The Single Market Strategy in the EU Competitiveness Council

The first day, 28 November 2016, of the EU Competitiveness Council was dedicated to issues relating to the internal market and industry. Despite more concrete news items available, I am going to approach the horizontal issue of the Single Market Strategy.

Single Market Strategy

Thirteen months ago the European Commission published the new single market strategy (available in 23 of the 24 official EU languages): Upgrading the Single Market: more opportunities for people and business; Brussels, 28.10.2015 COM(2015) 550 final (22 pages).

The communication was accompanied by two staff working documents, available in English only, but with more detailed facts and reasons.

The economic and competitiveness analysis is contained in SWD(2015) 203, available through the legal portal Eur-Lex in three parts, but more conveniently downloaded from a Commission web page as a “printed” whole document: Single market integration and competitiveness in the EU and its member states - Report 2015 (112 pages).

The second Commission staff working document is A Single Market Strategy for Europe - Analysis and Evidence; Brussels, 28.10.2015 SWD(2015) 202 final (108 pages).

For a structured overview you may want to study the Commission web page The Single Market Strategy.

Competitiveness Council

In order to prepare the discussion in the Competitiveness Council 28 November 2016, the Slovakian presidency had prepared a discussion paper: Single Market: One year after Single Market Strategy adoption (document 14246/16).

After a brief description of the Single Market and the Single Market Strategy, the discussion paper summarised some of the progress and future work:

C. Progress so far

The Commission has delivered first initiatives identified in the Single Market Strategy. In May 2016, the Commission adopted its legislative proposal to prevent discrimination against consumers based on nationality or residence (initiative on geo-blocking), as part of the e-commerce package. In June 2016, the Commission adopted a Standardisation package, which included the Joint Initiative on Standardisation (presented in the Competitiveness Council of 28 September) and a dedicated guidance document on service standards. The Commission also adopted a European agenda for the collaborative economy in June 2016. This Communication identifies good practice solutions and explains how existing EU law should be applied; clarifying key issues faced by market operators and public authorities alike, namely market access requirements, consumer protection, liability, labour law and tax. Moreover, in November 2016, the Commission will adopt the Start-Up initiative, a communication that aims at helping young firms to scale up and grow in the Single Market.

D. Steps forward

Many of the initiatives have not yet been adopted by the Commission. The Commission plans to deliver some important proposals and packages in the remainder of 2016. Towards the end of the year the adoption of the services package is foreseen. The package will include a proposal to improve the notification procedure for legislation with regard to services, a proposal for a European Services Card (identified as the Services passport initiative by the Single Market Strategy), which is to improve the cross-border provision of services and initiatives on regulated professions, such as a proportionality test to be applied when developing new legislation in this field and guidance to Member States on the matter of regulated professions.  

The Commission will continue adopting the remaining initiatives announced in the Single Market Strategy in 2017. These include a review of the intellectual property rights enforcement framework (IPRED), a Compliance and assistance package, including the Single Digital Gateway, the Single Market Information Tool and the Action Plan for SOLVIT. This will be followed by a Goods package, including initiatives regarding mutual recognition and addressing the increased rate of noncompliance within the Single Market for Goods. Also in 2017 the Commission will present a Public Procurement package including the voluntary ex-ante mechanism for large infrastructure projects. Finally, the Commission is planning to publish a Communication setting out best practices to facilitate retail establishment within the Single Market.

The presidency tried to structure and to focus the discussion by providing the following questions to the national delegations:

E. Questions for discussion

1. What is your assessment with regards to the implementation and the progress achieved so far concerning the Single Market Strategy?

2. Where do you see the biggest potential to inject new dynamism into the Single Market, to the benefit of EU consumers and the EU's industrial competitiveness?

3. How can the Council help ensure the swift and ambitious implementation of the Single Market Strategy?

The press conference wrapping up the first day (internal market and industry; 28 november 2016; webcast 17:05) emphasised the sense of urgency among ministers to achieve progress on the single market.  

Ralf Grahn

EU: Stability programme Slovakia

Stability programmes for eurozone countries on the one hand, convergence programmes for member states still without the euro.




You can start by reading the background remarks on economic policy coordination in the European Union, in the blog post EU: Useful stability and convergence programmes? (3 June 2010).



You can then move on to the EU Council opinion on the stability programme of the latest eurozone entrant Slovakia, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU):



COUNCIL OPINION on the updated stability programme of Slovakia, 2009-2012; OJEU 3.6.2010 C 144/17



Economic background


On 26 April 2010 the Council of the European Union examined the updated stability programme of Slovakia, which covers the period 2009 to 2012. The Council began its assessment with a brief description of the economic situation:

With an average real GDP growth rate of over 7 % over the period 2003-2008, Slovakia was one of the best performing EU countries during the boom phase. Sound macroeconomic policies over that period allowed avoiding large macroeconomic imbalances, which enabled Slovakia to adopt the euro in January 2009. However, given its large trade openness, the Slovak economy was strongly affected by the crisis. Real GDP is estimated to have fallen by 4.7 % in 2009, and the depreciation of neighbouring countries’ currencies implied a further appreciation of Slovakia's real effective exchange rate.

To contain the effects of the crisis, the authorities allowed a full operation of automatic stabilisers and, in line with the European Economic Recovery Plan, adopted anti-crisis measures in November 2008 and February 2009 (0.5 % of GDP for both 2009 and 2010). With the government deficit expected at some 6 % of GDP in 2009, on 2 December 2009 the Council decided on the existence of an excessive deficit and recommended its correction by 2013. Considering the weakening of Slovakia’s external competitiveness due to temporary depreciation of neighbouring countries’ currencies and widening fiscal imbalances during the crisis, a credible and sustainable reduction of the government deficit should be a key element of the authorities’ strategy for the coming years.

Council recommendation

After a detailed discussion, and in the light of the recommendation under Article 126 TFEU of 2 December 2009, the EU Council invited Slovakia to:

(i) implement the deficit reducing measures in 2010 as planned in the budget, and back up the consolidation path for the following years with specific measures to secure the correction of the excessive deficit if possible by 2012, and by 2013 at the latest;

(ii) continue reforms of the pension system with a view to ensuring the sustainability of government finances;

(iii) implement the envisaged measures to further strengthen the fiscal framework, in particular the introduction of enforceable multiannual expenditure ceilings.

Eurozone financial stability



On 31 May the European Central Bank (ECB) published its Financial Stability Review June 2010, which assesses the stability of the euro area financial system both with regard to the role it plays in facilitating economic processes and with respect to its ability to prevent adverse shocks from having inordinately disruptive impacts (page 7).

The Financial Stability Review (225 pages) offers a view of the inter-related financial markets and the consolidation measures of eurozone governments.




Naturally, Slovakia is represented in the Euro Group, which plays an important part in the efforts to restore fiscal stability in the euro area. The Euro Group president is Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, where the next meeting is going to take place Monday, 7 June 2010.




Ralf Grahn