Single Market Act

Key points:

The EESC welcomes the Commission's initiative to relaunch and revive the single market, but notes that it did not fully take on board the Monti, Lamassoure, González, Grech and Herzog Reports and effectively deliver a Single Market at the service of consumers and citizens, as urged by the EP in its Resolution of 10 May 2010.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has been closely following the Single Market through its Single Market Observatory (SMO)and asks the European Commission to associate it as one of the major stakeholders to such initiatives as the Single Market Forum.

The Single Market Act is only the start of a long term process to revive the Single Market. The EESC identified a number of measures that are missing in the Single Market Act and will make proposals in due time.

The EESC does not present in this opinion an in-depth study of all the Single Market Act proposals. Some of them have already been the subject of Committee opinions. It will issue more detailed positions when the European Commission proposals emerge, following on the communication, including the proposals related to the EU 2020 flagship initiatives. The EESC insists on the need for a holistic approach that goes beyond the artificial division of the Single Market Act into three pillars. The Committee aims at remedying the eclectic nature of the proposals by suggesting more coherence and mutual interdependence of individual measures.

The Single Market is at the heart of European integration and its EU 2020 Strategy. Monitoring, managing and enforcing Single Market legislation is crucial. To achieve this, the European Commission should cooperate closely with Member States through better use of the Single Market Scoreboard.