Herlancering interne markt was één van de centrale thema's van het Spaans voorzitterschap (en)

The Spanish Secretary of State for the European Union, Diego López Garrido, today defined the relaunching of the internal market as one of the central themes for the rotational Presidency during this six-month period, especially because of its importance in terms of overcoming the economic crisis.

López Garrido was appearing before the European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market Committee to report on the main work being done in this area, and he stressed the importance given to the single market in drawing up the 2020 Strategy.

In his opinion, increasing the free movement of goods, services, capital and people “has become a central and strategic element" of the Union.

More specifically, he cited the efforts made in producing the directive against non-payment of transactions, which has been a "top priority" for the Presidency, because, as he remarked, “a delay in payment can cause some companies to close down”, above all in times of crisis.

For this reason, he said, he hoped the European Parliament would propose a date for starting talks on the proposal, which has yet to become a legal reality, as soon as possible.

He also referred to the services directive, which still has to be adopted by some member countries to facilitate the freedom of establishment and the free movement of those providing services.

Another matter addressed during the Presidency has been the protection of intellectual property and the fight against piracy and forgery, which was the subject of a resolution in the Competitiveness Council on March 1.

“The strategic and political discussions over these months have led us to feel that purely sectoral measures will not be enough to successfully complete the internal market and overcome the outstanding resistance and bottlenecks, concluded López Garrido.

In the Secretary of State's opinion, problems of mobility are “the hangover of the great enemy of the EU: protectionism”. He said the single market is "intimately connected" to citizens' rights and to the European citizenship statute of the 21st Century.

The members of the European Parliament who spoke praised the leadership of the Spanish Presidency on promoting the internal market legislation, and said they hoped the Belgian Presidency, which is taking over from Spain, will continue with this work.

López Garrido said he was sure the Belgians would continue this ongoing work efficiently, which will include making progress on a European patent and the internal market, on the basis of a report by the former European Commissioner Mario Monti.