COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 06.05.1997 
COM(97) 184 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
10 THE EUROPEAN PAJUJAMFNT ANp THE COUNCIL 
DRAFT ACTION PLAN 
FOR THE SINGLE MARKET 
This draft summarises the Commission's current thinking concerning an Action Plan for the Single Market. 
The final Action Plan will be presented by the Commission to the European Council in Amsterdam 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Why an Action Plan now?. 
The Draft Action Plan: four Strategic Targets. 
Strategic target 1: Making the rules more effective. 
Action 1: 
Action 2: 
Action 3: 
Action 4: 
Action 5: 
Action 6: Put agreed Single Market legislation into force .... 
Establish a framework for enforcement and problem-solving 
Strengthen checks on products 
Better access for business to the right information _. 
National and Community rules must be simplified 
Tackle weaknesses in the existing legal framework ._ 8 
Strategic target 2: Dealing with key market distortions. _ .9 
Action 7 : Remove tax distortions 9 
Action 2 : Create a common system for value-added tax 9 
Action 3 : Restructure the Community framework for the taxation of energy products 9 
Action 4: A rigorous approach to competition policy 9 
Strategic target 3: Removing sectoral obstacles to market integration .10 
Action 1: Break down the barriers in service markets..... .... .... _ 10 
Action 2: Give businesses the structures they need for efficient cross-frontier operations 7 7 
Action 3: Face the challenge of innovation and new technology ._ 7 7 
Strategic target 4: Delivering a Single Market for the benefit of all citizens. .11 
Action 1 : Elimina te border controls .... ._ .... _„_ . 11 
Action 2: The right of residence 7 7 
Action 3: Protecting social rights 77 
Action 4: Promoting labour mobility within the Union 12 
Action 5: Consumer rights and health protection 12 
Action 6 Dialogue with the Citizen 12 
The international dimension of the Single Market-
Conclusion 
Annex: List of Actions (to be taken before 1 January 1999) .13 
14 
.14 
H~"> 
WHY AN ACTION PLAN NOW? 
1. The European Single Market is the 
world's largest domestic market. It has 
contributed significantly to growth, 
competitiveness and employment. It 
has been responsible for an increase in 
EU income of between 1.1% and 1.5% 
and for the creation of between 
300.000 and 900.000 jobs but its 
potential is still to be realised. Barriers 
still stand in the way. Europe needs a 
better Single Market for more growth, 
more innovation and more jobs, a 
market that works for everyone -
citizens, consumers, small companies 
and larger business - a dynamic, 
knowledge-based market, socially 
responsible and sensitive to the 
concerns of everyone affected by it. A 
consolidated and properly functioning 
Single Market will help to ensure a 
transition to the single currency in the 
most favourable conditions and will 
contribute to a successful enlargement. 
The Commission's 1996 Report on the 
Impact and Effectiveness of the Single 
Market contains recommendations on 
what still needs to be done. The 
Report has received a very wide 
degree of support from Member States. 
The political will is evident. This 
needs to be translated into targeted 
action. 
2. The Single Market is not simply an 
economic structure. At its heart are 370 
million people seeking better 
employment opportunities, improved 
living and working conditions, and a 
wider choice of quality products and 
services - including access for 
everyone to services of general interest 
- at lower prices. The Single Market is 
working in their interests. Much has 
already been achieved. Individuals 
already enjoy the right to move and 
work throughout the Union. The 
Single Market sets basic standards of 
health and safety, equal opportunities and labour law. However, more needs 
to be done to enforce these rights 
effectively. In addition, social policy 
must help smooth the process of 
change, promoting a new interplay 
between flexibility and security, for 
example through appropriate 
information and consultation. The 
European employment strategy, 
agreed at the Dublin European 
Council, underpinned by the 
Commission's Confidence Pact for 
Employment, will help to give people 
the opportunity to upgrade and 
improve their skills. Similarly, the 
Commission will work with Member 
States to help modernise social 
protection systems and make them 
more employment-friendly. 
