Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ' Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Single Market in Europe in 1995'
Date: 1996-05-29
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, activity report, application of EU law, deepening of the European Union, single market













EUR-Lex - 51996AC0698 - EN






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51996AC0698

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ' Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Single Market in Europe in 1995'  


Official Journal C 212 , 22/07/1996 P. 0040 





Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Report from the Commission to the Council and  the European Parliament on the Single Market in Europe in 1995`(96/C 212/10)On 1  March  1996, the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article  198 of  the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the 'Report from the Commission to the Council  and the European Parliament on the Single Market in 1995`. The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing the  Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 8  May 1996. The Rapporteur was Mr Vever,  the Co-Rapporteur Mr Pasotti. At its 336th Plenary Session (meeting of 29  May 1996), the Economic and Social Committee adopted  the following Opinion by 87 votes to 7 with 6 abstentions. 1. Introduction1.1. The Committee congratulates the European Commission on having  presented its third annual report entitled 'The Single Market in 1995` as early as  February 1996.  This advance on deadlines is a reflection of the Commission's eagerness to closely monitor this key  area of European Union activity. 1.2. The third report, which provides a great deal of information on current trends and on the  principal lines of action pursued in 1995, will not however affect the conclusions and additional  policy lines to be proposed by the Commission in 1996 in a special report on the impact of the  Single Market. The Committee therefore hopes that its comments on this third report will help the  Commission in preparing its overall assessment. 1.3. The years 1996-1999 provide a threefold opportunity for breathing fresh life into the task of  completing the Single Market, namely current Intergovernmental Conference negotiations, the final  preparations for Economic and Monetary Union, and the last few remaining years before the next  round of enlargement. These opportunities will not be repeated. If they are not seized and decisive  progress is not made, the goal of achieving a Single Market in the near future is likely to be  irremediably compromised, which in turn will have adverse consequences on the conditions for  introducing EMU. 1.4. The Committee also believes that, in seeking to complete the Single Market, priority should be  given to drastically improving the employment situation. This can be achieved through the  additional competitiveness and economic growth generated by this optimization as well as through  the use of all the structural and macroeconomic resources available. To this end the Committee  considers that: - the Confidence Pact for Employment currently being prepared should refer to the still  under-exploited potential of the Single Market and should incorporate a commitment by all its  parties to speed up the pace of completion; - the Confidence Pact for Employment should give impetus to a more effective structural policy,  taking account of the social dimension, in order to support Member States in their action against  unemployment and in order to ensure that the speeding up of the final introduction of the Single  Market fully incorporates social adjustments to change with a view to promoting employment in  Europe. 2. General comments on the situation2.1. The Commission's third annual report differs from the  second annual report in several respects: - it concerns a large number of Member States following enlargement from 12 to 15 at the beginning  of 1995; - it redefines and develops lines of action compared with those set out in the previous report. The  1994 report focused on a double priority: 'completion` and 'application`. The 1995 report adds a  further four lines of action: links with EMU; the role of citizens; adaptation to change;  preparations for future enlargement. The Committee is thus delighted that the Commission has taken  more account of the various concerns voiced by the ESC in its previous Opinion of  November 1995 on  the second annual report. 2.2. In its previous Opinion the Committee was chiefly concerned about the lack of dynamism in  completing the Single Market. Despite sporadic progress in 1995, this general impression has not  changed on reading the third report. The Commission itself recognizes that a great deal still  remains to be done. It cites in particular the following needs: to complete the Single Market for  both ordinary citizens and businesses; to liberalize the gas, electricity and telecommunications  markets; to adapt to the information society; to accelerate work on the Trans-European Networks,  and to help the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC) prepare for entry into the Single  Market. The Commission also underlines the need for less but better legislation. 2.3. The Committee would emphasize that, in view of current difficulties, there should be a  detailed assessment of the effects of implementing the Single Market and of the nature of the  difficulties encountered. Having said this, the Committee would also emphasize that in 1996 the  reasons for stepping up the pace of completion of the Single Market are more pressing than ever. 2.3.1. Despite progress, particularly in implementing Directives, the Committee notes that the  process of completing the Single Market is still sluggish and some way from completion. As the  Committee has already underlined in its previous Opinion on the 1994 Annual Report, key dossiers  have either been delayed or blocked. Member States also continue to enact many new national  regulations without paying too much heed to their impact on the operation of the Single Market. 2.3.2. The Committee is concerned about this partial introduction of the Single Market, noting that  it has failed to live up to the hopes originally placed in it. The failure to optimize the Single  Market, exacerbated by the continuation of structural disadvantages hampering international  competitiveness - the two factors being directly interrelated - explains to a large extent why the  European Union has not yet managed to return to more satisfactory growth and employment rates,  notably compared with those of its major international competitors. 2.3.3. The Committee also notes that the cohesiveness of the Single Market is still highly  sensitive to currency disturbances, notably because of the major exchange-rate differentials  between European currencies which have emerged in the last few years as a result of the lack of  economic convergence and aggravated by the effects of an undervalued dollar. It is particularly  afraid that unless a special effort is made to reinforce economic and monetary convergence, these  currency tensions may grow in the run-up to the final phase of EMU, which would inevitably do much  economic and psychological damage to the Single Market. 2.3.4. The Committee therefore trusts that, in order to give clear assurances about the future of  the Single Market, signals will be rapidly sent to: - ordinary members of the public who are likely to be tempted to draw an unfortunate parallel  between the high levels of unemployment currently witnessed and the Single Market, nobody yet  having sufficiently made clear to them that the Single Market was incomplete when introduced in  1992 and was also victim of the cyclical down-turn at the time which prevented it from reaping any  benefits; there should also be a response to concerns about employment, social developments, public  obligations, the different aspects of competition policy, the quality of education and training,  and the scale of research and development; - economic operators, who are unable to perceive clearly what is to be gained from the rapid  completion of the Single Market - something which is harmful to the development of trade,  investment and business strategies; - the social partners, who have a role to play in improving the effectiveness of production  processes and industrial organization; - the Member States on the subject of EU-level fiscal harmonization. The Monti report has pointed  out that by not acting in concert, the Member States will become less effective in this sphere,  principally because of the globalization of the economy and the worldwide movement of capital; - third countries, with the spread of free trade areas between the EU and other countries or  regional groupings. Discussions are needed to work out a genuine trade strategy, which implies an  evaluation of the impact of such agreements on all branches of industry and trade. 2.4. The Committee reiterates the clear commitment made in its  November 1995 Opinion on the second  annual report, to a programme designed to restore the momentum of the Single Market and therefore  revive confidence: this would entail a renewed political commitment on the part of the Member  States to speed up the process of completing legislation, with an extension of majority voting and  a precise timetable for adopting the final key measures between now and 1999. This priority would  appear to be more topical than ever before with the opening of the Intergovernmental Conference  (IGC) on the revision of the Treaty on European Union. 2.5. The Commission has thus far only reacted indirectly and partially to this recommendation: - In its third report the Commission proposes a number of strategic guidelines for completing and  consolidating the Single Market but without making them part of an actual timetable. - On the other hand, in its Opinion of 28  February on the run-up to the Intergovernmental  Conference, the Commission pleads in favour of a general extension of qualified majority voting.  This would consequently affect all aspects of completion of the Single Market. - The Commission also recommends in this Opinion on the IGC that the Community's powers be  extended, with majority voting on various questions relating to the free movement of persons; this  would clearly have a highly beneficial effect on one key area of the Single Market. 2.6. For its part, the Committee would reiterate its request that the Intergovernmental Conference  examine ways and means of: - extending qualified majority voting to areas of Community competence concerning the Single  Market, such a voting system becoming the rule whenever there is an obstacle to the operation of  the Single Market: this means that the Social Protocol must become an integral part of future  Treaties; - extending Community powers, with majority decision-making not only on questions relating to the  free movement of persons but also on matters concerning cooperation between customs  administrations. 2.7. The Committee also calls upon the Commission, when the latter draws up its report in the  second half of 1996 on the impact of the Single Market, to lay down: - a timetable for adoption of the last remaining measures, taking fully into consideration the key  aim of achieving EMU in 1999; - a methodology for adopting such measures based on types of problems; the Committee makes a number  of recommendations to this effect below (cf. point  3.1.2). 3. Comments on the six lines of action for 1995The Commission begins its third report by setting  out the six lines of action which guided its action in 1995. It commented on these at the Madrid  European Council in  December 1995, the latter reacting positively to the presentation. The  Committee's Opinion on the whole of the third report revolves round these six principal lines of  action. 3.1. Completing the Single Market3.1.1. The Committee hopes that the Commission will in future  include in its report a general chapter containing a detailed list of the main legal provisions  still in need of adoption if there is to be a genuine Single Market. 3.1.2. The Committee is well aware of the number and diversity of such measures. That is why it  recommends that the Commission separate out the principal types of problems so that they can be  more satisfactorily resolved in the next few years. 3.1.3. The Commission should first and foremost focus attention on the hard core of measures which  have still not been adopted because of the great difficulty, or impossibility, of meeting current  requirements of unanimity. This would seem to justify a re-examination of the unanimity rule. 3.1.3.1. The main dossiers falling under this first type of problems are quite varied. We would  mention in particular the European company statutes; the rules governing mergers of firms; the  removal of double taxation systems; the definitive VAT system and excise duties; the free movement  of persons; the definitive reinforcement of external customs cooperation. The entry into force of  the Community patent also remains subject to a unanimity vote insofar as it is covered exclusively  today by the legal framework of an international convention. 3.1.3.2. The Committee hopes that an extension of majority voting will make it possible for most of  the remaining decisions in these areas to be adopted between now and the year 1999, i.e. before EMU  is in place and before any further enlargement of the Union. 3.1.3.3. Whilst recognizing that a unanimous decision is still desirable in the most sensitive  areas, notably fiscal, the Committee considers that a qualified majority voting system (which could  be adjusted where the most sensitive issues are involved) is in the last resort preferable to the  persistent lack of a decision, which is prejudicial to the Single Market. At any event it is  essential that all these questions be settled in the near future. 3.1.3.4. In the field of taxation it is particularly important to demolish Member States' arguments  that the abolition of double taxation would result in a loss of income: their arguments are no more  acceptable than budgetary reasons for maintaining intra-Community customs duties. The European  Commission should therefore put a figure on the economic price to be paid by insufficient tax  harmonization in areas of key importance to the operation of the Single Market. 3.1.4. Secondly, the Commission should stress the importance of solving equally urgent problems,  whose persistence is not due in this case to the unanimity requirement but to the persistent  difficulty in reaching Community convergence on national administrative practices. 3.1.4.1. The Committee hopes to see a basic, positive change of direction in these areas between  now and 1999 even if many of the long-term projects will need extended deadlines to be brought to  fruition. The aim would be to halt current trends and create a momentum in favour of irreversible  Community convergence. This would involve, among other things: - intensifying the production of European technical standards: by doing so firms would be spared  the costs of having to produce goods to meet double and even triple standards, and European  standards would have a decisive influence on international standards; - embarking without delay on action to enforce the principle of mutual recognition both in  regulated areas covered by Directives on the harmonization of legislation and in non-regulated  areas where there are other potential obstacles (by training local administrators and making them  aware of the practical application of this principle of mutual recognition); in the field of  technical obstacles the Committee would recall its previous Opinion on the usefulness of providing  a sufficient number of approved centres locally so that operators on the ground can effect controls  at centres situated at a reasonable distance, which is far from being the case at present; - monitoring Member States' compliance with key product safety requirements, notably the deliberate  use of the CE label and the efficiency of policing procedures for the market; ()- backing the  expansion of the activities of the recently created Community Trade Mark Office; - taking better account, in continuing the general policy of liberalizing monopolies; of the  specific features of the sectors concerned, in accordance with the individual recommendations of  the Committee; - putting an end to the delays in putting in place the trans-European networks which are of prime  importance for the operation of the Single Market. 3.1.4.2. The Committee also hopes that the Commission will launch a debate on ways and means of  ensuring that Member States do not add to regulatory disparities at source but try instead to  increasingly harmonize legislation in a wide variety of areas. This question, which is directly  linked to the operation of the Single Market, is analyzed hereafter. 3.2. Making the Single Market work3.2.1. The Commission notes that by the end of 1995 93.4 % of  the national measures required to transpose and legally enforce Single Market legislation had been  notified by the Member States. This average cannot conceal, however, the fact that levels of  transposition vary from one Member State to another. The new Member States find themselves in a  situation similar to the rest of the European Union, which is a fine achievement. 3.2.2. Implementation remains seriously flawed, principally in the following sectors: insurance,  public procurement, services relating to new technologies, intellectual and industrial property. 3.2.3. We would put on record our satisfaction with the administrative cooperation between Member  States regarding application of the rules of the Single Market. The Committee emphasizes in  particular the importance of cooperation in the customs field given that the cohesion of the Single  Market as a whole depends crucially on uniform external border controls. The Committee underlines  the need for socio-economic operators to be directly involved in this cooperation between Member  States: their role should therefore be assessed at its true value in the Commission report. 3.2.4. The Committee would point out that at present there are few instruments for dealing swiftly  with complaints about the practical obstacles facing socio-economic operators in their daily  contacts with the Single Market. The appeals procedures laid down under the Treaty, particularly  the submission of complaints to the Commission, are relatively easy to follow but the time needed  to arrive at a solution is much too long. For the purpose of solving concrete problems it would  therefore be useful if there were mechanisms for ensuring that the authorities responsible for free  movement in the Union were able to react rapidly to the complaints of socio-economic operators. 3.2.5. The Committee supports the Commission's guidelines regarding the use of effective sanctions  to clamp down on infringements. It suggests that a Commission report be drawn up in the near future  on the real situation in individual Member States. 3.2.6. The Committee is most concerned about the constant increase in technical rules enacted at  national level and about the remedies available. Despite the introduction of the Single Market, the  number of national notifications made in accordance with the procedures laid down in Directive  83/189 rose from 362 in 1992 to 438 in 1995 and seems to trigger less and less response from the  Community, be it in the form of comments, detailed Opinions or especially the stated intention of  drawing up Directives (down from 43 in 1992 to 6 in 1995). This is a worrying trend even if the gap  which seems to emerge from the Commission's report can also be explained by a number of different  or fortuitous factors. But as the Commission itself recognizes, these national regulations pose  problems regarding their effects on the Single Market, and are even susceptible of undermining the  Market itself. The Committee therefore calls on the Commission to initiate without delay an overall  analysis of this worrying and increasingly dominant trend towards national regulations in Europe -  a topic which has not been tackled during work recently carried out on simplifying and lightening  the burden of regulations but which must be tackled without delay because of its extremely harmful  effects on the functioning and credibility of the Single Market. In the wake of this analysis, measures should be rapidly agreed by the Community institutions in  liaison with the Member States in order to find remedies at source. 3.2.7. As far as public aid and its effects on conditions of competition in the Single Market are  concerned, the Committee fully approves the  May 1995 Communication in which the Commission  declares its intention of using all its powers to exercise more effective controls. The Committee  likewise hopes that identical controls will be carried out in respect of public aid granted by the  Community itself. Such aid has expanded considerably over the last few years and, like State aid,  is also likely to distort conditions of competition in the Single Market. 3.2.8. The Committee would emphasize the importance of positive action to assist SMEs and craft  industries so that they too can reap the benefits of the Single Market. What are needed in  particular are mechanisms that facilitate information and cooperation. 3.3. Confirming the Single Market as the cornerstone of EMU3.3.1. The Committee underlines the  crucial importance of currency disturbances in the cohesiveness of the Single Market. The  Commission is too wont to use the conditional tense in this area whereas the problems are already  with us today and are perfectly verifiable. Since 1992 exchange-rate differentials between the  Member States have risen as high as 20 to 30 points, with adverse and distorting effects on trade,  investment, growth, employment and the stability of transnational incomes, including social  security payments. 3.3.2. The Committee would underline that its proposal to have in place the bulk of Single Market  legislation by 1999 would make it possible to synchronize the Single Market with the introduction  of EMU. EMU is a key element in the process of completing the Single Market. The Committee would  reaffirm its support for EMU since only a single currency can guarantee conditions of equality and  transparency in terms of competition, investment and terms of trade in the Single Market. 3.3.3. The Committee fully shares the Commission's view that budgetary discipline and economic  convergence need to be increased to remedy exchange-rate disturbances and prepare the transition to  the final phase of EMU. To achieve this, further studies and practical measures are called for. It  is essential that the entry of a limited number of Member States in the final phase of EMU in 1999  does not have adverse effects on the cohesion of the Single Market because of the uncontrolled  coexistence of a Euro-zone and a non-Euro zone: temporary limits to the number of hard-core EMU  Member States must not be allowed to create a schism within the Single Market. This implies that  everything is done: - to secure the widest possible participation of Member States in phase III; - to ensure that the stability pact between Member States participating in the single currency is  shored up by a mechanism ensuring economic and monetary convergence with the other Member States so  that the latter are able to join the inner circle as soon as possible. 3.3.4. The Committee would finally stress that the advent of the final phase of EMU will open up  new areas of cooperation and increased harmonization between the Member States, notably in  budgetary, fiscal, quasi-fiscal and social domains. This increased economic and social convergence  within a single-currency European Union should have direct and positive effects on the integration  of the Single Market. More consideration will need to be given to this at the appropriate  juncture. 3.4. Securing a Single Market for the citizen3.4.1. The European Union has time and time again  expressed the wish that European citizens be brought closer to Europe. The Committee would  re-emphasize the urgent need to translate this into concrete reality. The Committee agrees with the Commission that social policy remains integral to the completion of  the internal market, but regrets that too little attention is paid to the social dimension in the  Commission's report. If the Union is to be relevant to its citizens, more needs to be done than  simply providing information; concrete measures have to be undertaken. The Committee would also like consumer protection and protection of the environment to be taken  into consideration as part of the process of completing the Single Market. The ESC would  accordingly refer to the various Opinions it has adopted in the past in this area. The Committee  now intends to study in greater detail the complex relationship between the free movement of goods  and services and the public's justified demands for a high level of protection. 3.4.2. If ordinary citizens are to become actors of the Single Market, genuinely interactive  information services need to be placed at the service of civil society, starting with its  socio-economic operators, and effective networking needs to be introduced for all actors involved  in European information services on the ground (Euro-Info Centres, social Euro-info counters,  consumer Euro-info counters, etc.) The adequate provision of information for ordinary citizens  presupposes the deployment of substantial and effective means; the actual form this will take must  be worked out by the parties concerned not only at Community and national levels but also at  regional level since the regional impact of European policy is considerable despite the fact that  it is hardly taken into account at present. Here the Economic and Social Committee, representing  the socio-economic components of the Union, could establish permanent contacts with ordinary  citizens and be in a position to convey their feelings. Over the last few years the ESC has already  held a number of hearings and conferences to promote the Citizens' Europe, particularly with regard  to the various aspects of the Single Market. This activity could be enhanced through information  emanating from Regional Economic and Social Councils or equivalent assemblies throughout the length  and breadth of the European Union. 3.4.3. In this respect the Committee would reiterate its recommendation that Single Market  Observatories be set up in individual Member States. These Observatories, which would principally  be set up at borders and at regional level, would involve local socio-economic operators. As a  preeminent partner of these regional Observatories, the Committee would, through the constant  stream of information passed on, be able to strengthen its role for the benefit of the other  institutions as a filter of the daily experience of the Single Market. 3.4.4. The Committee supports the 'citizen first` campaign which the Commission has decided to  launch in tandem with the Single Market. The campaign's permanent concern will be to make citizens  more aware of the construction of Europe in their daily lives. The Committee would underline in  particular its interest in the work carried out on the initiative of the Commission by the  high-level group chaired by Mrs Veil and would be pleased to offer its cooperation. 3.4.5. The Committee draws attention to the fact that all operators on the ground are strongly  convinced that the objective itself of the Single Market needs to be clarified. It is time for the  Commission - bearing in mind successive and future enlargements, continuing national legislation on  technical matters (442 notifications in 1995), the debate on subsidiarity, and discussions on  lightening the burden of Commission legislation - to make clear what it means by a Single Market  'progressing satisfactorily` for want of ever being a totally unified market. The Commission should  make it clear which, in such a market, are considered to be areas of full harmonization, which  areas regulated by mutual recognition, and which areas of diversity to which operators must adapt.  It is also necessary to indicate the ways in which a completed Single Market will remain in good  working order. 3.4.6. In this context, the Committee notes the Commission's announcement that it is preparing ten  practical guides in different areas. Above all, however, it asks the Commission to prepare a basic  practical guide on access to the Single Market which could serve as the cornerstone of information  on the Single Market. This basic guide, as well as the accompanying sectoral guides, should respond  to the concerns of ordinary citizens and businesses, particularly SMEs, and should present as  concrete as possible a panorama of the freedoms and opportunities offered by the Single Market. The  Committee might well be involved in the planning of such a guide, which needs to be universally  comprehensible and accessible to all. 3.4.7. Finally, the Committee generally supports the Commission proposal on the need for 'better  legislation` whilst making two comments: 3.4.7.1. First of all the Committee, in its capacity as representative of the socio-economic  operators of the Single Market, the principal 'consumers` of European regulations, would like to be  involved in the prior monitoring of Commission proposals. 3.4.7.2. Secondly the Committee would reiterate its previous comments on the proliferation of new  and uncontrolled Member State regulations (cf. point  3.2.6), pointing out that this warrants a  thorough analysis, as well as concrete proposals to remedy this hitherto neglected aspect of the  drive to lighten the burden of regulations in Europe. 3.5. Adapting the Single Market to technological and other change3.5.1. The Committee endorses the  Commission's call for a harmonized regulatory framework for the information society, thereby  facilitating the establishment of networks feeding the Single Market. It is pleased with the  activities carried out in this field in 1995 and notes that these will be continued. 3.5.2. The Committee also draws attention to the delays in developing trans-European infrastructure  networks as a whole - particularly those declared as a priority issue at the Essen European  Council. These delays can largely be attributed to financing problems as a result of the need to  reduce government deficits. The Committee hopes that innovative solutions will be found to move  these network projects forward more quickly, e.g. in the form of: - the greater use of mixed private/public financing schemes within the framework of case-by-case  partnerships; - mechanisms for ensuring that the policy on major networks is consistent with the goal of  convergence; - the use of surplus or unused items of Community budget expenditure, as recently proposed by the  Commission. 3.6. Preparing the Single Market for enlargement3.6.1. The Committee is aware that the future  prospect of enlargement of the Single Market to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe  (CEEC) poses a dual challenge: - for CEECs, in connection with which the Economic and Social Committee will shortly be issuing an  Opinion on the basis of the Commission's White Paper; - for the administration of tomorrow's enlarged Single Market which will have to allow for the  increased diversity of all its constituent parts. 3.6.2. The Committee is delighted with the remarkable expansion of trade between the Single Market  and CEECs, noting that in most sectors no customs duties or quantitative restrictions have been  imposed. The Committee hopes that this mutual opening up of markets will continue to progress  between now and the date of future enlargement. In the meantime, the Committee also expects the  Commission to take steps to preserve the cohesiveness of the Single Market, notably by using all  its influence to speed up the introduction of Community competition rules in CEECs and to ensure  that CEECs gradually bring their policies into line with the Community's external trade policy  vis-à-vis third countries. 3.6.3. Finally, the Committee would underline that- future enlargements of the European Union must  not only incorporate the Single Market dimension, but also increase the transparency and efficiency  of economic, industrial and social assistance so as to facilitate accession to the European  Community; - the present Member States should be able to rely on the fact that countries seeking membership  will start adapting their legislation, etc., to the rules of the Single Market before the accession  negotiations begin, with the aim of achieving complete adaptation to these rules by the time of  accession; - these prospects of further enlargement likewise justify the ESC's recommendation that the bulk of  Single Market legislation be in place by 1999: by attaining this objective the Single Market of 15   Member States would be complete and the 'acquis communautaire` could be handed on to new members. 4. Conclusions4.1. The Committee notes that progress has been made in 1995 in adopting new  decisions affecting the Single Market and in implementing Directives. However the ESC- finds that  such progress is not yet enough to compensate for the persistent drawbacks in terms of global  optimization, international competitiveness, economic growth, job-creation, currency stability,  ease of understanding for ordinary citizens and economic operators; - is also concerned about the effects on the operation of the Single Market of the increasing  tendency of the Member States to introduce their own national regulations in parallel with the  European Union; - intends, particularly within the framework of its Single Market Observatory, to examine a number  of major topics which have been too neglected by the Commission in its report, notably those  concerning employment policy, SMEs, consumer protection and environment protection. 4.2. The Committee calls for decisive action to be taken in the course of the next three years to  revitalize the process of completing the Single Market, seizing the opportunities offered by the  Intergovernmental Conference, the achievement of Economic and Monetary Union, and the last few  years before further enlargement. 4.3. The Committee calls for priority to be given, through completion of the Single Market, to  improving the employment situation. This should be possible because of the increased  competitiveness and economic growth generated by the process of optimization, whilst bearing in  mind the structural and social adjustments that need to be made at the same time. 4.4. The Committee would like the Intergovernmental Conference to examine ways and means of  extending qualified majority voting to all questions where obstacles to the operation of the Single  market are concerned, accompanied by an extension of Community powers regarding the free movement  of persons and customs cooperation. 4.5. The Committee calls upon the Commission, when the latter draws up its report in the second  half of 1996 on the impact of the Single Market, to lay down a timetable for adoption of the  remaining required measures, based on the key aim of achieving EMU in 1999, and including a  methodology for imposing Community convergence on national administrative practices, even if some  long-term projects might require extra deadlines. 4.6. The Committee supports the Commission's guidelines on the introduction of effective penalties  to clamp down on irregularities. It also proposes that a report be drawn up by the Commission on  the real situation in the different Member States. 4.7. Whilst supporting the Commission's idea of 'better legislation`, and expressing the hope that  it might itself by involved in the prior monitoring of compliance with subsidiarity, the Committee  underlines the role Member States might also play in lightening the burden of regulations in  Europe: a Reflection Group should be set up to look carefully at this aspect, which has not so far  been tackled, to examine ways of remedying upstream the dual problem of the proliferation and  disparity of regulations in Europe. 4.8. The Committee endorses the Commission's declared intent to monitor national aid likely to  affect the operation of the Single Market, whilst recommending that there be an identical  monitoring of Community aid. 4.9. The Committee underlines the need to avoid monetary divisions in the Single Market, including  any schisms when a limited number of Member States enter the final stage of EMU in 1999: an  economic and monetary convergence mechanism in place throughout he European Union should guarantee  that all Member States comply with the various disciplines and end up by joining EMU. 4.10. Finally, the Committee underlines the need to clarify the final organization and preservation  of a Single Market that is 'progressing satisfactorily` (harmonization, mutual recognition,  diversity); it would like to be involved in the planning of a clear explanatory guide for all  citizens and reiterates its recommendation that the setting-up of Single Market Observatories be  promoted in the different Member States, principally at borders and at regional level. Done at Brussels, 29  May 1996. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() OJ No C  212, 22.  7.  1996, p.  7, paragraphs  4.2.4, 6.3.4, 6.7 and 6.8.