EESC Corner: EESC Employers Group contributing to the prepared opinion on the EU Action plan for Single Market

The European Commission stresses in its communication for the 2020 European semester: Country specific recommendations, that the COVID-19 has strongly effected the functioning of the Single Market for goods and particularly for services exposed to disproportionate regulatory restrictions. Reducing regulatory and administrative barriers will be crucial. The EU Action plan for the Single market has to be a part of EU recovery strategy. European business has been frustrated for some time by the remaining obstacles on the EU Single market generated, in many cases, by the incorrect and incomplete application at the national level of already-agreed EU legislation. This is the reason why business welcomes the long-term Action plan for better implementation and enforcement of the Single market rules.

Even if the action plan is nothing revolutionary, it is without any doubt a step towards improvement. It builds a good narrative and tries to give an insight into the unique EU governance system, in which all levels are important for effective enforcement and implementation. For that reason it is also positive that the plan has a strong focus on both the role and responsibilities of Member States and the Commission. The Commission has decided for a complex and comprehensive approach, introducing 22 concrete actions and balancing ex-ante and ex-post measures.

Business finds it key to have more guidance relating to implementation of the Services Directive, the principle of Mutual Recognition, the application of Articles 34-36 TFEU and the Product Liability Directive. The legislative framework for goods has become increasingly layered and complex and overlaps between various directives and regulations have emerged. Similarly, the Services Directive, as a horizontal legal act, should be explained better through its links to other pieces of the Single Market framework. Improving access to information is essential for companies. The proposed action should further strength the Single Point of Contact, the Single Digital Gateway, and set up a central information point on practical questions that civil servants have in their daily work.

One single, coordinated answer from a contact point about both national and EU related issues should be the standard across the EU. Improving access to information is also a central task of the European Labour Authority (ELA) and it is essential to improve information provision regarding mobility opportunities for companies and workers, including through mapping existing information sources, gaps and the creation of a single website for accessing information from each Member State. This information should be available in all EU languages. Together with enhancing cooperation between Member States, these should be the core tasks of the ELA and where the Authority could bring genuine added value.

European business is positive that the Commission finally proposes concrete ideas to tackle the issues with transposition and correct implementation of EU directives in Member States, since gold-plating and incorrect transposition can highly impact company operations and competitiveness. A more structured dialogue between the Commission and Member States when transposing, implementing and enforcing the EU rules will create a more uniform approach across the EU. There are actions in many areas of an urgent priority for business – a proper use of TRIS (Directive 2015/1535), adoption of the Services Notifications Directive, Implementation of the Professional Qualifications Directive and Proportionality Test Directive, reinforcing and prioritising SOLVIT or Upgrading Single Market Scoreboard.

One of the actions refers also about the possibility of inclusion of certain information obligations on e-commerce platforms with regard to EU product rules, through the foreseen Digital Services Act initiative. Business holds that information requirements spelled out under Articles 5, 6 and 10 of the presently applicable e-Commerce Directive should remain limited to what is necessary and proportionate in attainment of the Directive’s objectives, should it be revised. It is positive that the Commission plans to issue its annual Single Market Enforcement Report, however it walks a slippery road of “identifying specific areas of concern and priorities for enforcement” without any clarity on the criteria to be applied in this regard.

A welcomed step is to revive and clarify the pre-infringement stage, called the “EU-Pilot” that used to serve well as pre-infringement “clean-up” process with Member States which would both fix non-compliances and avoid politically sensitive infringement battles between the Commission and Member States. Overall, the Action Plan seems to address many of business´ concerns, and is concrete enough to monitor its delivery. At the same time, it falls short of any far reaching reforms of governance like, for example, a more centralised market surveillance in the EU or a uniform approach to legal consequences of non-compliance with notification requirements.