3. The Single Market stands or falls on 
confidence; confidence that all the key 
rules are in place; that they are fully 
and fairly applied; that problems will 
be addressed quickly; that the ground-
rules for fair competition are fully 
respected; confidence for consumers 
in the reliability of goods and services 
and of information: confidence for 
smaller companies, the employment 
generators, that the market can work 
for them; confidence that each and 
every government is committed to 
making it work. Doing business, 
moving, living or working in the 
Union's "area without internal 
frontiers" should become as easy as 
within any Member State. 
4. The Action Plan announced in the 
conclusions of the Dublin European 
Council has the clear objective of 
improving the performance of the 
Single Market in the years ahead. The 
third stage of EMU represents a critical 
juncture, at which the Single Market 
must provide underlying economic 
support for monetary union and the 
I."! 
Euro will provide added value and 
efficiency to the Single Market. The 
actions proposed are ambitious. It will 
take considerable political will to carry 
them through. Time is short. But if we 
succeed, confidence will improve and 
Europe will have a Single Market 
capable of generating more growth 
and more jobs, while safeguarding the 
European social model. The final 
version of the Action Plan will be put 
to the European Council in Amsterdam 
when the Council will be invited: 
to make a firm commitment to the full 
execution of this Action Plan before 1 
January 1999 and the start of the third 
stage of EMU; • to provide for the necessary priority 
treatment of any legislative proposals 
in the Action Plan (a "fast-track" 
approach) ; 
• to review progress at each meeting of 
the European Council in the run-up to 
December 1998. 
The Commission will regularly publish 
and draw to the attention of each Internal 
Market Council and European Council a 
"Single Market Scoreboard" containing 
detailed indicators of the state of the 
Single Market and of Member States' level 
of commitment to fulfilling the Action 
Plan. 
THE DRAFT ACTION PLAN: FOUR STRATEGIC TARGETS 
The Action Plan follows the 
Commission's report on the Impact and 
Effectiveness of the Single Market. It sets 
priorities to allow a clear and strategic 
vision of what is now needed. At this 
stage, four Strategic Targets have been 
identified. They are of equal importance 
and must be pursued in parallel: 
1 Making the rules more effective: 
The Single Market must be based on 
confidence. Proper enforcement of 
common rules is the only way to 
achieve this goal. Simplification of 
rules at Community and national level 
is also essential to reduce the burden 
on business and create more jobs. 
2. Dealing with key market 
distortions: There is general 
agreement that tax barriers and anti­
competitive behaviour constitute 
distortions that need to be tackled. 
3. Removing sectoral obstacles to 
market integration: The Single 
Market will only deliver its full 
potential if remaining barriers - and, of course, new ones - are removed. This 
may require legislative action to fill 
gaps in the Single Market framework, 
but also calls for a significant change 
in national administrations' attitudes 
towards the Single Market. 
4. Delivering a Single Market for the 
benefit of all citizens: The Single 
Market generates employment, 
increases personal freedom and 
benefits consumers, while ensuring 
high levels of both health and safety 
and environmental protection. But 
further steps are needed. And to enjoy 
their Single Market rights to the full, 
citizens must be aware of these rights 
and be able to obtain redress. 
Within each strategic target, the 
Commission has identified a limited 
number of specific actions to be achieved 
by I January 1999 (a list is given in the 
Annex). This is a selective approach, but 
clearly action in other areas to 
consolidate the Single Market will be 
pursued. 
STRATEGIC TARGET 1: 
MAKING THE RULES MORE EFFECTIVE 
Action 1: Put agreed Single Market 
legislation into force 
Only 65% of Single Market rules are fully 
operational in all 15 Member States. The 
Single Market clearly cannot function 
optimally in these conditions. Member 
States will be called on to submit their 
detailed timetable and to demonstrate 
political commitment to eliminate, by 1 
January 1999 at the latest, any delay in 
transposition. The Single Market 
Scoreboard will be used to keep track of 
progress. Meanwhile the Commission will 
continue vigorously to pursue 
infringement procedures against Member 
States which fail in these obligations 
using, where necessary, the possibilities 
of sanctions against Member States. 
