Cohesion policy in its current form has had positive impact on the socio-economic development of the EU, individual countries and regions. However, the Polish presidency points out that there is a need to improve the effectiveness of the mechanisms supporting the transformational objectives of cohesion policy. In the discussion of its future, there are ideas aimed at reforming the implementation mechanisms with the approach used in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) implemented since 2021 as a response to the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to support the transformation processes of economies.
The future Polish Presidency has asked the EESC to develop an exploratory opinion, as deepening the integration of the services sector in the EU is one of the planned priorities of this Presidency; therefore the opinion could be useful in the context of the discussions foreseen at the COMPET Council on 6 March 2025. As the single market for services is still incomplete - even after the 30th anniversary of the single market itself - the opinion aims at providing a diagnosis of this issue and an analysis of the significant untapped potential of this sector.
The EESC welcomes the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC9) and points out that legal certainty and clarity for multinational corporations and tax administrations can only be ensured by creating a single set of uniform rules applicable to all Member States. The Committee deems it crucial that information collected under DAC9 be used only and exclusively as intended by the Commission proposal and not for other purposes.
In view of Europe's current security challenges, in particular with the armed conflict caused by Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, defence funding places a significant burden on the budgets of many EU Member States, worsening their fiscal position.
At the same time, the resources that Member States are currently able to allocate to the development of defence capabilities still seem to be insufficient.
As Europe needs to develop defence capabilities in a more integrated way, there is a need to significantly increase investment in European defence infrastructure and technological innovation to improve preparedness to respond to threats.
Strengthening SMEs' competitiveness in the EU, especially vis-à-vis companies from outside Europe, is not possible without reducing excessive regulatory burdens, including the reduction of reporting obligations. The problem of overregulation of EU law, especially in comparison with other parts of the world, has been repeatedly pointed out by organisations representing European entrepreneurs. The opinion aims at identifying the reasons for introducing excessive regulatory burdens in EU law and the areas that restrain SMEs' competitiveness the most. The opinion analyses the impact of the new sustainability reporting obligations (both those already introduced and those planned) on the SMEs' competitiveness, by indicating the actual benefits of this process.
A comprehensive approach is needed to revive EU competitiveness, requiring a reconsideration of the regulatory framework. Competition policy, particularly market definition, is sometimes criticized for hindering European companies' growth.
This subject of this own-initiative opinion is multidimensional, requiring from the opinion to address a wide spectrum of subtopics, while having a clear and logical thread.
