Voorzitter EESC vindt de Interne markt onvolledig (en)

The first Single Market Forum and the Single Market Fair, held in Krakow, Poland from 2 to 4 October, highlighted recurrent problems that needed to be tackled resolutely, especially in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the Single Market. Concepts such as democratic accountability, political governance vs. market rule, European industrial sovereignty, coherent implementation, information on facilitation instruments, and overcoming existing artificial legal obstacles were the focal points of the debates involving some 1,000 participants.

The conclusions of the two-day event dedicated to assessing the current state of the European Single Market underlined priority actions and changes in political behaviour patterns when it comes to turning the Single Market into a practical reality benefiting all. Jerzy Buzek i, European Parliament president, called for democratic accountability and a speeding-up of the legislative process. Michel Barnier, Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, called for more political sovereignty, especially in facing the financial markets. He and Waldemar Pawlak, Polish deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy, spoke in favour of Europe's industrial sovereignty to avoid the EU being a customer of global players' goods. Roza Thun, Member of the European Parliament and initiator of the Single Market Forum, referred to the Single European Payment Area (SEPA) and the Community Patent as examples of reasoned integration.

Commissioner John Dalli i, in charge of Health and Consumer Policy, regretted that too little was being done to raise awareness about the opportunities offered by the Single Market and illustrated his viewpoint by suggesting transposing what had been achieved in the food sector to other policy areas. Following the same line of thought, Malcolm Harbour i, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, stressed the need for better communication on the Single Market and its facilitation tools, such as the Single Point of Contact, which far too few businesses were aware of. A better knowledge of the Single Market was crucial for it to function more effectively and deliver its full potential. Marcin Korolec, Deputy Minister for the Economy, called for a new legislative approach, replacing directives by regulations - a proposal which the EESC had made in the past in a number of opinions on Better or Smart Regulation. EESC president Staffan Nilsson stressed the role of civil society organisations in the promotion of the Single Market, and the fact that the crisis opened up opportunities to find solutions. He also mentioned that the Committee, through its Single Market Observatory (SMO), had mapped legal obstacles to the Single Market and would help overcome them along practical lines. Lastly, he called for more Europe as the logical conclusion of more than half a century of cooperation between Member States.