Action 2: Establish a framework for 
enforcement and problem-solving 
Problems need to be sorted out quickly in 
today's Single Market to avoid 
undermining of confidence of business 
and consumers. The informal 
arrangements for cooperation between 
Member States and between them and the 
Commission have proved only partly 
successful and now need to be upgraded. 
The Commission will therefore press each 
Member State to designate a coordination 
centre within its administration 
responsible for ensuring that any 
problems raised by other Member States 
or the Commission are solved by the 
authorities directly concerned within strict 
deadlines. This will be a key component 
in a simple but effective framework for 
enforcement cooperation, which will also 
provide; for more transparency about 
enforcement structures and peer review 
or mutual audit of national enforcement. 
Telematic links between enforcement 
authorities will be further developed 
under the second IDA programme. The 
Commission intends to submit serious 
cases of non-application to the Internal Market Council to ensure strong 
commitment and involvement in problem 
solving at political level and. in parallel, 
will accelerate its treatment of 
infringement procedures. Strengthening 
of the Commission's enforcement powers 
under the Treaty would be desirable to 
further reduce delays in problem solving. 
Action 3: Strengthen checks on products 
At present the checks that are carried out 
on compliance with product rules are 
uneven and could compromise consumer 
protection and fair competition. The 
Commission will make legislative 
proposals to strengthen common rules for 
market surveillance by, for example, 
providing for joint inspection schemes or 
more detailed inspection procedures in 
areas that will include industrial and 
consumer products, foodstuffs, 
pharmaceutical products and medical 
devices. Scientific expertise, which is 
important for the application of the 
legislation and linked to market 
surveillance, must be mobilized and used 
more widely for legislative purposes at 
Community level. 
Action 4: Better access for business to the 
right information 
Access to information is essential to 
ensure that businesses are aware of 
opportunities in the Single Market, how to 
exploit them and how to solve problems. 
Information must be made accessible 
rapidly and in user-friendly ways. The 
Commission will set up an Internet shop 
for information on all Single Market 
regulations affecting business, to 
complement and be coordinated with the 
Euro Info Centres, which have been 
assigned a "first-stop" objective under the 
multi-annual programme for SMEs (1997-
2000). This service will be part of the 
Europa Website and will also be linked to 
the Member States' Websites. Businesses 
will be able to provide feedback on their 
experience on the ground. 
Action 5: National and Community rules 
must be simplified and improved 
Over-regulation is the enemy of job 
creation - the Union's top priority. Over-
complex rules, most of them national, 
impose unnecessary costs on operators. 
The Commission will set up a permanent 
rolling programme of simplification and 
improvement of Single Market legislation, 
combining SLIM and other simplification 
exercises. It will include VAT, banking, 
insurance and securities, fertilizers, 
consumer services, telecommunications, 
customs rules and procedures and 
possibly other sectors, including company 
law .The Commission will undertake pilot 
projects to improve consultation 
procedures with business regarding the 
costs of implementing certain new 
legislative proposals, including 
consultation of a European Business Test 
Panel. 
Member States will be called upon to 
commit themselves to a parallel 
programme of simplification, including 
the use of more comprehensive 
regulatory impact analysis procedures 
and to simplify national regulatory and 
administrative procedures for business 
start-ups. 
Businesses and citizens' organisations will 
be invited to alert the Commission to 
national rules which they consider to be 
abnormally burdensome. The 
Commission will publicize and take up 
the most significant cases with the 
Member State concerned. 
