Brussels, 28/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Addressing the internal market section of the Economic and Social Committee, on Friday, Frits Bolkestein explained that the current economic uncertainty made it even more essential to take decisive action to release the full potential of the internal market. Mr Bolkstein stressed that there was a price to pay if the EU wanted to become the most competitive economy in the world by 2010 and there was an "ocean" to cross before they would get to their destination. "There is a difference between saying we will do something, and actually doing it". He asserted that the European Council in Barcelona would provide an opportunity for political leaders to reconfirm their reform credentials and to inject a new sense of urgency.
The European Internal market Commissioner did, nevertheless, welcome the fact that some progress had been achieved in some areas, such as telecommunications, E-commerce, the European Company Statute and the Financial Services Action Plan. But in certain fields, he highlighted the desperate shortcomings: no final date had been agreed for the liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets and the Community Patent had become, "a hostage of wrangling over languages and vested interests of national patent offices". Mr Bolkestein pointed out that whilst they were bogged down in interminable discussions, "our companies are faced with a situation where they have to pay three to five times more for European patent protection than their US or Japanese competitors. Commissioner Bolkestein added that, "I continue to believe, nonetheless, that a bad Community patent is worse than no patent". He also pointed to another sector that was in need of urgent action, public procurement: "Only approximately 10% of public procurement contracts involve goods and services coming from other Member States". Urgent updating is needed in order to take account of new purchasing techniques and new technologies, like e-procurement. While there are potential savings in excess of EUR 50 billion to be made as a result of more procurement, Council and Parliament do not seem to be in a hurry to pass on these savings to Europe's taxpayers." More progress needed to be made in the services economy, he declared, such as financial services and pensions. Commissioner Bolkestein stated that the, "take-overs directive is a key missing piece in the jigsaw" and a new proposal for a directive would be submitted in Spring of this year. Tax obstacles on cross border activities was also an area which he singled out as needing greater efforts for change. Mr Bolkstein informed Economic and Social Committee members that the Commission is working on an action plan with the other institutions that should be presented in June 2002, the objective of which is to improve the poor quality of Community and national regulation that was costing the European economy around EUR 50 billion every year. "We cannot expect our companies to become the most competitive in the world if we hang an albatross around their necks", he said.