Consumers, SMEs set to gain from EU single market review[fr][de] 

• 'Empowering' consumers and SMEs:

Consumers and small businesses are to be "empowered" under plans outlined in a Commission Communication adopted on 20 November 2007, entitled "a single market for 21st century Europe". 

According to the Commission, "there is ample evidence that the single market does not work as well as it should – and that, as a result, citizens lose out." 

Despite delivering more than €220 billion in economic benefits and an extra 2.75 million jobs since 1993 - thanks to the removal of barriers to trade and investment between EU members - just one quarter of all businesses are involved in cross-border operations and most markets remain national. 

The Commission thus says it wants its single market initiatives to pay more attention to consumers, trade unions, the voluntary sector and smaller enterprises. It says an end should be put to the common perception that the single market only benefits "big business". 

• Small Business Act

Among others, it will be proposing the setting-up of "one-stop shops" in each member state, where companies can find all the information they need about operating in another EU member's territory. A "Small Business Act" will also be introduced in 2008, aimed at cutting red tape, increasing SMEs' access to European programmes and public procurement, and reducing barriers to cross-border activity through the creation of a European small company statute (EurActiv 15/05/07). 

The Commission will also propose the introduction of a "researcher passport" aimed at facilitating the exchange of researchers and stimulating innovation. 

For consumers, the Commission will focus on improving quality and safety standards in order to boost consumer confidence in buying across borders. A key measure in this perspective will also be the presentation, next year, of a new initiative aimed at helping citizens enforce their contractual rights and get redress across borders (EurActiv 12/11/07). 

Nevertheless, despite claims that the EU will be moving towards a more socially-oriented single market, the Commission rejected calls from trade unions to draw up legislation aimed at safeguarding the high quality of public services like health, social housing and education. 

• 23 "malfunctioning" sectors: 

The review in particular highlights 23 sectors that are considered to be "inefficient" from a business or consumer point of view – be it because they are trailing behind the US in terms of productivity or because citizens are unsatisfied with the service they are currently getting. 

The underperforming sectors, which range from the manufacturing of electrical equipment and motor vehicles to the provision of postal services, urban transport, electricity, gas, water or telecommunications, represent no less than 44.5% of EU value added and 46.5% of employment in the bloc. They are also often strongly inter-linked with other areas of the economy, meaning that inefficiencies in these sectors have stronger repercussions for the EU's wider economic performance. 

The Commission says it will take a closer look at these sectors and will not hesitate to make use of self-regulation, infringement procedures where rules have not been properly enforced, or even regulatory reforms – such as those it recently proposed for the postal and telecommunications markets – if it proves necessary. 

A key area where the Commission wants to see progress is in retail financial markets, which include basic services such as opening a banking account. According to the EU's executive, consumers still only have very limited choice and find it difficult to switch from one provider to another. The EU banking industry will therefore be invited to develop, before mid-2008, a set of common rules to the benefit of all customers. 

• Making the most of globalisation: 

As outlined in its "Global Europe" strategy (EurActiv 5/10/06), the Commission will focus on opening up foreign markets for European firms by contesting regulatory restrictions in place in third countries. 

It will also seek to promote the use of Europe's high health, labour, safety and environmental standards as global references, by taking advantage of the EU's position as the world's biggest import market – as is already happening in areas such as food safety, hygiene, maritime safety and financial services. 

In particular, the Commission said it would push for a competition law enforcement system with global reach, to protect European consumers and businesses against cartels, abuses of dominant positions and anti-competitive mergers involving worldwide businesses. 

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "Today's package puts consumers and small businesses first. It marks the start of a new cycle for the single market." 

Internal Market spokesman for Parliament's EPP-ED group Malcolm Harbour  said the review represented a "particularly welcome shift for SMEs who are the key drivers of job creation and innovation, but have suffered disproportionately from overregulation." He also welcomed "the spotlight on boosting consumer confidence", but said he was "concerned that some of the proposals may impinge on member state competence [...] We are particularly cautious about proposals for collective redress mechanisms for the EU, as in our view the case for them has yet to be made." 

The European craft and SME employers' organisation UEAPME welcomed the Commission's increased focus on implementation and enforcement but regrets that the Communication contains no new instruments and stops short of delivering satisfactory answers to the challenges it identifies. "The 'Internal Market Review' lacks concrete proposals capable of shifting the debate from vision to action, and remains essentially an over-cautious collection of existing initiatives," lamented UEAPME Secretary General Hans-Werner Müller. 

The Platform of European Social NGOs criticises the Commission's single market modernisation plans, saying they do "not live up to its social ambitions". Social Platform Vice-President Claire Roumet said: "We would have hoped more ambition in the part of the Commission, especially as this exercise was prompted by the decision to create a more citizens-friendly and social Europe...The proposed measures fail to ensure that single market policies do not have a negative social impact and fall short of better involving citizens, and in particular those who are vulnerable users (e.g. elderly, people at risk of poverty and disabled persons).”