European Semester

 

9. The European Council generally endorsed the country-specific recommendations as discussed by the Council, thus allowing the conclusion of the 2016 European Semester.

Single Market

 

10. Delivering a deeper and fairer Single Market will be instrumental in creating new jobs, promoting productivity and ensuring an attractive climate for investment and innovation. This requires a renewed focus across Europe. The European Council calls for the different Single Market strategies, including on energy, and action plans proposed by the Commission to be completed and implemented by 2018.

 

11. The European Council today adopted an agenda calling for swift and determined progress:

 

• to bring the full benefits of the Digital Single Market to all stakeholders through:

 

− cross-border portability, which will allow EU residents to travel with the digital content they have purchased or subscribed to at home;

− removing barriers to e-commerce, including unjustified geo-blocking which prevents online customers from accessing and purchasing a product or service from a website based in another Member State. Reducing the costs of parcel delivery and modernising VAT systems will further facilitate cross-border selling of goods and services;

− the review of the wholesale roaming market in view of abolishing roaming surcharges by June 2017;

− the invitation to governments and EU institutions to meet the targets of the eGovernment Action Plan;

− reforms of the copyright and audiovisual frameworks;

 

 

 

• to create the right conditions for stimulating new business opportunities by:

 

− ensuring very high-capacity fixed and wireless broadband connectivity across Europe, which is a precondition for future competitiveness. The review of the telecoms regulatory framework should aim to incentivise major network investments while promoting effective competition and consumer rights;

− better coordinating spectrum assignment modalities together with the timely release of the 700 MHz band so as to help ensure Europe's leadership in the roll-out of 5G networks;

− coordinating EU efforts on high-performance computing. In this context the European Council looks forward to the launch of an important project of common European interest in this field;

 

• to support service providers seeking to expand across borders. A services passport, in line with the Council conclusions of 29 February 2016, will enable entrepreneurs in key sectors to offer their services in other Member States without going through unnecessary procedures and will contribute to promoting innovation;

 

• to ensure easier access to finance for businesses and to support investment in the real economy by moving forward with the Capital Markets Union agenda. In particular, swift progress should be made on the proposal for the simplification of prospectus requirements and the proposals for simple, standardised and transparent securitisation, to be agreed by the end of 2016;

 

• to vigorously pursue efforts towards better regulation.

 

12. The Council will report annually to the June European Council on progress in deepening the Single Market in all its aspects. Better implementation and enforcement of existing legislation will further help to reap the benefits of Europe's Single Market ambitions.

 

 

 

Trade

 

13. The President of the European Commission updated the European Council on ongoing trade negotiations. The European Council recalls its previous conclusions on trade and on the steel sector and will return to the issue for a comprehensive discussion at its forthcoming October meeting. In this context, the European Council calls for the swift completion of the work on trade defence instruments.

 

Investment Plan (including the EFSI)

 

14. The Investment Plan for Europe, in particular the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), has already delivered concrete results and is a major step to help mobilise private investment while making smart use of scarce budgetary resources.

 

15. The Commission intends to soon put forward proposals on the future of the EFSI, which should be examined as a matter of urgency by the European Parliament and the Council.

Economic and Monetary Union

 

16. The European Council took stock of the progress achieved in the work towards completing the Economic and Monetary Union, including the roadmap to complete the Banking Union, and calls for work to be taken forward. It endorses the recommendation on National Productivity Boards.

Taxation

 

17. The fight against tax fraud, evasion and avoidance, and against money laundering remains a priority, both within the EU and internationally. This is illustrated by the recent adoption of relevant EU legislation to take up this challenge, in particular in the area of exchange of information on tax rulings and country-by-country reporting, as well as the agreement reached on the Anti Tax-Avoidance Directive. The publication by the Commission of an Action Plan aiming at the creation of a modernised and fraud-proof single VAT area is also an important element of the overall approach. [...]

 

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