Brussels, 08/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - A properly functioning single market is vital if the EU2020 strategy targets are to be reached and to ensure sustainable growth and competitiveness in the European Union. Adopting three reports on Wednesday 6 April, the European Parliament set out its recommendations for the Single Market Act, a vast initiative to boost the internal market in Europe. The EP calls for social rights to be guaranteed, along with services of general economic interest, including high quality, public social services at a price people can afford. The EP supports several of the European Commission's big ideas about professional qualifications, product monitoring, basic banking, project bonds and the common consolidated tax base for company taxation.
The vote at the EP comes ahead of the Commission's unveiling on 13 April of the last batch of measures to boost the single market. The three EP reports cover the three pillars of the Single Market Act, namely governance and partnerships in the single market; companies and growth; and ensuring the single market works properly for Europeans.
A single market for Europeans. Adopting by 600 to 48 with 27 abstentions a report by António Fernando Correia De Campos (S&D, Portugal) on a “Single Market for Europeans”, the EP: - calls on the Commission to take measures to increase the mobility of European citizens, in particular by publishing by September a Green Paper on the recognition of professional qualifications and, if appropriate, to propose a legislative initiative to reform this framework in 2012, also assessing the feasibility and added value of EU-wide professional identity cards and a “European skills passport”; - calls on the Commission to play a more active role in coordinating the activities of national market surveillance and customs authorities, in order to improve the effectiveness of border controls on goods imported from outside the EU, and to draw up in 2011 a multiannual action plan for the development of an effective European market surveillance system for all products, while allowing member states flexibility in fulfilling their legal obligations; - urges the Commission to propose an extension of the existing roaming regulation both in time - to June 2015 - and in scope; - calls on the Commission to submit by June 2011 a legislative proposal on guaranteeing access to basic banking services; - calls on the Commission to come up with a legislative proposal to remove obstacles encountered by mobile workers in order to ensure the full portability of pension rights.
Respecting social rights. A compromise amendment tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, ECR and Greens/EFA, and endorsed by the plenary, urges the Commission to “ensure that all social rights are respected”. The EP says that to this end the Commission should include a reference to social policies and rights in single market legislation, where justified in the light of the conclusions of an assessment of the social impact of proposed legislation. The EP emphasises, in addition, that, where relevant, due account should be taken in single market legislation of new Articles 8 and 9 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the entry into force of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, “which provides a whole range of civil, political, economic and social rights to Europeans, as well as the right to negotiate, conclude and enforce collective agreements in accordance with national law and practices and with due respect for EU law.”
Another compromise amendment (by the EPP and S&D) calls on the Commission and member states “on the basis of their respective competences, to ensure that services of general economic interest (SGEI), including social services of general interest (SSGI), are secured within a framework of universal access, high quality, affordability and clear financing rules by providing public authorities with a 'tool-kit' to evaluate the quality of such services.”
Strengthening governance. By 595 to 61 and 60 abstentions, the EP adopted a report by Sandra Kalniete (EPP, Latvia) on governance and partnership. It asks that each spring session of the European Council should be devoted to assessing the state of the single market, backed by a monitoring process. The EP calls on the Commission to publish a Green Paper on guidelines for the consultations of the EU institutions with representative associations and civil society ensuring that these consultations are broad, interactive, transparent and add value to the proposed policies. It calls on the member states to reduce the transposition deficit of single market directives, and calls on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on the use of out-of-court dispute resolution in the EU by the end of 2011.
Enterprise and growth. Adopting by 570 to 44 with 28 abstentions a report by Christian Buºoi (ALDE, Romania) on a “Single Market for Enterprise and Growth”, the EP “supports the creation of EU project bonds in order to support long-term innovation and job creation in the single market and to finance the implementation of major cross-border infrastructure projects, particularly in the areas of energy, transport and telecommunications, supporting the ecological transformation of European economies.” The following further priorities are also set out: - creation of the EU patent and of a unified litigation system; - stimulation of e-commerce (EU Action Plan against counterfeiting and piracy as well as a framework directive on the management of copyrights); - improvement of SMEs' participation in the single market (clearer VAT framework and a common consolidated corporate tax base, as well as the revision of the public procurement framework); - rationalisation of public procurement procedures (member states are strongly encouraged to use pre-commercial public procurement in order to stimulate the market for innovative and green technologies) and insistence on the need to ensure reciprocity with industrialised countries and major emerging economies in the field of public procurement.
“Give Europe a good dose of social medicine”. MEPs in the S&D Group said that they voted in favour of the three draft reports after winning guarantees that fundamental social rights would be protected for millions of European workers. A spokesperson for the S&D, Germany's Evelyne Gebhardt, said after the vote that it had been a tough battle with the Conservatives and Liberals but the S&D had been very successful. She said the group had said yes to progress to be made to facilitate corporate life and to encourage trade and job creation without leading to a shrinking of social protection or the introduction of social dumping. Gebhardt added that Europe had to be given a good dose of social medicine, and fundamental social rights like the right to strike and the right to collective bargaining had to be respected. The S&D abstained from the vote on the EP's internal market committee in order to achieve guarantees on social issues. (L.C./transl.fl)