The European Parliament is now ready to negotiate with the Council on the regulation introducing the Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI). It approved the report by Andreas Schwab (EPP, German) by 476 votes to 121 with 51 abstentions on Wednesday 13 September. The elected representatives are calling for the instrument to be renamed the ‘Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act’, or ‘IMERA’, among other changes (see EUROPE 13225/11).
During the debate the day before, the largest political groups in the Chamber insisted on the need for this instrument to guarantee free movement within the EU in the event of a crisis. “We need a situation where it is no longer possible to have export bans. Healthcare staff, for example, should be able to move freely across borders”, said Andreas Schwab, referring to the restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 crisis. He added that the tools to make this possible should be ready before the next crisis.
The European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, also called for rapid adoption of the text: “We don’t know when the next crisis will occur, so it’s essential to reach an agreement quickly to be ready for this proposal”.
Warning on joint public procurement
While there was consensus among MEPs on the objective of the text, several political groups, on both the right and the left, disagreed with the part that regulates public procurement orders grouped and centralised by the Commission. The Covid-19 vaccine contracts and the scandals surrounding them were cited as an example that should not be followed. “Public procurement must be transparent, including the reasons for choosing a specific company”, insisted Alex Saliba (S&D, Maltese).
The emergency instrument allows the Commission to manage public procurement contracts on behalf of the Member States.
To see the adopted report, go to https://aeur.eu/f/8j3 (Orginal version in French by Léa Marchal)