29 February 2016

Council conclusions on the Single Market Strategy

1. REITERATES that the Single Market is Europe's main engine for growth and job creation and a key to investment and increasing European competitiveness. EMPHASISES that strengthening and deepening the Single Market requires urgent and ambitious actions, both at Union and national level, to deliver concrete and pragmatic results which directly benefit consumers and businesses, in particular SMEs. UNDERLINES that the Single Market Strategy, together with the Digital Single Market Strategy and the Capital Markets Union, constitute essential drivers for future-proof growth and job creation and should therefore be implemented in a timely, ambitious and mutually consistent way.
    
2. In light of the above, RECALLS the European Council's call to speed up the adoption, transposition and implementation of Union legislation in the Single Market area and to enhance efforts to remove barriers and to complete the Single Market in products and services, and STRESSES that such an accelerated and intensified approach requires priority treatment by all three institutions, with a view to achieving ambitious results on the concrete proposals, in line with better regulation principles.
    
3. UNDERLINES that it is crucial for all Single Market legislation to be transparent, simple and based on the most efficient tools, such as harmonisation as well as mutual recognition, in line with the ‘refreshed approach to the Single Market’ and the need to mainstream competitiveness. REITERATES that EU legislation should enhance the Union’s competitiveness, also in its external dimension, and should therefore be future-proof, foster innovation as well as market integration. Furthermore, it should reduce the overall regulatory burden on businesses and eliminate unnecessary administrative burdens, whilst always taking into account proper protection of consumers, health, the environment and employees.
   
   4. WELCOMES the Single Market Strategy and its 11 key areas wherein concrete actions are foreseen. RECALLS the European Council’s conclusion that the Union needs bold steps to foster growth, increase investments, create more and better jobs and encourage reforms for competitiveness , UNDERLINES its call for ambition in the implementation of the roadmap to delivering on the Strategy , and in particular HIGHLIGHTS that:
   
   i. SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups and innovative businesses should be fully enabled and stimulated to grow through cross-border economic activity, in particular trade and investment;
   
   ii. releasing the untapped potential in services should be prioritised;
   
   iii. implementation, compliance and enforcement should be further upgraded and intensified
   
   Read the full text of the Council conclusions on the Single Market Strategy

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