Brussels, 14/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU heads of state and/or government hailed, on Friday, in their European Council conclusions, the progress made earlier in the week on the Unitary Patent, an agreement which will make it possible to finalise the measures put forward in April 2011 by the Commission in the context of the Single Market Act. This breakthrough on the Patent, which only concerns 25 of the 27 EU countries (Spain and Italy being outside the system) but which should nonetheless in time bolster the competitiveness of European businesses, was accompanied by another agreement reached on dispute resolution mechanisms between consumers and business. However, it remains urgent to complete all measures announced in 2011, the Council stressed, as it had done during the last summit in October. Such measures concern, in particular, the directive on the recognition of professional qualifications, public procurement, posted workers and measures relating to electronic signature/electronic identification - a whole arsenal of measures to be validated all the more swiftly as the Commission put forward a new series of measures in October for its Single Market Act 2. As the Council pointed out, it is urgent to transpose the services directive. For the “second generation” Single Market Act, all measures should be presented by the end of the current legislature, the EU27 requested. As usual, British prime minister David Cameron welcomed the results of the summit regarding the strengthening of the internal market, praising the efforts made under “smart regulation” which will make it possible to review, if not to do away with, some legislation. European Commission president José Manuel Barroso confirmed this work, saying once more on Friday after the meeting that the Commission would be studying the cost of certain measures and may abolish them if they prove too costly. (SP/transl.jl)