Testing two annual reports on Juncker Commission 2015

With regard to the Annual Growth Survey 2015 and the European Semester  and the Commission Work Programme 2015, what did the Juncker Commission achieve during its first year?

We use the internal market (single market) as a sample, when we test two potential sources of information.  

General report 2015

In order to find out, we can go to The EU in 2015 - General report on the activities of the European Union. The General report can be downloaded for free at the EU Bookshop in PDF or EPUB format. One of the best things about the General report is that it is published in the official EU languages.

The General report has been shrinking - losing text and exact references - while adding glossy features, such as pictures, graphic colour schemes and other brochure-like qualities, but it is still tolerably readable.    

Chapter 4 informs us about the Commission’s strategic aim: a deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base (pages 36-42; with digital and network issues elsewhere).

The most important matters, such as the single market strategy and the capital markets union with its action plan, are mentioned briefly, with links to Commission press releases and informative web pages, but also multimedia trivia.

With the help of the links, the General report 2015 could still serve as an introduction to developments in the single market.

Swedish EU report   

In order to compare, we go to the annual report from the Swedish government to the parliament (Riksdag) about activities in the European Union:

Regeringens skrivelse 2015/16:115 Verksamheten i Europeiska unionen under 2015

Here we are interested mostly in part 7 about competitiveness (konkurrenskraftsfrågor) on pages 162-182 and part 8 about transport, telecommunications and energy on pages 183-195.

The style is sober, even austere, but it works well.

Not only does the report offer 336 pages of readable (black on white) and factual text,  without pictures or multimedia entertainment, but the government often refers to its running commentary: the memorandum (faktapromemoria) it wrote to the Riksdag about a new proposal or issue in the EU.

Here is an example.

Upgrading the Single Market

The first example of this kind of documentation comes on the initial page about the development of the internal market (p. 162), where the brief presentation of the new internal market strategy refers to a five page memorandum with a more detailed overview and the government’s preliminary view:

Regeringskansliet Faktapromemoria 2015/16:FPM17 Inremarknadsstrategin; Utrikesdepartementet 2015-12-02

The memorandum refers to the relevant EU document, here the communication (I choose the English version for your convenience):

Upgrading the Single Market: more opportunities for people and business; Brussels, 28.10.2015 COM(2015) 550 final (22 pages)

The cover of the communication tells us that it was accompanied by two staff working documents, easy enough to find through Eur-Lex once identified, both in English only, with the latter divided into three parts like ancient Gallia:

A Single Market Strategy for Europe - Analysis and Evidence; Brussels, 28.10.2015 SWD(2015) 202 final (108 pages)

Report on Single Market Integration and Competitiveness in the EU and its Member States; Brussels, 28.10.2015 SWD(2015) 203 final PART 1/3

 

Report on Single Market Integration and Competitiveness in the EU and its Member States; Brussels, 28.10.2015 SWD(2015) 203 final PART 2/3  

Report on Single Market Integration and Competitiveness in the EU and its Member States; Brussels, 28.10.2015 SWD(2015) 203 final PART 3/3   

Alternatively, the single market integration report is downloadable in one piece (112 pages) through this Commission web page.

[We notice that we once again have a report on single market integration (and competitiveness), but not as a part or pillar of the Annual Growth Survey, which kicks off the European Semester.]  

***

I sometimes wonder who the presumed reader of the glossy General report is, but in practice it does serve the purpose of information search in 23 official EU languages (all except Gaelic).

Primarily, the Swedish annual EU report serves only some 20 million readers of the main Nordic languages, but I wanted to show an easily downloadable and directly readable alternative, reminiscent of the well documented and substantial EU General report a decade or so ago.  

How about the rest of the EU and EEA countries?

Do their governments or parliaments publish annual or thematic reports on developments in the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA)?

Ralf Grahn

The essence of the EU’s internal market

What is the essence of the internal market, often (aspirationally) called the single market in English (although this distinction not made in all of the official languages of the European Union)?

Social market economy

Among the aims of the European Union we find “a highly competitive social market economy” in Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU):

3.   The Union shall establish an internal market. It shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment. It shall promote scientific and technological advance.

Free movement x 4

Instead of being confined to the national markets, the factors of production are supposed to move without obstacles in the internal market. Article 26(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) expresses the goal in the form of four - not only one - freedoms of movement, also known as the four freedoms:

2.   The internal market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaties.

Non-discrimination

Non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality is central to the tearing down of obstacles in the union generally and the internal market specifically. From Article 18 TFEU:

Within the scope of application of the Treaties, and without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.

CJEU

These basic principles, other treaty provisions and the rest of the EU legislation (acquis) have been brought to life by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

EEA

The European Economic Area (EEA) extends the internal markets to three of the four EFTA states: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland, the fourth member of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA), has more limited access to the internal market based on bilateral agreements with the EU.

Brexit

According to Eurostat the population of the internal market was 515,640,100 at the beginning of 2016 (EU + EEA). If Brexit means that the population of the whole United Kingdom (about 65 million) leaves the internal market (not only the EU, but the EEA as well), about 450 million would remain, somewhat smaller than the combined 480,516,824 population (2016 estimate) of the less integrated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries Canada, Mexico and the USA.

 

Summary

The aim of the internal market, which consists of 31 countries with a total population of 515 million, is a highly competitive social market economy by the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital and the prohibition of all discrimination on grounds of nationality.

Ralf Grahn

EU Towards a Single Market Act

After looking at Your Single Market? and other introductory material, we turn to the communication (available in 22 languages) prepared under the responsibility of the internal market commissioner Michel Barnier. The English language version of the consultation paper:

Towards a Single Market Act: For a highly competitive social market economy - 50 proposals for improving our work, business and exchanges with one another; Brussels, 27.10.2010 COM(2010) 608 final (45 pages)


Social market economy

The Lisbon Treaty defines the EU aim of a ”highly competitive social market economy” and the Monti report wanted to broaden the support for a relaunch of the single market, so it is hardly surprising that the Commission's discussion paper is presented as (page 3):

This is a social market economy approach, based on the assumption that a single market needs to enjoy the support of all market players: businesses, consumers and workers. In this way, the single market will allow Europe to become collectively competitive.