Action 6: Tackle weaknesses in the 
existing legal framework 
There are a number of areas where the 
existing Single Market framework needs to be improved. The Commission intends, 
as a priority, to propose action in the 
following areas: 
• public procurement: action will be 
proposed on the basis of the 
consultation undertaken following 
publication of the Green Paper; 
• application of the mutual 
recognition principle: Member 
States and the Commission will need 
to cooperate closely on cases of non-
recognition made under Council 
Decision 3052/95 and ensure that 
adequate political attention is given, 
including at Council level, to the 
effective application of the principle of 
mutual recognition; 
• European standardization: a new 
impulsion will be given to 
standardization policy; 
• conformity marking of products: a 
re-evaluation of CE marking will be 
undertaken in view of the proliferation 
of national marks; 
• construction products: 
modifications will be proposed to the 
construction products Directive to 
ensure its effective operation; 
• transit rules: computerisation of 
transit procedures is needed in order 
to reduce fraud and the administrative 
burden on business; 
• the Single Market and the 
environment: the Commission will 
produce guidelines on how Single 
Market policy can further contribute to 
sustainable development and how any 
potential conflicts between Single 
Market and environment policies can 
be remedied. 
Action 11 Remove tax distortions 
Tax barriers and distortions to the Single 
Market have not yet been tackled with 
sufficient determination. Harmful tax 
competition increases Member States' 
difficulties in restructuring their tax 
systems and delays progress towards a 
more coherent tax system within the 
Union. A co-ordinated approach is 
essential. Member States, by acting 
together, can tackle this issue. 
Member States will therefore be asked to 
agree to a tax package designed to 
achieved a balance 
interests comprising: between their 
• the elimination of distortions in the 
taxation of capital income, in 
particular, through adoption of a 
modified proposal for a Directive on 
the taxation of savings; 
• the elimination of tax obstacles to 
cross-border economic activity, in 
particular by eliminating withholding 
taxes on interest and royalty payments 
between companies; 
• a code of conduct designed to tackle 
harmful tax competition that causes 
difficulties for every Member State. 
In this context, the Commission will also 
clarify the scope and improve the 
coherence of the application of 
Community competition rules, including 
rules on state aids. 
Progress on this package should help 
Member States to make their tax systems 
become more employment-friendly, 
reducing the burden on labour and 
thereby promoting job creation. Further 
work is also needed on removing double 
taxation of frontier workers. STRATEGIC TARGET 2: 
DEALING WITH KEY MARKET DISTORTIONS 
Action 2: Create a common system for 
value-added tax: 
The current VAT system imposes an 
excessive burden on business and 
discourages cross-frontier trade. The 
Council and Parliament are invited to 
adopt the proposals for the 
modernization and a more coherent and 
uniform application of the tax together 
with the proposals to advance 
administrative cooperation among 
Member States and to engage as quickly 
as possible in the process of change to 
the radically simpler origin-based VAT 
system proposed by the Commission. 
Action 3: Restructure the Community 
framework for the taxation of energy 
products 
At present, only mineral oils are subject to 
a Community system for minimum 
taxation. For other products, Member 
States are free to tax at the rate of their 
choice or to apply no tax at all. This leads 
to distortions between the different 
sources of energy and between the 
Member States. For this reason the 
Council is called upon to adopt the 
Commission's proposal that the 
Community minimum rate system be 
widened to all energy products and that 
there should be a gradual approximation 
of national rates of taxation for all energy 
products. 
Action 4: A rigorous approach to 
competition policy 
The rigorous application of competition 
policy is essential to ensure that anti­
competitive practices on the part of 
companies or national authorities do not 
choke off the competitive dynamics of the 
single market. 
The volume of state aids granted in the 
EU remains at worryingly high levels, 
representing annually 95 billion ECU and 
-.-._ 9 _ 
between 0.4 and 2.6% of GDP in the 
different Member States during the 1992-
1994 period. In addition, 85% of aid to 
industry is accounted for by 4 important 
economies of the Union. As well as being 
a source of distortion of competition, the 
high level of aid weighs on public 
budgets and risks endangering the 
efficient functioning of the Single Market. 
Inasmuch as aids tend to concentrate on 
large enterprises they also damage the 
competitive position of SMEs. 
