Governance of the Single Market
The Competitiveness Council:
1. REITERATES that urgent measures are needed at the level of EU and Member States in order to boost growth and jobs and make Europe more competitive as a location for production and investment. RECOGNISES that deepening the Single Market by removing remaining unjustified barriers will be a key factor in order to achieve these objectives; HIGHLIGHTS the importance of streamlining existing structures in order to increase visibility and effectiveness of the Single Market policy.
2. WELCOMES the Annual Growth Survey and the second Annual Commission Report on the state of Single Market integration, and LOOKS FORWARD to a discussion on the policy priorities set out therein for both EU and Member State action.
3. AGREES that the results of the Annual Report should be fed into the European Semester process on a regular basis, both at EU and at Member State level. RECOGNISES the need for a stronger role of the High Level Group on Competitiveness and Growth in monitoring and providing guidance in that regard.
4. NOTES that the analytical framework used as a basis for the Annual Report can still be strengthened with a view to getting a more comprehensive and operational picture as regards the functioning of the Single Market, including the application of its legal framework in the priority sectors for growth and jobs, and allowing for more evidence-based policy conclusions. INVITES the Commission to deepen the evidence base by also taking into account the perspective of businesses, in particular SMEs, and consumers.
5. WELCOMES the new online Single Market Scoreboard as a useful tool to monitor the application of EU law. INVITES the Commission together with Member States to put forward by the end of 2014, based on currently existing sources and data available to the Commission, a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators aimed at measuring inter alia the economic effects of application of the Single Market rules.
6. URGES Member States to properly and timely implement and enforce the rules of the Single Market so as to further unlock its growth potential. CALLS UPON the Commission for systematic monitoring of implementation and better enforcement of the Single Market rules, inter alia through the Country Specific Recommendations under the European Semester, in particular where those rules provide a significant contribution to the structural reforms.
7. HIGHLIGHTS the responsibility of the co-legislators and the Commission to ensure, throughout the legislative process, the consistency and quality of the EU legal framework without unnecessary regulatory burdens. The latter should be designed to enable businesses to sell goods and provide services everywhere in the EU, including online, without unjustified or disproportionate barriers. It should allow consumers to have access to the widest possible choice, whilst benefiting from a high level of consumer protection.
8. RECALLS that, in order to improve framework conditions for businesses and consumers in the Single Market, all relevant instruments should be used including harmonisation as well as mutual recognition, as appropriate. UNDERLINES the importance of the principle of mutual recognition and its evident benefits already brought to several important areas such as the free movement of goods and the mutual recognition of professional qualifications; CALLS on the Member States to ensure proper application and enforcement of the principle of mutual recognition in those areas where it is already applicable; to this end, INVITES the Commission, with active involvement of stakeholders, to identify sectors and markets where the application of the principle of mutual recognition is economically most advantageous but is insufficient or problematic, and report its findings to the Council by mid-2015.
9. WELCOMES the positive results achieved during 2013 regarding transposition by Member States of Single Market legislation while HIGHLIGHTING the importance of realistic transposition deadlines and of the use of the most appropriate legal form in line with the Treaties and the principle of subsidiarity; STRESSES the transparency, for example via exchanging best practises, as an important measure for further improvement in transposition time and quality; WELCOMES the Commission's commitment to enhance its support to Member States in their transposition and implementation process, including through on-line fora in the key areas identified in its Communication of June 2012 on "Better governance for the Single Market".
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16. RECALLS the importance of making progress on enhancing the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, reducing the number of regulated professions as far as appropriate, and removing unjustified regulatory barriers.
17. CALLS on Member States to swiftly and timely implement the revised Directive on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications. LOOKS FORWARD to the discussion on the work plan of the Commission presented to Member States in its Communication of 2 October 2013. INVITES Member States to engage fully into the upcoming transparency and mutual evaluation exercise, including the assessment of the cumulative effect of all restrictions imposed on the same profession, and suggest appropriate action.
Full conclusions
Main results
Press conference video
See also: EU Competitiveness Council calls for better business environment in Europe © Lithuanian Presidency
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