Single Market and EU2020

The internal market (single market) did not become an integral part of the Europe 2020 growth strategy (EU2020), nor was it labeled as a flagship initiative. So how does the communication deal with the relationship between the Single Market Act under construction and the EU2020 strategy? The page 4 fudge:

The relaunch of the single market is therefore an essential element of the EU 2020 strategy, which proposes seven flagship initiatives: (i) an innovation Union, (ii) youth on the move, (iii) a digital agenda for Europe, (iv) a resource-efficient Europe, (v) an industrial policy for the globalisation era, (vi) an agenda for new skills and jobs and (vii) a European platform to tackle poverty. An up-to-date single market is the common foundation of all these structures. It is the tool that will help them create growth and employment and in so doing give new impetus to intelligent, sustainable and inclusive growth, thereby increasing synergies between the various flagship initiatives. Certain elements of the flagship initiatives will help to structure the operation of the single market and are therefore measures for its relaunch. These measures are therefore included both in this Communication and the flagship initiatives, in particular the digital agenda for Europe, the Union of innovation and an industrial policy for the globalisation era.

Public consultation

The Commission announced a consultation period of four months, asking for contributions by 28 February 2011 (page 35). This would then lead to the next step, the definitive Single Market Act (SMA):

After this public debate, and based on the conclusions drawn from it, the Commission hopes that all of the European institutions will undertake, at the start of 2011, to make this Act and its 50 measures into the definitive policy action plan for 2011-2012. This will serve as a dynamic commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the single market at the end of 2012.

For the convenience of readers, the proposals sketched in the text are also listed at the end for a quick overview (pages 37-45).


EEA relevance

Naturally, the 50 individual proposals presented in the communication are of interest not only to the citizens and enterprises in the European Union, but to the rest of the European Economic Area (EEA) as well, 30 countries in all, with a total population of about 507 million.



Ralf Grahn
public speaker on EU affairs

P.S. Multilingual Bloggingportal.eu aggregates the posts from 940 Euroblogs, which represent an important part of the emerging European online public space, across national and linguistic borders. Among them you find my current blog trio, Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish). Besides democracy, institutional issues and EU politics, I increasingly write and speak about the challenges of growth (EU2020) and the (digital) single market in the making.

Norway almost as deeply integrated in the EU as the UK

When we think about Norway and the European Union, Britain tends to surface. But what is Norway's EU relationship in reality?


Media shortcut

EurActiv alerted me to the publication of the study on future EU relations of Norway. The article presents the current position of Norway as a member of the European Economic Area (and member of the European Free Trade Associaiton EFTA), as well as the main findings and quotes from Norwegian experts.

When Kirsty Hughes offers the main points on BBC News, Britain crops up early on:

"We are almost as deeply integrated as the UK," says report committee chairman Prof Fredrik Sejersted.

Views and News from Norway contribute with an assessment of the opinion climate in the country, and predict that the current relationship will continue with little change.


Official information

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers a press release about the review of Norway's agreements with the European Union. The study forms the basis for a white paper on EU relations to be published later this year, says foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Chapter 1 (17 pages) of the massive report Outside and Inside – Norway's agreements with the European Union (Official Norwegian Reports 2012:2) is available in English. It offers and introduction, the main messages and an overview.

Readers of Norwegian are able to find the relationship explored in painstaking detail in the original, which runs to 911 pages including the annexes:

Utenfor og innenfor – Norges avtaler med EU (NOU Norges offentlige utredninger 2012:2, 17. januar 2012)


Some thoughts

In the wake of the national leaders' inability to solve the crisis in the eurozone, between seven and eight Norwegians out of ten are now opposed to EU membership. Thus, Norway seems set to continue the necessary ties with a huge democratic deficit.

The EU accession of Norway's EEA companion Iceland (some EU views here) would strain the agreement on the European Economic Area, but I would be astonished if the population of Iceland actually decided to join in the upcoming referendum even if the negotiations lead to an agreement.



Ralf Grahn

P.S. Those of you who are interested in the European online public space, as well the issues of information and propaganda from the institutions of the European Union, should read Mathew Lowry's blog article about an alternative overaching EU communication strategy.

Finland joining EU: Committed leaders Esko Aho and Paavo Lipponen

Finland applied for EU membership in 1992 and joined the European Economic Area (EEA) from the beginning of 1994, but was not content to stay at that level. Thus, Finland pursued full membership and became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 1995, together with Austria and Sweden. In a 1994 referendum, 57 per cent of Finnish voters had approved joining the EU.

(The integration process was not easy for the so called neutral or non-aligned countries. The Swiss derailed the EEA membership and further EU integration in late 1992, leading to a jungle of bilateral treaties on individual issues. The Norwegians rejected accession to the European Communities/European Union for the second time in 1994, remaining at EEA and EFTA level.)

The relations between the acceding Austria, Finland and Sweden (and Norway) with the EU are documented in the 1994 accession treaty.

Finnish EU accession and the formative early years were marked by two prime ministers.


PM Esko Aho

During his time as prime minister of Finland (1991-1995), the young Esko Aho grew into a statesman facing down two historic challenges. His government turned the tide on the deep economic depression of the early 1990s, even if the impopular budget cuts led to election defeat in 1995. In 1992 Finland applied for EU membership and joinded the European Union from 1 January 1995, despite vocal opposition within Aho's own rurally based Centre Party.


PM Paavo Lipponen

The social democratic prime minister for two periods (1995-2003) Paavo Lipponen continued the tight economic policies of the Aho government, which enabled Finland to adopt the euro in 1999. Lipponen was a committed European statesman, as illustrated by his 2000 speech in Bruges, at the College of Europe, where he spoke of the need for a constitutionalisation process.

Before the Treaty of Nice was finalised, Lipponen proposed a broadly based Convention in order to prepare a basic constitution, after naming these crucial reform aims:

For any institutional structure we need a decision-making system that is as simple as possible, democratic, efficient and transparent. Fundamentally, our institutions must enjoy democratic legitimacy.

From Sweden to Finland

A few days ago, I wrote a short series in Swedish about the role of Sweden in the European union, collected in: Svensk EU-politik diskuteras. Then I covered the same ground and some more in English, compiled in: Sweden in European integration (recap).

The op-ed column by the Swedish minister of foreign affairs Carl Bildt and the minister of finance Anders Borg opens up fascinating questions about two-speed, one-speed, slow-speed or no-speed Europe, but perhaps these issues will have to wait.

Namely, we have a more astonishing phenomenon to look at: changing European perceptions of Finland in EU affairs. The essentials about the two dedicated prime ministers, Aho and Lipponen, offer historical background to current events. It is a story of vision and hard work, but what is taking place?



Ralf Grahn

Is the EU getting its Single Market Act together?

Yesterday, we noted how strongly the president of the European Council [ @euHvR on Twitter ] underlined the importance of the internal market: Herman Van Rompuy: ”The Internal Market is the EU's biggest asset”.

Today, we take a short tour of relevant materials. Some of it may shed additional light on why the internal market is important for businesses and citizens.