Commission action alone is not sufficient. 
A dialogue with the Member States to fix 
precise objectives and a timetable for the 
reduction of overall aid budgets appears 
therefore as a necessary complement to 
the Commission's action. To redress the 
negative impact on cohesion of the 
present situation, the Commission will 
propose new guidelines on regional aids 
aiming at reducing regional disparities by 
concentrating aid in the poorest regions 
and lowering the maximum levels to 
better take account of the socio-economic 
situation of each region. It will concentrate resources on assessment of 
those aid cases which represent the 
greatest threat to competition and the 
functioning of the Single Market, 
particularly where regional aid is 
concentrated on large investment 
projects. The Commission will also further 
tighten the rules on rescue and 
restructuring aid, while taking account of 
the role of appropriate levels of aid in 
cushioning the social effects of 
restructuring. Furthermore, it will 
examine whether state aid rules can be 
modified to limit the risk of state aid 
providing unfair incentives for 
délocalisation. 
Anti-trust rules will be simplified and 
modernised by the revision of policies on 
vertical restraints and horizontal 
cooperation agreements. Action will be 
taken to focus attention on the most 
serious infringements and to decentralise 
the application of the competition rules to 
the Member States as far as possible 
without endangering the level playing 
field within the Single Market. 
STRATEGIC TARGET 3: 
REMOVING SECTORAL OBSTACLES TO MARKET INTEGRATION 
Action 1: Break down the barriers in 
service markets 
Service markets account for 70% of Union 
GDP but they are less integrated than 
other markets. In financial sen/ices, the 
lack of a real Single Market for investment 
funds is a major handicap for Europe's 
potential to channel savings into 
productive investments. Far-reaching 
steps are required. The Commission will 
propose a framework directive on 
Undertakings for Collective Investment in 
Transferable Securities (UCITS) to tackle 
the remaining obstacles. Member States 
are called upon to adopt the directive by 
the January 1999 deadline. 
Some Member States impose strict 
quantitative rules on the investments of 
pension funds. These result in lower 
returns which raise indirect labour costs 
(and thus reduce job creation) and reduce 
10 the potential of a European capital 
market. EMU will make currency 
matching restrictions irrelevant. Member 
States are called upon to move towards 
the elimination of these restrictions in 
anticipation of the introduction of the 
Euro. Further work is also needed to 
improve the availability of capital to 
SMEs. 
The balanced opening of public utilities, 
taking full account of the need to 
promote access for everyone to services 
of general interest, will contribute to a 
better overall allocation of resources. The 
liberalization of gas supplies has to be 
agreed. The Community Institutions and 
the Member States must ensure that the 
national measures required to implement 
agreed market opening in 
telecommunications and electricity are 
taken in time and that networks are 
effectively open to competition. , 
In transport, priority will be given to 
opening up access to the provision of 
crossborder railway services, and 
railfreight freeways. In the air transport 
field, new rules for charges and the 
allocation of slots at Community airports 
and the creation of new institutional 
structures for air safety and air traffic 
management are essential for effective 
market integration. 
Action 2: Improve the business 
environment for cross-frontier operations 
Companies incur unnecessary costs and 
delays by having to comply with different 
national registration rules when operating 
in more than one Member State. The 
Commission calls upon the Council to 
adopt, by 1 January 1999, its proposals on 
the Tenth Company Law Directive on 
mergers and on the European Company 
Statute, in the light of the 
recommendations of the group chaired by 
Viscount Davignon. 
Increasingly long payment periods have 
serious consequences for all European 
firms, in particular SMEs whose cash-flow, 
profitability and competitiveness and 
opportunities to trade across frontiers are 
undermined. In particular, SMEs' 
competitive position as suppliers to larger firms is often distorted by deliberately 
long payment delays by the latter. The 
public sector should also set a better 
example. The Commission will publish a 
report shortly which shows that little 
action has been taken by Member States 
to reduce this problem, and that the 
payments situation is getting worse. In the 
absence of sufficient action by Member 
States before the end of the year, the 
Commission will propose a draft directive 
to reduce late payments in Europe. 
