A4-0033/98

Resolution on the report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on simpler legislation for the internal market (SLIM): results of the second phase and the follow-up of the implementation of the first-phase recommendations (COM(97)0618 - C4-0660/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the report from the Commission (COM(97)0618 - C4-0660/97),

- having regard to its resolution of 10 April 1997 ((OJ C 132, 28.4.1997, p. 213.)) on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament 'Simpler legislation for the internal market (SLIM): a pilot projet' (COM(96)0204 - C4-0446/96) and the Commission's report on the same subject (COM(96)0559),

- having regard to Commission staff working paper - Simpler legislation for the single market (SLIM): Follow-up of the implementation of first phase recommendations and extension to a second phase (SEC(97)0951 - C4-0341/97),

- having regard to its resolutions of 26 May 1989 on the simplification, clarification and codification of Community law ((OJ C 158, 26.6.1989, p. 386.)) and 4 July 1996 on the report of the group of independent experts on simplification of Community legislation and administrative provisions ('Deregulation') ((OJ C 211, 22.7.1996, p. 23.)),

- having regard to the communications from the Commission on the impact and effectiveness of the single market (30 October 1996), the 1996 single market review (16 December 1996) and better law-making 1996 (27 November 1996) (CSE(96)0007 - C4-0015/97),

- having regard to the conclusions of the Internal Market Councils of 26 November 1996 and of 27 November 1997 and to the conclusions of the European Councils of 13 and 14 December 1996 and of 15 December 1997,

- having regard to the Commission communication 'Action plan for the single market' (CSE(97)0001 - C4-0286/97) and Parliament's resolution thereon of 20 November 1997 ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 11.)),

- having regard to the Declaration in the draft Treaty of Amsterdam on the quality of the drafting of Community legislation,

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the Committee on External Economic Relations (A4-0033/98),

A. whereas the Action Plan for the single market, endorsed by Parliament and the Council, proposes that the Commission adopt a broader approach to simplification covering not only Community legislation but also national measures related to the single market,

B. whereas the term 'simpler legislation' must also be interpreted to mean that Community law must be made more accessible for Community citizens, with priority being given to the clarity and readability of legislation as an important factor for its acceptance by those citizens,

C. whereas, according to the Commission, SLIM is not to be seen as an isolated simplification exercise but rather as an element within a larger 'rolling programme of simplification and improvement of single market legislation',

D. whereas SLIM's first phase lasted from June until October 1996 and examined four sectors, namely Intrastat, recognition of diplomas, construction products and ornamental plants; whereas the second phase lasted from June until October 1997 and examined four other sectors, namely VAT obligations, the Combined Nomenclature for External Trade, fertilizers, and banking legislation; whereas the Action Plan provides for two new phases of SLIM in January and May 1998 respectively,

E. whereas the Commission gave a political undertaking to Parliament that it would take into account the latter's views on the first two phases of SLIM, before launching the third and fourth phases,

F. whereas the time has come to reflect on the scope and practical impact of SLIM methodology as regards the ultimate goal of achieving effective legislation and the role which the European Parliament should play in this context,

G. whereas the extent and type of the burden imposed on business by Community legislation largely depends on the manner in which that legislation is transposed into the national law of the Member States; whereas this has an impact in particular on employment in and the competitiveness of very small, small and medium-sized undertakings,

H. whereas, as the SLIM initiative has revealed, the burden of unnecessary legislation impeding the completion of the single market or undermining the competitiveness of business is far greater at national than at Community level,

I. whereas a political commitment from the Member States to remove remaining national regulatory obstacles to cross-border transactions is crucial,

1. Urges the Commission to extend the scope of the SLIM method to all legislative areas in the Community, that method being noticeably absent from the new legislation concerning agriculture;

2. Considers that better quality Community legislation, with clearer language, a more coherent way of proposing legislation and a new technical way of numbering amendments thereto, is of paramount importance if the legislation is to be understood and implemented correctly; calls on the Commission and the Council to establish, together with Parliament, common guidelines for legislative work to this end. Accordingly, the working party to be set up to improve the quality of legislation must involve all the institutions;

