-market legislation: the transposition deficit stood at 0.9% for the entire EU at the end of 2010[73].
- The number of citizens working in another Member State: 5.8 million citizens in 2009, equivalent to 2.5% of the EU working population[74].
[1] A7-0132/2010
[2] The Commission entrusted P. Solbes with the preparation of a report on the situation in these regions.
[3] Medium-term potential growth is estimated at 1.5% up to 2020. 9.6% of the active population is unemployed. Commission Communication "Annual Growth Survey: advancing the EU's comprehensive response to the crisis", pages 2 and 3.
[4] COM (2010)2020.
[5] Communication "Annual Growth Survey" (COM(2011)11).
[6] European Council Conclusions of 24/25 March 2011, EUCO 10/11, paragraph 7.
[7] COM(2010)608.
[8] See the attached report on the Public Consultation on the Single Market Act.
[9] Council Conclusions on the Single Market Act (17799/10).
[10] "Governance and Partnership in the Single Market" (P7_TA-PROV(2011)0144), "A Single Market for Europeans" (P7_TA-PROV(2011)0145), and "A Single Market for Enterprises and Growth" (P7_TA-PROV(2011)0146), respectively.
[11] CdR 330/2010 – ECOS-V-009
[12] CESE 525/2011 – INT/548
[13] European Council Conclusions of 24/25 March 2011, EUCO 10/11, paragraph 7.
[14] Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union.
[15] Article 28 of the Charter.
[16] COM (2011)109.
[17] COM (2011)78.
[18] See Communication of 2 October 2010: "Regulating financial services for sustainable growth" (COM(2010)301final) and the progress report published in February 2011( http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finances/docs/110209_progress_report_financial_issues_en.pdf ).
[19] See also the flagship initiative "Innovation Union" (COM(2010)546).
[20] According to a 2009 Eurobarometer study, difficulties in accessing finance are quoted as the second most important obstacle to business growth. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_271_en.pdf
[21] See also the flagship initiative "An agenda for new skills and jobs" (COM(2010)682)
[22] "Towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems" (COM(2010)365).
[23] See COM(2010)682.
[24] See also the flagship initiative "Youth on the Move" (COM(2010)477).
[25] See also the flagship initiatives "An Innovation Union" (COM(2010)546) and "An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era" (COM(2010)614).
[26] Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
[27] Source: http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/documents/valuing patents.htm
[28] See also the flagship initiative "A Digital Agenda for Europe" (COM(2010)245).
[29] See also the flagship initiative "An Integrated Industrial Policy" (COM(2010)614).
[30] OECD: "Magnitude of counterfeiting and piracy of tangible products – November 2009 update", http://www.oecd.org
[31] Working Document "Strengthening the powers of consumers in the European Union", adopted on 7 April 2011 (SEC(2011)469) and based on Eurobarometer 342; and Commission services' estimate based on data published by the study "Mystery Shopping Evaluation of Cross-Border E-Commerce in the EU" by YouGovPsychonomics.
[32] See also the flagship initiatives "An Innovation Union" (COM(2010)546), "An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era" (COM(2010)614) and "A Digital Agenda for Europe" (COM(2010)245).
[33] Eurostat
[34] Commission Communication (COM(2011)20) "Towards a better functioning Single Market for services".
[35] See also the Communication "Energy infrastructure priorities for 2020 and beyond – A Blueprint for an integrated European energy network" (COM(2010)677 final), the Conclusions of the European Summit of 4 February 2011, the flagship initiative "A resource-efficient Europe" (COM2011)21) and the Energy Efficiency Plan 2011 (COM(2011)109)
[36] See also the flagship initiative "An industrial policy for the globalisation era" (COM(2010)614).
[37] "Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report", SEC(2010)627.
[38] Eurostat.
[39] Communications Committee Working Document - "Broadband Access in the EU: situation at 1 July 2010".
[40] Study "MEPSIR – Measuring European Public Sector Information Resources" (2006), HELM Group of Companies with Zenc, for the European Commission.
[41] COM(2010)245.
[42] Flash Eurobarometer No 299 – Cross-border trade and consumer protection, September 2010, Analytical report, p. 30
[43] See also the conclusions of the Communication "Cross-Border Business to Consumer e-Commerce in the EU" (COM(2009)557 – http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/COM_2009_0557_4_en.pdf
[44] 5th Consumer Scoreboard - http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/5th_edition_scoreboard_en.pdf.
[45] The initiative on European contract law will be among the actions envisaged in order to reduce regulatory obstacles to electronic commerce.
[46] On the implementation of Article 20 of the Services Directive.
[47] 2003/98/CE of the European Parliament and Council of 17 November 2003.
[48] For example, maps and itineraries that are available online or in GPS would not be developed to the same extent if the PSI Directive had not created the conditions for public-sector information to be available.
[49] Cooperative societies alone represent more than 4.8 million jobs.
[50] Employees in social enterprises and the third sector are estimated at 7 million individuals (i.e. 4% of paid employment in Europe).
[51] Public procurement rules, business-to-business relations, especially in the retail and wholesale trade (B to B), access to finance (bank credit, dedicated investment funds, orientation of private savings by initiatives such as the Big Society Bank in the United Kingdom).
[52] COM(2010)758.
[53] It is estimated that the introduction of a common consolidated corporate tax base could reduce tax-related administrative costs by 67% for SMEs.
[54] COM(2010)769.
[55] See the flagship initiative "An Agenda for new skills and jobs" (COM(2010)682).
[56] The initiative could use the solutions in Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 of 7 December 1998 on the functioning of the internal market in relation to the free movement of goods among the Member States as a starting-point.
[57] Commission Communication of 23 March 2011, "Reform of the EU State Aid Rules on Services of General Economic Interest" (COM(2011)146).
[58] European Council Conclusions of 24/25 March 2011, EUCO 10/11, paragraph 7.
[59] Figures based on an October 2010 study by the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES) and on a report on the EU project on reference measures and lower administrative costs which was carried out by Capgemini, Deloitte and Ramboll in February 2009.
[60] See also the European Strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment (COM(2005)535).
[61] See also "An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era" (COM(2010)614).
[62] See also the EU flagship initiatives "Innovation Union" (COM(2010)546) and "An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era" (COM(2010614).
[63] According to cautious estimates, at least EUR 138 billion between 2000 and 2006.
[64] Consultation and dialogue with civil society was considered as the most important topic amongst the 50 SMA actions, based on the highest number of responses on line (312 out of 740).
[65] The EU Pilot network between the Commission and some Member States is an effective means to try and solve disputes before resorting to infringement procedures. It is systematically used by the Commission, which wishes to extend it to all Member States.
[66] The average deficit was 0.9% in 2010 and a quarter of the Member States have already achieved 0.5%.
[67] The average deficit was 0.7% in 2010.
[68] See the flagship initiative "An Agenda for new skills and jobs" (COM(2010)682).
[69] Eurostat
[70] Eurostat
[71] European Patent Office
[72] European Commission
[73] European Commission
[74] Eurostat