Single Market Act

Some may want to get to know all EU legislation on the internal market (part of the union acquis), while others may be more interested in detailed information about the proposed internal market reforms. The reform minded can navigate to the Commission web pages about the Single Market Act.

The document of reference is the communication from the European Commission. On Eur-Lex you find the language version you want among the 22 on offer for the Commission proposal.

For the English version I chose the direct link to the corrected text, available through the Single Market Act web page, although in the end it was about just a single word:

Towards a Single Market Act - For a highly competitive social market economy - 50 proposals for improving our work, business and exchanges with one another; Brussels, 11.11.2010 COM(2010) 608 final/2 (about 45 pages)


Competitiveness Council

The 3057th Competititiveness (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space) Council meeting, Brussels 10 December 2010, produced initial reactions from the member state governments in the form of:

Conclusions on the Single Market Act



Internal market blog posts

Here are links to a number of my earlier, but not all too distant blog posts concerning the internal market.

EU Commission: Internal market reform (9 December 2010)

EU Single Market Act: Disappointing start? (10 December 2010)

(In Finnish) Saako kelkasta pudonnut Eurooppa sisämarkkinat heräämään? (12 December 2010)

(In Finnish) EU:n sisämarkkinoiden toimenpidepaketti (Single Market Act) (12 December 2010)

(In Finnish) EU:n 'Single Market Act' on käännösongelma (13 December 2010)

EU Single Market Act varia (13 December 2010)

EU Competitiveness Council on Single Market Act (14 December 2010)

(In Finnish) Onko EU:ssa yhtenäismarkkinat vai sisämarkkinat? (15 December 2010)


EEA: 506 million consumers

Just as a reminder: Even if we speak about the EU's internal market (or single market), these issues are relevant to the whole European Economic Area. The EEA comprises the 27 EU member states as well as three of the EFTA states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This adds up to a home market (of sorts) of about 506 million consumers in all.

No mean feet, said the centipede.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Fleishman-Hillard's second European Parliament Digital Trends Survey describes how Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) use the web. You can follow #epdigitrends on Twitter.

P.S. 2: You can follow me on Facebook and on Twitter @RalfGrahn, in addition to my blogs: Grahnlaw (in English), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (in Finnish), as well as the trilingual Grahnlaw Suomi Finland.

European Union: The Swiss entrenched (FDP. The Liberals)

Yesterday's blog post tried to be clear enough about official Swiss insistence on the bilateral nature of the relationship with the European Union: EU and Switzerland disagree on relationship (1 January 2011).

If anyone needs convincing, Simon Gemperli described in NZZ Online how FDP. Die Liberalen (FDP. The Liberals) sent Switzerland's applications to join the European Union and the European Economic Area to the scrapheep of history: FDP schwört dem EU-Beitritt ab (18 October 2010)

Die FDP ist gegen einen Beitritt zur EU, gegen einen EWR-Vertrag und gegen ein Rahmenabkommen, stattdessen bekennt sich die Partei zum konventionellen bilateralen Weg – Ende der Botschaft, auf die sich die Delegierten in Herisau im Hinblick aufs Wahljahr geeinigt haben.

Those who are interested in more detail can look at the international position paper of FDP. The Liberals (in German):

16. Oktober 2010 Positionspapier der FDP.Die Liberalen: Die Schweiz in einer globalisierten Welt Selbstbewusste Aussenpolitik, Freihandel und aktive Vermittlung zwischen Konfliktparteien (7 pages)

The Swiss Liberals are now singing from the bilataral hymn sheet with the rest of the political establishment. The programme defines the general characteristics of Swiss foreign policy in four paragraphs before it introduces European policies:

Aussenpolitik bleibt auch Europapolitik. Trotz globaler Ausrichtung: Die Schweiz liegt im Herzen Europas. Mit dem benachbarten Europa sind wir politisch, wirtschaftlich, kulturell und sozial eng verbunden. Ein gutes Verhältnis mit Europa ist zentral. Seine Institutionen und Staaten bleiben eine Priorität unserer Aussenpolitik, denn der Erfolg unseres Denk-, Werk- und Finanzplatzes setzt ein politisch stabiles und wirtschaftlich dynamisches europäisches Umfeld voraus. Deshalb ist auch unser Beitrag zur Stabilität des vereinten Kontinents im Interesse der Schweiz. Unsere Beziehungen zu Europa bedürfen weiterhin einer soliden Basis: den Bilateralen Verträgen. Sie sind auszubauen, wo es dem gegenseitigen Interesse entspricht. Andernorts verpflichtet der Freiraum als Drittstaat unsere Politik zur konsequenten strategischen Weiterentwicklung und Nutzung unserer Standortvorteile.

After the introduction the programme goes into more detail (pages 3 to 5), worth quoting to get acquainted with a Swiss view on Europe:

3. Europa: Dank den Bilateralen die EU als Chance verstehen


Die EU ist politisch, kulturell und wirtschaftlich unser wichtigster Partner. Das Verhältnis zwischen der Schweiz und der EU ist eng und gut. Die Schweiz ist der drittgrösste Warenlieferant und der zweitgrösste Kunde der EU. Auch wenn die Märkte der Schwellenländer rasant an Bedeutung gewinnen – mit 60 Prozent der Ausfuhren und 80 Prozent der Einfuhren bleibt die EU unser wichtigster Handelspartner. Jeder dritte Arbeitsplatz hängt am Handel mit der EU. Ebenso wichtig ist die Personenfreizügigkeit: Rund 870'000 EU-Bürger leben hier – umgekehrt sind 380'000 Schweizer im EU-Ausland ansässig. Die EU ist für die Schweiz keine Bedrohung, sondern eine Chance. Gleiches gilt für die EU: Sie kann vom Föderalismus, dem Einbezug der Bevölkerung in der direkten Demokratie oder Instrumenten wie der aus der FDP-Schmiede stammenden Schuldenbremse profitieren.

Die Schweiz muss die engen und privilegierten Beziehungen mit der EU wahren und weiter entwickeln. Der bewährte bilaterale Weg ist die beste Lösung für die Schweiz, um die Beziehungen mit der EU gezielt zu pflegen und auszubauen. So haben die bilateralen Verträge der Schweiz in den vergangenen Jahren wirtschaftliche Prosperität und Austausch mit dem europäischen Ausland gebracht – ohne dass wir unsere Souveränität aufgeben mussten.

