Brussels, 16/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The MEPs of the S&D fought to the last minute to amend the own-initiative report by Anneleen Van Bossuyt (ECR, Belgium) entitled “In favour of improved single market rules”, which was adopted by a shaky majority (387 votes in favour, 293 against and 26 abstentions) on Tuesday 12 April, according to the rapporteur.
Readers may recall that the report stresses the need to improve the regulatory environment for businesses whilst paying scrupulous attention to the principle of subsidiarity in the framework of the single market, in order to have simple and effective legislation.
“The report saw a battle between Left and Centre-Right”, the MEP told EUROPE. She said that there was a difference of opinion over the significance of “better regulation”. “The S&D has concerns that laying emphasis on better regulation would lead to a watering-down of social and, more generally, European standards, whilst we take the view that it is a way to make the rules simpler and safer”, Van Bossuyt explained, adding with satisfaction that all of the Social Democrats' amendments had been rejected in the plenary vote.
The report was initially to have being voted upon at the October plenary session. “However, it was blocked by Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium), who wanted a free hand to negotiate the inter-institutional agreement on better regulation, which was voted upon in December”, she said. This means, van Bossuyt went on to explain, that all the reports on this subject had been postponed, such as the report on subsidiarity and proportionality by Sajjad Karim (ECR, UK), which was adopted the same day in plenary.
The S&D was contacted for its comments, but had not responded as we went to press. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)