Brussels, 01/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Internal Market Council adopted, on Friday, conclusions preparing for the launch, in June 2002, of the "Solvit" database intended to improve the resolution of problems encountered by European companies and citizens relating to the application of internal market rules. In practice, the Solvit database and network will electronically connect the coordination centres of Member States, which have been responsible since 1997 for resolving this kind of problem.
In a communication presented on 27 November last, the Commission noted the disappointing results of "coordination centres", interfaces between public administrations and citizens. After being in existence for three years, the network of centres had only dealt with 250-300 cases per year, which, in a Union that has over 370 million citizens and 18 million firms, "is only the tip of the iceberg". In addition, "at the end of 2000, over two-thirds of the cases were still without a solution more than twelve months after the dossier was opened" and "only a small number of Member States have invested sufficient resources in this network, in terms of personnel and advertising". Furthermore, according to an EOS Gallup Europe survey, only 3% of the 8046 people taking part in the survey had heard of the "internal market" contact points.
On the basis of this result, the Commission proposes four measures: 1) establish in June 2002 a database covering the whole of the EU, in order to improve transparency and create "peer pressure" to
improve results; 2) provide clear principles for the coordination centres; 3) make the network known; and 4) implement preventive action to eliminate the origins of recurrent problems. It specified in its "recommendations" what principles should be followed for using the Solvit network, and called on Member States to provide the human and budgetary resources necessary for facing up to an increased number of cases.
In its conclusions, the Council endorses the Commission's recommendation of 7 December 2001 establishing the principles for using the Solvit network, and invites the Commission to allow candidate countries to be actively involved in the network. On the other hand, it does not take any clear commitments in financial terms and invites the Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that the existing coordination centres play an active part in the Solvit network, within the limits of the available resources, with a view to rapidly and effectively resolving problems, given that it may sometimes be necessary for the Member States to pursue examination of a case over and beyond the recommended time limit. The Commission would have liked the coordination centres to be clearly encouraged to resolve problems within 10 working days. Germany, it seems, has expressed the most reticence. Portugal has announced for its part, in writing, that it considers it necessary to study the possibility of making Community financial resources available not only so the Commission can play its role in the creation of the Solvit network, but also to allow the national coordination centres to face up to the increased number of cases. The Commission has earmarked commitment appropriations of EUR 1.2 million for the management of the information network and operations between 2001 and 2003. It will present a report in 2003 on the results of the system.