Auch in Zukunft ist der bilaterale Weg erfolgsversprechend. Er bietet der Schweiz die Möglichkeit, die Beziehungen mit der EU gezielt dort auszubauen, wo unser Standort und Wohlstand gestärkt werden. Auch die EU hat Interesse an der Weiterführung des Bilateralismus, wie wiederholte Gesuche um neue Vereinbarungen zeigen. Anderslautende Thesen mit Abgesängen auf den Bilateralen Weg überzeugen nicht. Dieser Weg bietet der Schweiz weiterhin die einzigartige Chance, ihren Freiraum als unabhängiger Staat gezielt und bewusst zu nutzen. Alternativen zum bilateralen Weg gibt es zurzeit keine. So ist eine Abschottung in einem „Alleingang“ keine Option für die Schweiz. Ebenso wenig kommt ein EU- oder ein EWR-Beitritt in Frage. Diese Ansicht teilt eine grosse Mehrheit der Bürgerinnen und Bürger. Ein Beitritt wäre auch wegen höherer Mehrwertsteuern und Transferzahlungen an die EU unpopulär. EU und EWR würden der Schweiz keinen Mehrwert bringen.

Forderung 4: Der bewährte bilaterale Weg ist die beste Lösung für die Schweiz, um die Beziehungen mit der EU gezielt zu pflegen und auszubauen. Die FDP setzt sich daher für eine Fortführung und gezielte Verstärkung des erfolgreichen bilateralen Weges ein. Weder eine Abschottung in einem „Alleingang“, noch ein EU- oder EWR-Beitritt sind aktuelle Optionen. Damit ist aus Sicht der FDP das Beitrittsgesuch an die Europäische Gemeinschaft von 1992
gegenstandslos.

Der Bilaterale Weg ist erfolgreich und bei der Bevölkerung fest verankert. Auch wenn Verhandlungen durch institutionelle Veränderungen auf EU-Seite uns künftig mehr fordern, ist das kein Grund, die Segel zu streichen. Vielmehr verlangt dies eine Stärkung unserer Vertretung in den EU-Mitgliedstaaten sowie in Brüssel sowie eine kluge Europapolitik. Diese umfasst folgende Stossrichtungen:


3.1 Gezielter Ausbau des bilateralen Wegs


Um den Standort Schweiz und unseren Wohlstand, sowie die Beziehungen zur EU zu stärken, muss die Schweiz den bilateralen Weg gezielt mit weiteren sektoriellen Verträgen ausbauen. Der komplexere Verhandlungsweg mit der EU verlangt dabei zuerst eine vertiefte Prüfung der Interessenlage. Die Schweiz soll nicht in einer Vielzahl nicht zentraler Bereiche als Antragssteller auftreten, da dies unsere Verhandlungsposition schwächt. Gemeinsame Interessen bestehen namentlich bei Elektrizität, Öffentlicher Gesundheit, geschützten Ursprungsbezeichnungen, dem Satellitennavigationssystem Galileo, dem Agrarfreihandel und der Sicherheitspolitik.

In vielen Bereichen ist die Übernahme von EU-Normen im Interesse unserer Unternehmen und des Standorts Schweiz, etwa im Rahmen des Cassis-de-Dijon-Prinzips. So werden unsere Unternehmen möglichst wenig durch EU-Normen behindert. Das bedeutet aber nicht, dass EU-Recht automatisch nachvollzogen werden soll – im Gegenteil: EU-Recht soll somit nur dann nachvollzogen werden, wenn es im Interesse der Schweiz liegt.

Bisher wenig beachtet wurde das Entstehen eines Europäischen Sicherheitsraums, der sich im Zuge der Erweiterung der EU markant ausgedehnt hat. Die Gemeinsame Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik (GSVP) wird zum immer wichtigeren Akteur. Aus sicherheits- und finanzpolitischen Überlegungen ist eine engere Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen der GSVP unter Wahrung der Neutralität anzustreben. Ziel ist ein Beobachterstatus bei der GSVP und der für Forschung und Beschaffung wichtigen europäischen Verteidigungsagentur.

Forderung 5: Die FDP fordert den Abschluss weiterer bilateraler Verträge insbesondere in den Bereichen Elektrizität, öffentliche Gesundheit, geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnungen, Satellitennavigation-System Galileo, Agrarfreihandel sowie Chemikalienkontrolle (REACH).

Forderung 6: Die FDP fordert eine engere Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen der GSVP unter Wahrung der Neutralität. Es sollen Verhandlungen aufgenommen werden, um die Zusammenarbeit im militärischen und zivilen Sicherheitsbereich mit der EU zu systematisieren, zu strukturieren und auf eine solide rechtliche Basis zu stellen.


3.2. Als Drittstaat Freiraum gezielt und bewusst nutzen


Nicht in allen Bereichen sind weitere Bilaterale Verträge sinnvoll. Bei der Handelspolitik, der Steuerpolitik oder immer mehr auch beim Arbeitsrecht ist unser Freiraum als Drittstaat eine Verpflichtung für eine bewusste und strategische Standortpolitik. Dank eigenständiger Handelspolitik kann die Schweiz vom Protektionismus der grossen Handelsblöcke profitieren und rasch mit aufstrebenden Schwellenländern Freihandelsverträge abschliessen. Ein flexibler Arbeitsmarkt ist zentral für eine niedrige Arbeitslosigkeit und Steuerwettbewerb garantiert gleichzeitig tiefe Schulden und tiefe Steuern.

Diesen Freiraum hat die Schweiz selbstbewusst zu verteidigen. Als Landesregierung muss der Bundesrat potenzielle Konflikte antizipieren und ausgebrochene Krisen wie etwa den immer noch schwelenden Steuerstreit proaktiv mit Reformvorschlägen angehen. Diese sichern unsere Standortvorteile ab oder verstärken sie gar und beseitigen und Rechtsunsicherheit. Vor allem aber gilt ein Auftrag an die Politik, den Freiraum als Drittstaat strategisch zu nutzen und die Schweiz als international offene Plattform zu positionieren.

Forderung 7: Den Freiraum eines Drittstaats hat die Schweiz gezielt und strategisch zu nutzen. Der Bundesrat präsentiert für die kommende Legislatur eine entsprechende Strategie.


3.3 Erweiterungsbeitrag als Friedens- und Stabilitätsdividende


Dank der EU und ihrer Vorläuferorganisationen herrscht in Westeuropa seit Jahrzehnten Frieden. Davon profitiert die Exportnation Schweiz. Unser Land ist bereit, ihren Beitrag zum wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Zusammenwachsen der EU zu leisten. Nicht als ein Preis für den Bilateralen Weg, sondern als integraler Bestandteil der schweizerischen Europapolitik. Dieser Beitrag ist wichtig für eine weiterhin erfolgreiche Interessenwahrung gegenüber der EU. Schweizer Unternehmen leisten grosse Investitionen und Wissenstransfer in viele EU-Staaten. Allfällige freiwillige finanzielle Beiträge der Schweiz sind selbstbewusst zu diskutieren und mit Forderungen wie Mitbestimmung bei der Mittelverwendung samt Teilnahme von Schweizer Unternehmen zu verknüpfen.

