Tag: Internal Market

Commissioner for the Single Market Michel Barnier is expected to bring forward changes to his market abuse directive and regulation within the coming weeks, the Financial Times said Monday.

Top EU officials pledge to give European shoppers powers to pursue fraudulent sellers and poor service across borders, saying better consumer protection will lift online trading and economic growth.

Proposals to introduce standardisation systems across Europe – covering services that could range from tattooists to tourism – have met with hostility from business and caution from consumer groups.

EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, who is seeking to create a genuine single market for electricity, wants Switzerland to join as he sees the country as a possible hub. EurActiv France and EurActiv Germany contributed to this report.

The European Parliament has backed the idea of a new 'trust mark' to give consumers peace of mind when shopping online, urging Brussels to come up with proposals on the issue.

Poland is preventing EU companies from buying its surplus Russian gas, infringing EU internal market rules, the European Commission said yesterday (14 July).

The biggest names in European industry will monitor the implementation of pro-growth reforms as part of a concerted push to force political leaders to follow through on their commitments.

Now that institutional discussions are closed, the EU must have an in-depth discussion on fundamental issues, writes Olivier Lacoste, research director at Confrontations Europe. For instance, what European policies should be put in place?

A former French foreign minister is expected to take charge of financial services in the European Union, diplomats said, a move that would unsettle bankers worried he will pursue a hard line with the industry.

Public procurement should become the driver of new technology developments and the main vehicle for economic recovery, Malcolm Harbour MEP, the new head of the European Parliament's internal market committee, told EurActiv in an interview.

The implementation of the Services Directive is critical to boosting cross-border trade, according to the Czech government, which has also pledged to make implementing the Small Business Act a priority of the remainder of its EU presidency. EurActiv Czech Republic contributed to this article.

The EU's Payment Services Directive (PSD) is in danger of "creating a legislative labyrinth," warns Professor Maria Chiara Malaguti in a recent paper for the European Credit Research Institute (ECRI).

Parliament has adopted a package of measures to enhance free trade within the bloc after it emerged that many member states are blocking imports of specific products from other EU countries on the basis that they do not meet particular national technical standards.

Pro-liberalisation think-tank the Globalisation Institute has launched a Brussels centre of operations. According to Alex Singleton, founder and president, it aims "to research, develop and promote practical policy options that increase competitiveness and replace harmful regulation". 

A Directive aimed at ensuring more transparent public procurement and helping businesses to appeal against illegal award procedures, corruption and national favouritism should come into force shortly, after Parliament adopted a compromise text agreed with member states.

EU ministers agreed to scrap "unnecessary" EU laws on wood- and product-packaging and to lower application costs for EU-wide trademarks, saying that this would help bolster the Union's competitiveness.

In the face of the rising counterfeiting and piracy across Europe, the Commission is proposing a historical but controversial Directive that would - for the first time ever - force member states to adjust their penal codes and establish harmonised criminal sanctions against IPR-infringers.

EU business groups say that, despite the recent economic upswing, the European economy still trails the US and Europe's leaders, meeting in Brussels this week, must take swift action.

Latest figures show that Member States have achieved their best result as regards the transposition of EU law into national legislation, with Italy finishing at the bottom of the pack.

Although the internal market is at the core of the EU and although, especially for Germany, the advantages are undeniable, the internal market is often criticised. Dr Joachim Wuermeling, state secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, highlights the achievements, dangers and current and future challenges. 

The directive on services in the internal market was designed to break down barriers to trade in services across the EU, and help complete the single market. Despite most member states having failed to implement it by an end-2009 deadline, the European Commission harbours hopes of its completion by summer 2010.

The Council is to decide on the legal framework for setting up an integrated market for payment services in the eurozone by 2010. A study suggests, however, that not all banks are ready for implementation.

According to Gauzès, MEP and rapporteur on payment services in the internal market, the new propositions add to the directive’s efficiency and take into account the technical constraints of the industry, while maintaining the objective of a cost reduction for consumers.

The Commission, on 27 June 2006, announced the creation of an expert group to further examine obstacles to a single European mortgage funding market.