Action 3: Face the challenge of innovation 
and new technology 
Electronic commerce offers enormous 
opportunities for cross-border trading in 
Europe. A clear regulatory framework will 
give consumers the confidence to use it 
and businesses the incentive to make the 
necessary investments. The Commission 
seeks early agreement on its proposal for 
a transparency mechanism and, as 
indicated in its recent Electronic 
Commerce Initiative, it will make 
proposals on distance-selling of financial 
services, copyright, digital signatures and 
conditional access services. 
The Commission's new proposal on the 
protection of biotechnological inventions 
should be adopted in the same time­
frame. 
STRATEGIC TARGET 4: 
DELIVERING A SINGLE MARKET FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL CITIZENS 
Action 1: Eliminate border controls 
The continued existence of controls on 
individuals at internal frontiers represents 
the Single Market's most important failing 
for many citizens. In the light of the 
outcome of discussions in the IGC, 
Member States are called upon to agree 
and apply the flanking measures 
necessary to provide a secure framework 
for the free movement of people so as to 
allow urgent adoption by the Council of 
the Commission's proposals on 
eliminating frontier controls. Action 2: The right of residence 
The High Level Panel on the Free 
Movement of People and the 
Commission's report on Citizenship of the 
Union have highlighted a number of 
shortcomings in the way citizens can 
exercise their right to move and reside 
freely within the territory of the Member 
States. 
In order to remedy this situation and to 
give full value to citizenship of the Union, 
the Commission will propose, inter alia, 
ll 
arrangements for short-term residents and 
adaptation of the right to reside and to 
remain in the host Member State. 
Member States are called upon to act 
swiftly on these proposals in order to give 
its full meaning to the notion of Union 
citizenship. 
Action 3: Protecting social rights 
Social policies have a crucial role to play 
in the development of the Single Market 
by defining a new interplay between 
flexibility and security. This will help 
create the conditions for change, and 
promote new ways of working while 
guaranteeing adequate social rights. The 
social dialogue has a vital role to play in 
this respect. Negotiations are currently 
taking place between the social partners 
on part-time work, and the recent Green 
Paper on partnership for a new 
organisation of work has launched a 
broad debate on how to respond to these 
new challenges. This will be followed by 
specific initiatives in the framework of a 
new Social Action Programme in early 
1998. 
Industrial restructuring resulting from 
market integration is beneficial to the 
Union's economy but can have serious 
social consequences for the communities 
involved. The Commission will monitor 
closely the application of the Community 
rules on the consultation of workers. It 
calls on the Member States to review 
national provisions for the enforcement of 
these rules and the penalties which apply. 
It will also soon launch consultation of 
the Social Partners at European level on 
possible Community framework rules on 
information and consultation at national 
level. Finally the Commission will 
continue to define a more balanced and 
coherent approach in the application of 
all Community policies affecting industrial 
restructuring. This will include efforts to 
encourage companies and the Member 
States to anticipate the consequences of 
restructuring and ensure the 
employability of workers by adapting 
training and social protection systems. 
12 Action 4: Promoting labour mobility 
within the Union 
Although the Treaty has long guaranteed 
European citizens the right to live and 
work in any Member State, labour 
mobility in the Single Market remains low. 
This is partly due to remaining barriers to 
the free movement of workers, which 
must be eliminated. Building on the 
report of the High Level Panel referred to 
above, the Commission will propose a 
package of measures designed to 
overcome these barriers. In parallel, it will 
present a proposal on supplementary 
pensions, and work towards the 
simplification and modernisation of the 
system coordinating social security 
arrangements for people moving about 
the Union. The Council is also called on 
to adopt the Commission's proposals on 
extending the scope of family reunion 
and consolidating the right to equal 
treatment as regards social benefits. 
