The European Commission has presented a new regulation establishing a programme for the single market, particularly to benefit SMEs and consumers, for which it anticipates a budget of just over €4 billion (in current prices) for the period 2021-2027.
We are presenting a new programme in which “we propose to gather all initiatives linked to the single market in a new dedicated programme”, said the Commissioner for Industry and the Single Market, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, who went on to explain that the money would be earmarked for various actions to help businesses to get established in the EU. This could involve financial assistance to provide training, develop digital tools or improve information.
With this regulation, which merges no fewer than six programmes, the Commission is targeting new objectives, such as improving the competitiveness of SMEs (taking over from the programme COSME), standardisation and consumer protection. It also intends to guarantee a high level of health for humans, animals and plants in the food chain. Finally, the Commission hopes to improve the quality of European statistics on single market.
According to the article on the budget (art. 4), of the €4 billion in question, €1 billion will be given over to improving the competitiveness of businesses, particularly SMEs. €188 million will be destined for consumer protection. €1.68 billion will go to support human, animal and plant health in the food chain. Finally, around €500 million will help improve European statistics on the single market.
The programme will be implemented through direct management, in other words by the European Commission, with some exceptions, for instance with third countries and various authorities. The financial assistance may take the form of grants, prizes or procurement. To bring it off, the Commission has drawn up a long list of criteria in the legislative text to select projects and entities in line with the stated objectives.
The financial assistance will, furthermore, be compatible with other funds, as long as the contributions do not cover the same costs. These funds may include the structural and investment funds, the cohesion fund, the Social+ fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and Horizon Europe.
The programme will mainly cover the EU, but also member states of the European Free Trade Association that are also members of the European Economic Area, as well as the candidate countries and Switzerland. It is worth noting that the programme will be subjected to a mid-term review (four years after the start of the programme) and a second ex-post assessment, four years later.
The proposal follows the publication of the communication on the forthcoming multiannual financial framework (MFF) by the Commission in early May (see EUROPE 12013). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)