On Wednesday, 20 April, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton gave MEPs on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) further details on the preparation of the regulation on the Single Market Emergency Instrument and hinted that a recommendation could possibly be presented at the same time.
The commissioner’s remarks on this draft regulation came a week after a public consultation on the instrument was launched (see EUROPE 12933/21). Responding to MEPs’ questions on how the instrument would be implemented, the commissioner described an approach that—if used—would be quite similar to the one adopted under the European Chips Act (see EUROPE 12886/1).
“As for the SMEI [Single Market Emergency Instrument], we will present it by the end of the summer. Implementation is obviously as fast as possible—which is why we want a regulation—but, well, if we progress as fast as the DMA/DSA [...], it may be 18 months. [...] But there will obviously be a recommendation to move forward immediately, which will enable us to have the capacity to not wait too long”, he explained.
The commissioner gave a few possible examples of measures that the initiative could include (pending final arbitration): a “voluntary or mandatory” monitoring system for strategic supply chains in order to anticipate future shortages, emergency simulation exercises for national and European experts, and “strategic” reserve or storage systems to improve the availability of critical goods in times of crisis.
In addition, he indicated that the initiative will aim to expedite the conformity assessment process for placing certain goods on the market, improve the monitoring of national restrictive measures, increase cooperation between Member States, and financially support boosting production capacities for goods needed in the event of a crisis.
Here, the commissioner clearly mentioned the possibility of obliging certain companies, “under defined and proportionate conditions”, to give priority to orders in times of crisis.
The commissioner provided a few sources of inspiration to help develop the instrument, such as the early warning systems in South Korea, which target some 20 critical raw materials; the peninsular country’s storage system; or, in the United States, the possibility of prioritising certain orders in the field of defence or that of controlling exports.
“With the Single Market Emergency Instrument, the European Union will add a new bowstring to its ‘crisis management’ bow, which will also enable it to remain competitive at the global level”, the commissioner declared. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)