To raise awareness of job opportunities in 
other Member States and increase labour 
mobility the Commission will improve the 
EURES database on pan-EU employment 
opportunities. Member States will be 
invited to make this information more 
widely available by integrating it into the 
mainstream of their public employment 
services. 
Action 5: Consumer rights and health 
protection 
Consumers may hesitate before buying 
goods and services, including financial 
services, across frontiers because they are 
unsure of their rights. Agreement on the 
proposal on consumer guarantees would 
be one of the important step for 
improving consumer confidence. 
Consumer health protection will be 
reinforced through more effective use of 
scientific advice, control and risk analysis. 
This will be used to ensure that consumer 
health is taken into account during the 
drafting of new legislation, that current 
legislation is properly applied and that 
Community interests are defended in the 
international context. In addition, the 
Commission is considering whether 
primary agricultural products should be 
covered by Directive 85/374 on 
producers' liability for defective products. 
Action 6: Dialogue with the Citizen 
Most European citizens are keen to find 
out more about the rights and 
opportunities offered by the Single 
Market; more than half a million people 
have already made use of Citizens First to 
find out what they need to do in practice to reside, study or work in another 
Member State. Building on experience, 
the Commission considers that a 
permanent mechanism is necessary for 
dialogue with citizens on their rights and 
how tc exercise them. A Signpost Service 
will also be made available to advise 
citizens who run into problems and need 
help. Feedback from this mechanism will 
help to identify and eliminate 
administrative obstacles and keep the 
Commission informed about how 
Community rules are respected in 
practice. 
THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION OF THE SINGLE MARKET 
The Single Market cannot be considered 
in isolation from its wider economic and 
political environment. Its size and 
potential growth already constitute an 
asset in terms of attracting international 
trade and investment to Europe. The 
Single Market is providing the conditions 
for improving European international 
competitiveness and its success serves as 
a model for other regions. These strengths 
will be reinforced by a single currency. 
The Union should capitalise more on 
these advantages. 
(i) Preparing for enlargement 
As agreed by the European Council 
following the Commission's 1995 White 
Paper, the associated countries preparing 
for accession must be assisted to prepare 
for their integration into the Single 
Market. The extension of the activities of 
the Technical Assistance Information 
Exchange Office (TAIEX) beyond 1997 
will contribute to that objective. Where 
the Community acquis has been fully 
integrated, the Conformity Assessment 
Agreements offer the possibility of 
opening markets. (ii) The global context of the Singh 
Market 
The Single Market is the reflection of 
Europe's open economy, with its rules 
and standards frequently a reference for 
many countries. This is an asset which 
should allow the Union to play a stronger 
role in international fora provided it 
speaks clearly with one voice. Action will 
focus particularly on the following areas: 
• approximation of systems and rules in 
the Euro-Mediterranean area; 
• attacking technical barriers to trade in 
third country markets; 
• assisting SMES to compete in world 
markets; 
• favouring the use of international 
standards in national and international 
technical regulations; 
• negotiation of mutual recognition 
agreements; 
• fighting intellectual property fraud; 
• liberalising financial services (GATS); 
• a common negotiating position for air 
transport; 
• coordination of Member States in 
international fora for tele­
communications; 
• strengthening and expanding WTO 
disciplines for competition and 
investments. 
13 
An important step will be to ensure full 
Community participation in international 
organisations, particularly those 
responsible for the development of 
technical regulations and standards and 
full exploitation of other frameworks, 
such as the Trans-Atlantic Business 
Dialogue. The policing of the Union's external 
frontiers requires further action to 
strengthen the ability of customs 
authorities to work together as effectively 
as possible, particularly in the fight 
against fraud. 
CONCLUSION 
The draft Action Plan is the key to unlock 
the full potential of the Single Market. It 
should improve the competitiveness and 
job-creating capability of business in the 
run-up to the introduction of the single 
currency. It represents a balanced and 
coherent approach which takes full 
account of the concerns of individual 
citizens regarding their personal rights, 
the environment, the protection of health 
and safety, and the social dimension. 
