European Economic and Social Committee

Origins

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) also acts as a forum for the Single Market. That is why the Single Market Observatory (SMO) was set up in 1994 by the EESC, with the support of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission.

The Metronome

The metronome, logo and background motif of the SMO communication tools is the instrument that allows measuring and monitoring the rhythm of musical creations. Somehow, the analogy with the Single Market - another creation that requires rhythm - seemed evident to us.

Presentation of the SMO (download the PDF file).

Objective

To provide the EESC with a flexible, horizontal organisation enabling it to:

• analyse how the Single Market operates
• identify problems and obstacles
• propose solutions

Main activities

The Single Market Observatory's work falls under 3 headings:

1. drawing up own-initiative opinions on topics proposed by its members and on the basis of the results of surveys on the field
2. drawing up opinions on the Commission's regular status reports on the Single Market (Single Market Scoreboard, Action Plan for the Single Market, Review of the Internal Market Strategy)
3. running an interactive information network, collecting information from EESC Members, their organisations and other "users" of the Single Market: Self- and Co-Regulation Database project and making the results widely known.