Following presentation of the strategic report on the internal market at a working meeting of the Council of the European Union on Monday 1 February devoted to competitiveness and growth, the Member States highlighted the importance of tackling obstacles that prevent the single market from functioning properly.
The working group began by dealing with documents (‘non papers’) submitted by Sweden, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Poland, which EUROPE has seen. In essence, these countries are calling for the rapid implementation of the March 2020 Action Plan on long-term compliance and enforcement of internal market rules (see EUROPE 12443/7) in order to identify and remove obstacles to the single market.
During the discussion, the Member States stressed that the European Commission should implement the recommendations of the SMET Task Force. A number of Central and Eastern European countries highlighted the issue of posted workers who face a lot of administrative obstacles. This point in particular was also discussed at the last meeting of the Task Force (see EUROPE 12648/19). Several national delegations stressed the need to improve and strengthen cooperation between Member States. The Commission has indicated that its services are liaising to make progress on the issue.
Broadly speaking, a number of Member States mentioned the problem of interpreting European rules, which is a source of uncertainty for the private sector, and the importance of harmonising standards. There was a consensus that better use should be made of the instruments that are already available, including the SOLVIT network for out-of-court dispute resolution in the single market. Some speakers suggested that emergency mechanisms should be put in place in the event of non-compliance.
Postponement of the strategic report on the internal market
The Commission has indicated that its strategic report on the internal market has been postponed to March, or even April, instead of January as planned (see EUROPE 12569/6), potentially after the Spring meeting of the European Council, which is traditionally devoted to issues of this kind.
Territorial supply constraints
At the same meeting, the European Commission presented a long study on “a European retail sector fit for the 21st century”, following guidelines presented in 2018 (see EUROPE 12005/5). The study focuses on territorial supply constraints in particular, i.e. the barriers imposed by private operators (suppliers) in the supply chain that may directly affect retailers and/or wholesalers. These constraints include packaging and labelling requirements, quantitative quotas and restrictions on promotions, for example.
Austria and Belgium are reported to be the countries where these constraints occur most frequently. The usual trend is for operators from smaller and more expensive countries to actively seek supply opportunities in larger and cheaper countries which are often neighbouring countries (i.e. Germany-Austria, Czech Republic-Slovakia, Belgium-France and Belgium-Netherlands) but are sometimes prevented from doing so by their suppliers.
The Commission’s report can be found at: http://bit.ly/2MK9JN8 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)