The prize is immense. If we are successful 
confidence could be generated across 
Europe. The European Union will be able 
to draw strength before the end of the century from the convergence of several 
major developments : a first-rate single 
market, the single currency, new pan-
European market opportunities as 
previously closed sectors open up and 
enlargement of the Union - all leading to 
more employment opportunities. 
All Community institutions and the 
Member States are called on to play their 
full part in ensuring a strong positive 
response to this call for action to ensure 
that all the elements of the Plan finalized 
at the Amsterdam European Council are 
implemented before the 1 January 1999 
deadline. 
ANNEX: LIST OF ACTIONS (TO BE TAKEN BEFORE 1 JANUARY 1999) 
1. Making the rules more effective 
• All delays in transposition of the 
Single Market legislation to be 
eliminated 
• Establishment of a framework for 
enforcement and problem-solving 
• Adoption of new rules on market 
surveillance in selected sectors 
• Adoption of second IDA 
programme 
• Implementation of the Customs 
2000 programme 
• Speeding up infringement 
procedures 
• Establishment of an Internet shop 
for information on all Single Market 
rules affecting business 
• Extension of SLIM and other simplification work to new sectors : 
VAT, banking, insurance and 
securities,consumer services, 
telecommunications, customs rules 
and procedures and fertilizers 
Consultation of a European 
Business Test Panel for certain 
legislative proposals 
Simplification of national business 
start-up rules 
Follow-up to Commission initiatives 
concerning public procurement, 
mutual recognition, European 
standards, conformity marking, 
construction products, transit rules 
and the links between Single 
Market policy and the environment. 
14 
ANNEX: LIST OF ACTIONS (TO BE TAKEN BEFORE 1 JANUARY 1999) CONTINUED 
2. Dealing with key market distortions 
• Adoption of proposals for the 
modernization and more coherent 
application of VAT 
• Restructuring the Community 
framework for the taxation of 
energy products 
• Adoption of a tax package 
(modified Directive on the taxation of savings, Directive on crossborder 
payment of interest and royalties, 
code of conduct on harmful tax 
competition) 
Guidelines on regional state aid 
schemes , stricter rules on rescue 
and restructuring aids and 
simplification of anti-trust rules. 
3. Attacking sectoral obstacles to market 
integration 
Adoption of a new general 
framework UCITS Directive 
Reduction of restrictions on 
investment by pension funds 
Agreement on the liberalisation of 
gas supply 
Implementation of tele­
communications and electricity 
liberalization on time 
Agreements on crossborder railway 
services and railfreight freeways 
Adoption of new rules on the 
allocation of airport slots and on 
charges 
Agreements on creation of 
European Air Safety Agency and 
new EUROCONTROL convention Adoption of the proposals for the 
European Company Statute , related 
proposals for statutes on co­
operatives, mutualities and 
associations and the Tenth 
Company Law Directive 
Adoption of proposal for a 
Directive on late payments 
Adoption of electronic commerce-
related measures (proposals on 
transparency mechanism, copyright 
and related rights protection, 
distance selling of financial services, 
digital signatures, conditional 
access services) 
Adoption of Directive on the 
protection of biotechnological 
inventions 
4. Delivering a Single Market for the 
benefit of all citizens 
Adoption of accompanying 
measures and of 3 Directives on 
abolition of frontier controls, 
restrictions on the right to 
movement and the right to travel 
Adaptation of right to reside and 
remain in another Member State 
Adoption of Directive on 
supplementary pensions Improvement and wider use of the 
EURES employment database 
Adoption of Directive on the sale of 
consumer goods and associated 
guarantees 
Establishment of a mechanism for 
dialogue with citizens 
Consultation of the social partners 
on information and consultation of 
workers. 
15 — 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(97) 184 final 
DOCUMENTS 
10 01 
Catalogue number : CB-C0-97-197-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-19520-0 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg