A4-0402/98

Resolution on 'Single Market Scoreboard No 2' (SEC(98)0889 - C4-0444/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission document (SEC(98)0889 - C4-0444/98),

- having regard to the Commission Communication entitled 'The impact and effectiveness of the single market' (COM(96)0520 - C4-0655/96) ((OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 364.)),

- having regard to the Commission Communication on the Action Plan for the Single Market (CSE(97)0001 - C4-0286/97) ((OJ C 222, 21.7.1997, p. 2.)),

- having regard to its resolutions of 29 May 1997 ((OJ C 182, 16.6.1997, p. 62.)) and 20 November 1997 ((OJ C 371, 8.12.1997, p. 216.)) on these Communications,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0402/98),

A. whereas the Action Plan for the Single Market listed all of the measures which were essential if the Single Market was to be completed before the establishment of the single currency,

B. whereas the second Scoreboard demonstrates the considerable progress that has been made in implementing this Action Plan,

C. whereas, as the deadline for completion of the Plan approaches, some of its essential objectives have nonetheless not been achieved and clearly will not be between now and the end of 1998,

1. Congratulates the Commission on producing the Scoreboard, which is an excellent instrument for measuring the state of implementation of the Action Plan and, hence, the progress made in establishing the Single Market;

2. Notes with satisfaction that a significant number of the Action Plan's legislative objectives have been achieved (in particular, liberalisation of gas supply and protection of biotechnological inventions) and that several others are in the process of being achieved (including the directives on collective investment funds and copyright and authors' rights in the information society);

3. Notes, however, that other measures will not be able to be adopted before the deadline, notably the proposals on free movement of persons and tax harmonisation;

4. Notes with concern that 15% of the legislation adopted on the Single Market has not yet been transposed in all the Member States;

5. Calls on the Commission and Council, in their respective spheres, to do their utmost to ensure that as many as possible of the remaining objectives are met by 31 December 1998;

6. Calls on the Council in particular to adopt the directives on the European company statute;

7. Calls on the Commission to draw up by the beginning of 1999 a new Action Plan aimed at completing by the end of 2002, i.e. in parallel with the establishment of the single currency, a fully integrated Single Market with the characteristics of a national market;

8. Takes the view that this plan should comprise an initial phase of one year (1999) for the completion of all the objectives of the 1997 plan which have not yet been achieved, and a second, two-year phase (2000-2001), which would be used principally to establish a common VAT system based on harmonised rates and on the principles of payment at the place of origin, and full freedom of movement of persons;

9. Recommends, where the Treaty permits, that the use of majority decision-making procedures in the Council should be provided for in this plan in order to facilitate the adoption of legislative measures;

10. Recommends likewise, in order to avoid the difficulties created by the need to transpose the directives into national law, that the legislative form of the regulation be used in preference to that of the directive, again where the Treaty permits;

11. Calls on the Commission to draw up for each Member State a complete list of the directives which have not yet been transposed, with a note on the reasons for the delay, and to publish these lists;

12. Calls on the Commission likewise to draw up on the basis of these lists a plan to make good the transposal deficit in regard to directives concerning the single market, providing in particular for infringements to be systematically penalised and for proceedings to be initiated in the Court of Justice within a maximum period of six months, and to take the necessary measures to fulfill that commitment;

13. Calls on it also to examine the possibility of fining States which have failed to meet their transposal obligations and to apply the concept of direct effect to certain provisions of directives not transposed by the expiry of the deadline;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.