In French

The Swiss Liberal foreign policy position paper is available in French as well:

16 octobre 2010 Papier de position du PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux: La Suisse face à la mondialisation Politique extérieure autonome, libre-échange et médiation active entre les parties en conflit


In summary

A free summary: Not only are EU and EEA membership scrapped, but there are no promises about more streamlined procedures for the adoption of (new) EU acquis (legislation, case-law and practice). Mutual recognition is preferred ahead of harmonisation of legislation. Switzerland shall not be seen as begging for new bilateral treaties in other than a few high priority areas. It is in the interest of Switzerland to fight tooth and nail for every competitive advantage.

There seems to be a small error in the references to the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) ”Gemeinsame Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik” = GASP and the common security and defence policy (CSDP) ”Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik” = GSVP, but substantially the Liberals want Switzerland to be able to participate in building the European security architecture, as long as Switzerland can remain neutral when it wants to and promote its industrial interests at every turn.

The Liberals are, in principle, ready for the Swiss Confederation to continue with voluntary contributions to economic and social cohesion in Europe, if Switzerland can influence how the funds are used and they profit Swiss businesses.

Everything is based on interests, little on values.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Customary European People's Party note to editors: ”The EPP is the largest and most influential European-level political party of the centre-right, which currently includes 73 member-parties from 39 countries, the Presidents of the Commission, Council, and Parliament, 14 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and government, 13 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament.”

My question: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?



The authoritarian media law in Hungary (and other anti-pluralistic media orders) got the backing of the European People´s Party president Wilfried Martens. Again the Swedish MEP Gunnar Hökmark gained my respect by taking a principled approach, now to media freedom. Hökmark is the only well-known EPP profile to do so that I have managed to find since the clear condemnation by Jean Asselborn, foreign minister of Luxembourg, but it is nice to know that the EPP is not totally corrupted by cronyism.

What does the Earl of Dartmouth know about the EU?

The latest blog entry in the series asked 'What does the EU want from Liechtenstein?' (25 December 2010).

Now we may ask what the Earl of Dartmouth knows about the EU.

On 14 December 2010 William (The Earl of) Dartmouth, member of the European Parliament (MEP), presented a question for a written answer to the Commission (E-010415/2010):

Does the EU have a trade agreement or agreements with Liechtenstein? If so, what is/are the principal terms?

Trade

In the context of the European Union and its common commercial policy, trade is usually understood as relations with third countries. (Cf. Articles 206-207 TFEU)


Liechtenstein

However, Liechtenstein has joined the internal market through the European Economic Area (EEA) together with Iceland and Norway.

In addition to my series of blog posts, the EU relations with Liechtenstein are outlined in the recent GAC conclusions:

Council conclusions on EU relations with EFTA countries; 3060th GENERAL AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 14 December 2010


INTA

The Committee on International Trade (INTA) of the European Parliament is presented as responsible for:

matters relating to the establishment and implementation of the Union's common commercial policy and its external economic relations, in particular:

1.    financial, economic and trade relations with third countries and regional organisations;

2.    measures of technical harmonisation or standardisation in fields covered by instruments of international law;

3.    relations with the relevant international organisations and with organisations promoting regional economic and commercial integration outside the Union;

4.    relations with the WTO, including its parliamentary dimension.
 
The committee liaises with the relevant interparliamentary and ad hoc delegations for the economic and trade aspects of relations with third countries.

The Earl of Dartmouth

William (The Earl of) Dartmouth is a member of the EP Committee on International Trade, where he represents the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group, an assortment of nine nationalist parties. He was elected an MEP as a candidate for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).


The question

I would expect MEPs in general and members of the expert Committee on International Trade in particular to know that Liechtenstein has joined the internal market through the EEA (in 1994).

I would not employ the term 'trade' regarding Liechtenstein in the way we do when speaking about economic relations with third countries (outside the single market).

The international agreements between the European Union and any country are just a few mouseclicks away at the Treaties Office database.

Therefore the parliamentary question about one or more EU trade agreements with Liechtenstein makes me wonder if it is is based on ignorance or laziness, or if there are profound reasons for such a query I have failed to understand.

I hope that William (The Earl of) Dartmouth would be kind enough to explain how his parliamentary question makes sense.



Ralf Grahn

P.S. What a sad Christmas AFP reports from Minsk: Belarussian police launched sweeping raids on opposition homes and offices as part of its crackdown on protests following Alexander Lukashenko's reelection, rights groups said.

What does the EU want from Liechtenstein?

Our latest blog entry on EU-Lichtenstein relations looked at what the web pages of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU delegation to Switzerland and Liechtenstein offer interested citizens: 'EU communication on EEA and EFTA member Liechtenstein' (24 December 2010), with links to earlier blog posts.

We return to the conclusions from the General Affairs Council (GAC) of the European Union:

Council conclusions on EU relations with EFTA countries; 3060th GENERAL AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 14 December 2010


Conclusions specific to Liechtenstein


In this blog entry we present the GAC conclusions specific to Liechtenstein (points 17 to 24):

PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN

17. Given its limited human resources, the swiftness shown by Liechtenstein in most areas in adopting European Union legislation and regularly updating its legislation in accordance with the evolving EU acquis is to be commended. The Council welcomes the positive report of the government of Liechtenstein published on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of membership in the EEA.

18. In the period 2008 to 2010, relations between the EU and Liechtenstein have substantially intensified and were marked by positive developments in a number of areas.

19. The Council welcomes the solidarity with the EU shown by the people of Liechtenstein when committing to continue and increase their contribution to the reduction of social and economic disparities in the EEA for the period 2009-2014.

20. Preparations for the association of Liechtenstein to the Schengen acquis are well advanced on both sides. The Council is looking forward to a rapid entry of Liechtenstein into the Schengen area.

21. With regard to cooperation and information exchange in tax matters and the fight against fraud and tax evasion and any other illegal activity to the detriment of the financial interests of the parties, the Council welcomes the commitments taken by the Principality to implement OECD standards on transparency and on tax information exchange and to fight against fraud, and calls on Liechtenstein to continue its efforts in this area. The Council expects a quick and consistent implementation of these commitments in the relationship between Liechtenstein and the EU and all its Member States.

22. Concerning the taxation of savings, the Council welcomes the openness of Liechtenstein to launch negotiations on a revision of the savings taxation agreement to reflect the evolution of the corresponding EU acquis, once the EU has agreed the final text for its review of the savings taxation directive.