3. Welcomes the measures proposed by the Commission with a view to following up the implementation of the first-phase recommendations concerning SLIM but fears that the results achieved to date with this phase of the SLIM project are not commensurate with the enormous and urgent need for simpler legislation for the internal market and therefore calls on the Commission to continue to keep it informed about the implementation of the follow-up measures it has announced;

4. Hopes that, in the sectors chosen for the first phase, practical improvements will be made during the first half of 1998 and that the Commission will submit, wherever necessary, new legislative proposals simplifying or codifying existing legislation;

5. Believes that the Commission should endorse at an early date most of the recommendations made by the SLIM teams regarding the sectors examined in the second phase; considers, in particular, that the current VAT system imposes excessive costs and constraints on business and, in so doing, possibly creates another source of fraud, and calls on the Commission to reduce the administrative burden imposed on SMUs;

6. Welcomes the recommendations produced by the various SLIM teams, especially as regards the recognition of diplomas, which is a condition for the increased mobility of labour required after the introduction of the euro, as well as for fertilizers, where the team showed that it is possible to reduce 16 separate directives into a single directive;

7. Calls on the Commission to make available to Parliament the results of the studies into the medium- and long-term measures for the simplification of Intrastat. These studies are important because they will become part of the framework for collecting statistics after the introduction of the euro;

8. Welcomes the selection of the banking services sector, especially the inquiry into host-country liability for the liquidity of cross-border branches, as one of the areas to be covered by the SLIM teams during the second phase. In any review of current Community law (the Community patrimony) undertaken with a view to simplifying legislation, the coherence of a regulatory area must at all events be maintained, and legal uncertainty and inequality before the law must not result therefrom;

9. Stresses that the recommendations concerning Intrastat must not lead to a situation where undertakings have to work with two different sets of nomenclature, one for the internal market and the other for trade outside the EU, since this would be contrary to the intentions of the SLIM project and create more bureaucracy for undertakings;

10. Urges the establishment at long last of a proper statute for the European company, principally with a view to facilitating cooperation between small and medium-sized undertakings from various Member States;

11. Points out, further, that there is an indissoluble link between the statute for the European company and European rules governing bankruptcy, the recovery of debts and the significance and enforcement of court judgments. Unless such rules are adopted, monetary union will not be able to function properly;

12. Considers that, when preparing the next phases, the Commission should allow the SLIM teams a longer working period (minimum 6 months), improve the transparency of their work and, in that respect, keep relevant committees in which Member States are represented, as well as the appropriate committees of the European Parliament, informed as to the progress of work;

13. Proposes that the Commission select the following sectors for the project's third phase: freedom of movement and social security for migrant workers, health and safety at work, public procurement, and the directive on the marketing of dangerous substances;

14. Calls for the fourth phase of SLIM to include the Machinery Directive, the Environmental Waste Management Directive, the Telecommunications Equipment Directive and the Electro-magnetic Compatibility Directive, and the implementation of pollution controls;

15. Deplores the fact that the Commission did not keep Parliament informed as to the progress of work during the first and second phases; urges the Commission to seek the full involvement of Parliament in the third and fourth phases, since the sectors chosen inevitably cover legislation where Parliament acts as co-legislator;

16. Reiterates the view that the Commission may only propose changes to existing Community acts, wherever necessary, after having consulted the Parliament;

17. Notes with concern that the Commission has now stopped referring to the serious problem regarding national legislation impeding the completion of the single market;

18. Notes that it is not only the legislation as such which is important but also the way in which it is applied by national administrations, with particular regard to the treatment of cross-border services;

19. Calls on Member State governments not to 'gold-plate' Community legislation during transposition and to follow the principle of simplification when introducing such legislation. Failure to follow these courses of action will totally negate the SLIM approach. It will also prejudice the long-term completion of the single market;

20. Urges the Commission, through its offices in the 15 Member States, to react vigorously when governments use the EU as a scapegoat for unpopular national rules;

21. Also advocates a simplification programme which covers the legislation of the individual Member States governing transposition of Community legislation into national law. However, if it is to carry out such a project, the Commission will require an appropriate mandate from the Council of Ministers and the European Council;

22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.