23. Considering that the EFTA Surveillance Authority has taken in recent years several decisions relating to state aid granted by Liechtenstein, the Council reiterates its recommendation of 2008 that Liechtenstein assesses all measures applied to industry, services and trade with respect to the definition of state aid provided for in the EEA Agreement, particularly in finance. The Council welcomes the intention of Liechtenstein to reform its tax legislation and looks forward to a reform compatible with state aid legislation. The Council will closely follow the implementation of this reform.

24. With regard to harmful tax practices, the Council encourages the Principality to continue discussions with the EU on the application of the principles and criteria of the EU Code of Conduct on business taxation.

Sticking points

I would have hoped for more information on the web pages of the EU delegation (and links on the EEAS country page) about the entry of Liechtenstein into the Schengen area, as well as quality information about the EU's aims regarding more controversial issues, such as cooperation against fraud and tax evasion, the revision of the savings tax agreement, state aid reform and curtailing harmful tax practices.

In questions such as these the European Union needs to take a more open attitude towards specifying the problems (as it sees them), defining its objectives and publishing reports on progress (or lack of it) in negotiations.

We can also hope for the EU's counterparts to present their positions and arguments transparently, in this case the Principality of Liechtenstein.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. The joint statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the post-Presidential elections situation in Belarus (23 December 2010) is an important first call for the respect of democratic principles and human rights in Belarus, after the bankruptcy of the policy of 'constructive engagement' with the last dictator of Europe.

EU communication on EEA and EFTA member Liechtenstein

Our first look at Liechtenstein was the blog post 'EU relations with Liechtenstein (general conclusions)' (22 December 2010), presenting the general remarks including Liechtenstein, but addressed at the EEA or EFTA states as a whole. Then we changed to a Liechtensteinian perspective in 'Principality of Liechtenstein views the European Union' (23 December 2010).

This blog entry tries to look at what a European citizen readily finds about the relations with Liechtenstein on the websites of the EU institutions.

In the background we have the conclusions from the General Affairs Council (GAC):

Council conclusions on EU relations with EFTA countries; 3060th GENERAL AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 14 December 2010


EU materials (EEAS)

Naturally we have to test the newly launched European External Action Service (EEAS) and its recently designed web pages. What can we say about the communication efforts?

I am happy to see that the country page for the Principality of Liechtenstein on the European External Action Service (EEAS) website offers a succinct text about relevant topics. It manges to cram a lot of information and even some forward-looking elements into ten short lines, with links to other pages.

The news links have been updated with the GAC conclusions. There are also 'related links' to websites specific to Liechtenstein (relations).

Among the links in the text, one leads to a page on the European Economic Area (EEA), with a basic description and links to the latest news.

Another text link leads to a fairly comprehensive summary about the Schengen area and cooperation, but not updated since 3 August 2009.

There is also a link to the 2004 agreement with Liechtenstein on taxation of savings.


Liechtenstein treaties

The EU Treaties Office database offers 67 treaties between the European Union and Liechtenstein. Regarding Schengen and the free movement of persons some agreements are not yet in force.


EU delegation to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Although general news on the front page are posted in English, the web page of the EU delegation for Switzerland and Liechtenstein you land on is in German: Delegation für die Schweiz und Liechtenstein.

In addition to German there are pages in French and Italian, but mainly for Switzerland where these are official languages.

You can find a link to the GAC conclusions on relations with the EFTA members, but only if you look for older news (where the language changes to German). I would expect the EU representations to post these conclusions visibly and permanently on the front page in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland-Liechtenstein.

There is a thematic page (in German): Das Fürstentum Liechtenstein und die EU. The page includes a link to the Europe Day celebration speech by the head of government, Dr Klaus Tschütscher, in Vaduz (11 May 2010).

On the Liechtenstein page I would have hoped for more information about how Schengen implementation advances as well as current aims of the European Union and issues in other policy areas.

Ideally, the new text should offer quality information on the issues the GAC conclusions dealt with in general and sometimes vague terms.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. While the EU institutions still seem to be sleepwalking, Jean Quatremer on Coulisses de Bruxelles takes a stand against the actions by the Fidesz government in Hungary to quell free speech and fundamental freedoms.

Prime minister Viktor Orbán is one of the vice-presidents of the European People's party, so the EPP has a special responsibility to act quickly and decisively to safeguard the founding values of the European Union and protect its own image.

Principality of Liechtenstein views the European Union

Recently the General Affairs Council (GAC) of the European Union adopted conclusions about the relations between the EU and the four EFTA countries: the three members of the European Economic Area (EEA) Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as fourth EFTA member Switzerland, which remains outside the EEA:

Council conclusions on EU relations with EFTA countries; 3060th GENERAL AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 14 December 2010

We took a first look at Liechtenstein in the blog post 'EU relations with Liechtenstein (general conclusions)' (22 December 2010), presenting the general remarks including Liechtenstein, but addressed at the EEA or EFTA states.

Since Liechtenstein and its relations with the European Union are not widely known, we are going to look at some materials about and from this fascinating Principality.


Liechtenstein background

Here is a link to the Wikipedia article about the Principality of Liechtenstein (German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein), a country with more registered companies than citizens.

Digital Liechtenstein offers you added opportunities to look at interesting topics in English, German, French or Chinese.


EEA Fact Sheet

The EEA Coordination Unit offers readers a recently updated brochure in English: European Economic Area (EEA) Fact Sheet (November 2010; 12 pages).


EEA population

A brochure detail: On the authority of the CIA World Factbook the brochure starts by stating that the EEA is a single market of about 496 million consumers (as per July 2010).

Why not check the facts instead?

According to Eurostat we have the following population figures for 2010:

EU 27 501090520
Iceland 317630
Liechtenstein 35894
Norway 4858199

This adds up to an internal market of about 506 million people. If we equate inhabitant with consumer (as I suppose the intention has been), the population of the European Economic Area exceeds the number in the folder by ten million.


EEA Coordination Unit

There is an explanatory web page in English about the EEA Coordination Unit, with a link to the active pages in German of Stabsstelle EWR.


Embassy of Liechtenstein in Brussels

Another important player is the Embassy of Liechtenstein in Brussels. It serves as a mission to the European Union and handles EEA and EFTA affairs (besides functioning as the Embassy to Belgium).


Detailed EEA report

There is a fresh government position paper, with a detailed evaluation of Liechtenstein's 15 years in the European Economic Area (23 March 2010), in German:

Bericht und Antrag der Regierung an den Landtag des Fürstentums Liechtenstein betreffend 15 Jahre Mitgliedschaft des Fürstentums Liechtenstein im Europäischen Wirtschaftsraum (EWR) Nr. 17/2010 (306 pages)

In a nutshell, the report depicted the 15 year EEA membership as a Liechtensteinian success story.

On 21 April 2010 the Liechtenstein Parliament (Landtag) took notice of the annual report of the EEA/EFTA parliamentary delegation as well as the EEA report from the government (Jahresbericht 2009 der Delegation für die EWR/EFTA-Parlamentarierkomitees Information; 15 Jahre Mitgliedschaft des Fürstentums Liechtenstein im Europäischen Wirtschaftsraum (EWR), (Nr. 17/2010) Landtagsprotokolle 21 April 2010).

The discussion gave me the impression that the positive assessment of EEA membership is shared by the Landtag, even if coordination with neighbouring Switzerland outside the European Economic Area requires constant attention.

***

The next blog post in this series is going to change perspective, from the Liechtensteinian viewpoint to EU materials and resources.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Mathew Lowry wrote a timely blog post called 'Censoring Hungarian blogs during the Hungarian EU Presidency' spreading the word about the ignominious media law and the Twitter Hashatag #NoToHuEU.

The presidencies of the Council of the European Union were supposed to be about team spirit and presidency trios. It worked during the Belgian presidency @EuTrioBe on Twitter. Why did the government of Hungary discard this manifestation of European team spirit? I hope that the hashtag #EuTrioHu will keep the idea alive, despite the nationalistic Twitter address @HU_Presidency by a government badly discredited even before the presidency starts.

EU view of EFTA and EEA country Iceland (not excluding controversy)

Iceland has been getting a lot of attention in Brussels lately. The EU Commission presented its progress report and conclusions regarding the process of Iceland to become a member of the European Union:

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: EU enlargement: Iceland (20 December 2010)

The General Affairs Council (GAC) adopted conclusions on enlargement, including Iceland, on 14 December 2010:

Grahnlaw: EU Council on enlargement: Iceland (20 December 2010)

But the same day, the General Affairs Council also adopted conclusions about the relations between the European Union and the members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), as described on Grahnblawg (in Swedish): EU-relationerna med Norge (19 December 2010).

Naturally Iceland, an EFTA member and a participant in the European Economic Area (EEA) was dealt with in these GAC conclusions as well:

Council conclusions on EU relations with EFTA countries; 3060th GENERAL AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 14 December 2010


EEA remarks

The Council was satisfied with the contributions from Iceland, Liechtenstein and especially Norway to poorer EU member states (point 2):

The Council appreciates the financial contributions of the EFTA countries to the economic and social cohesion in the European Economic Area (EEA). Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland (the "EEA EFTA States") recently committed themselves to a substantial increase of their continued contributions.

In practice the EEA states pay for access to the internal market, although it differs somewhat from the membership contributions from EU countries.

The Council was happy to note the excellent transposition record of the EEA EFTA states (point 3):

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are integrated in the internal market through the EEA Agreement of 1994. This Agreement functions properly so long as all Contracting Parties incorporate the full body of the relevant EU acquis relating to the internal market into their national law. The Council welcomes that the EEA countries have demonstrated an excellent record of proper and regular incorporation of the acquis into their own legislation and encourages them to maintain this good record to ensure the continued homogeneity of the internal market.

The GAC remarks about homogenous implementation of EU law and the smooth functioning of the special institutions are directed at all EFTA countries (point 7):

Though EU relations with the EFTA countries were extended over the years to many areas not covered by the internal market, these relations are mainly based on the progressive integration of the EFTA countries' economies into the EU internal market. In view of the need for a level playing field for all economic operators of the parties concerned and the continued development of internal market relevant acquis, the EU and the EFTA States should ensure homogeneity in the implementation of the acquis and the good functioning of the institutions.

Icelandic accession negotiations

Officially, Iceland conducts negotiations to become a member of the European Union, which puts it in a different category from the other EEA states, Liechtenstein and Norway, with the remaining EFTA member, non-EEA Switzerland even farther apart. The GAC stated the position of Iceland (point 5):

The Council welcomes the opening, in July 2010, of accession negotiations with Iceland, which conserves its status as EEA EFTA State while negotiations are ongoing.

Specifically Iceland

The GAC conclusions contained a number of points specifically related to the EU's relationship with Iceland (10-16):

ICELAND

10. The Council welcomes the launching of accession negotiations with Iceland in July 2010, takes note of the findings presented by the Commission on 9 November 2010 to the Council and the European Parliament in its Progress Report on Iceland and refers to the Council conclusions on enlargement - Iceland - to be adopted by the General Affairs Council on 14 December 2010.

11. The opening of an EU delegation in Reykjavik in 2010 will contribute to the rapprochement of Iceland and the EU in this dynamic phase of relations.

12. The Council appreciates the solidarity shown by the Icelandic people when committing to renew their contribution to the reduction of social and economic disparities in the EEA for the period 2009-2014.

13. While accession negotiations are ongoing, the EEA Agreement remains the key contractual basis for EU-Iceland relations. In the past two years, Iceland continued to be an active and constructive partner in that framework as well as in the Schengen area, with a good record of implementation of the evolving EU acquis. The Council encourages Iceland to maintain the same good record also in the future.

14. The Council welcomes the good cooperation with Iceland in many areas of common interest, in particular on environmental and energy issues, as well as in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy, with Iceland frequently supporting EU declarations and voting together with the EU in the UN. The Council is looking forward to further strengthening cooperation with Iceland on issues such as Arctic policy, the Northern Dimension, fisheries, renewable energy and climate change.

15. Regarding fisheries, the Council continues to call for a constructive approach of all Coastal States (EU, Norway, Faeroe Islands and Iceland) on the joint management of mackerel fisheries, and encourages Iceland to resume negotiations on this issue, in particular as regards a reasonable long term sustainable quota sharing arrangement, taking into account the track records of all relevant actors.

16. The Council welcomes Iceland's continued commitment to move toward economic stabilization and to address all issues deriving from the 2008 banking collapse. In this context, the Council recalls the need for Iceland to address existing obligations, such as those identified by the EFTA Surveillance Authority under the EEA Agreement, as well as weaknesses in the area of financial services, identified in the Opinion of the Commission on Iceland's application for EU-membership.

”Mackerel War”

As we saw, the last two points referred to controversial issues. In point 15 the GAC called for the resumption of negotiations in the ”Mackerel War”. Se for instance:

FISHupdate.com: Iceland and Faroes set to announce new mackerel quotas (20 December 2010)

FISHupdate.com: Lochhead comments on Iceland's 'irresponsible' mackerel quota action (20 December 2010)

BBC Scotland: Scottish fishermen condemn Iceland mackerel quota move (18 December 2010)

Fishnewseu.com: Iceland warns that Norway and EU will overfish mackerel next year (20 December 2010)

Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, press release: Decision on Iceland's Share in Mackerel Fisheries in 2011 (20 December 2010)


Icesave / Landsbanki

The catastrophic fallout from the Icelandic banking collapse has haunted the people of Iceland and its government, but also relations with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (point 16). See for instance:

Reuters: Iceland finance minister presents new Icesave bill to parliament (16 December 2010)

Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir in Iceland Review Online: Icesave: Not my headache (ESA) (17 December 2010)

Bloomberg: Grimsson Says He'll Decide by February on Icesave Referendum (20 December 2010)



Ralf Grahn



P.S. In the blog post Not losing sight of the basics, Mathew Lowry calls on the EU institutions to do some serious work on Europa and other websites to serve a huge array of audiences. Read the discussion as well.

EU: What is the Single Market Act? Preview by Barnier

On Europe Day, 9 May 2010, professor Mario Monti delivered his report on the internal market to the president of the European Commmission, José Manuel Barroso: A new strategy for the Single Market – At the service of Europe’s economy and society (107 pages).

On 17 June 2010 the European Council endorsed Monti’s report and called for concrete Single Market proposals from the Commission. The European Council promised to discuss the matter in December.



At the European Parliament, Barroso has referred to the report by Mario Monti and he has promised Commission proposals in October 2010 to deepen the internal market.



Single Market Act



On 16 September 2010 Michel Barnier, the Commissioner responsible for the Internal Market and Services, offered an outline of what the promised Single Market Act is going to be. Some of the remarks are specific to the forum, a conference on the Baltic Sea Strategy in Tallinn (Estonia), but most of the section on the Single Market Act is relevant to businesses, from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Naturally they are important for politicians, public authorities and interest groups in the thirty nation strong European Economic Area (EEA) as well.

In his preview, Barnier was at pains to demonstrate that the Single Market Act will bring direct benefits to citizens of the EEA countries, too:

Services and e-commerce are important initiatives that have to be completed.

But I feel we have to go further.

I do not know if one can "fall in love with the Single Market", to quote the words of Jacques Delors.

But what I know is that the Single Market is there for the people; it was made for them and it must work to their benefit.

Students, workers or pensioners, consumers or public services users… Everyone experiences obstacles to the Single Market in everyday life. And then they wonder: "what's the point of all this, if it does not work when I need it?"

This is a very serious challenge that we face, and it needs an ambitious response. This response I propose to you today is the 'Single Market Act'. To save and consolidate our common economic and social space of life, and to fight against so many tendencies of protectionism and populism.

This Single Market Act will be a framework communication setting out what the Commission intends to do by 2012.

And what is expected of the other public authorities – meaning you.

I have never believed that Europe could be made by Brussels or some institutions in isolation. Europe is not an abstraction; it is everywhere, here in Tallinn as much as in Berlin or Madrid.

The EU has much more to offer to its people than institutions and rules: it is first and foremost about freedoms and opportunities.

This is the meaning of the Single Market Act.

The Single Market Act will put a strong focus on business and SMEs. SMEs make up 99% of businesses and employ 90% of the work force in Europe.

The Single Market Act will stress the urgency of improving the capacity to innovate of European companies – and I hope we will soon find a solution on patents; my aim is that the first European patent be granted in 2014.

We will also step up the fight against piracy and counterfeiting. These practices do not empower consumers, as some demagogues could make people believe. Quite on the opposite; they ultimately impoverish them by stopping innovation. Why would you take your time and money to create something for which you will not be rewarded?

It will propose ways to help businesses get easier financing. I think of helping out venture capital funds, creating regional stock exchanges for SMEs, and simplifying EU rules on public procurement.

More generally, the Single Market Act will attempt to reduce red tape especially – but not only – for cross-border activities, including in the field of taxation and standardisation policy.

We will act abroad to ensure that European companies get fair access to third country markets, especially public procurement procedures.

The other pillar of the SMA will be to show that Europe works for all citizens.

It will notably concern services of general interest, universal access to banking services or patients' rights to the provision of health services.

We will also ensure that consumers are not discriminated against simply because they do not live in the "right" country. Give them more efficient means of redress in case of cross-border abuse.

Finally, we will improve the free movement of workers by reforming the system of recognition of professional qualifications.

And – I know this is a major issue in the Baltic Sea region – we will try to improve the implementation of the Posting of Workers Directive. We must find the right balance between fundamental social rights and equally fundamental economic freedoms to provide services and set up a business in the EU.

Last but not least, the Single Market Act will be about making all stakeholders better informed: if citizens do not know their rights and if practitioners and national administrations do not enforce those rights, there is no point changing the rules in the first place.

This will in turn allow us to develop a clearer view of the malfunctioning in the single market. For that purpose, the Commission will be holding an annual Single Market Forum from 2011 onwards, which is a very good proposal of the European Parliament.

This will start with publishing a list of the "Top 20" of single-market related sources of dissatisfaction for citizens. That way, we can concentrate on what really matters to them and what national obstacles still are to be lifted.

And indeed what we are doing here today, is a kind of a Single market forum at the regional basis for the Nordic countries. I think it is extremely useful and I would like to thank you for this initiative.

As a conclusion, let me say that the Single Market is not all about economics, competition and market opening. It is also about building bridges based on human values, dialogue, understanding, living together – in several nations but in one Europe. A Europe that is united, but not uniform.

I want to listen and understand the challenges you face, especially in the regional context of the Baltic Sea. My services and I are fully committed and available to support you, and I am now eager to hear how we can further help.

Road ahead


The Single Market Act, promised during October 2010, is going to be a framework communication about actions by 2012. In addition to enterprises, the Commission clearly wants to bring tangible benefits to consumers in general and in cross-border situations, as well as mobile citizens.

Barnier’s list of Gordian knots is impressive, even if mentioned only as examples. However, only the Commission’s concrete proposals will reveal its reform ambitions, and the European Council the prospects for progress.

For now, Mario Monti’s report remains the main public source for the reasons behind and the scope for the coming proposals.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Nowadays it is increasingly hard to find European enterprises, public authorities or interest groups without an active social media presence or a stake in European Union affairs. Politics, policies, economics and law at a European level are becoming more important in a globalising world, not less.

EU-related blogs are a significant aspect of the emerging European online public space. There are now 671 Euroblogs, or blogs related to European Union (and Council of Europe) affairs, listed on Bloggingportal.eu, the multilingual aggregator.



You can take a look at the stream of all new posts, or follow the editors’ choices on the front page. You can also subscribe to the streams (all or highlighted) and the newsletters (daily or weekly) without cost.



Bloggingportal.eu needs a few more voluntary editors for the daily tagging of posts according to subjects. Why not increase your understanding of European affairs, improve your language skills and do something useful by joining the team of editors?