Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - Making single market rules more effective
Date: 1998-05-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, action programme, national implementing measure, single market

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.05.1998 
COM(1998) 296  final 

Communication from the Commission 
to the European Parliament and the Council 

Making  Single Market  rules  more  effective 

COM(98) 296 

Communication  from the Commission 

To the European  Parliament and the Council 

Making Single Market rules more  effective 

(1) 

(2) 

The  Single  Market  Action  Plan1  calls  upon  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission to work together to make existing Single Market rules more  effective. 
Since the  adoption  of the  Action  Plan  in June  1997,  a great  deal  or  attention  has 
focussed  on  the  so-called  "transposition  deficit",  the failure  by  Member  States  to 
implement  on time  directives  agreed  by the  Council  and  the  Parliament.  Over  the 
last  year,  the  percentage  of  directives  not  yet  implemented  in  all  Member  States 
has fallen  by  almost  half,  from  35%  in June  1997 to  18%  on  1 May  1998.  This 
pattern  must  be  maintained,  and  the  Commission  will  closely  monitor  Member 
States1  performances 
The 
in  this  field  and  foster  further 
Commission  therefore  considers  that  the  timetables  developed  under  the  Action 
plan  as  a  tool  to  assist  Member  States  in  their  efforts  to  eliminate  the  delays in 
transposition,  should  be  used  systematically  to  avoid  further  delays  in  future.2 
Besides this, the Community  must  now increasingly  pay attention  to the quality  of 
national  implementing  measures  and  enforcement  of  Single  Market  rules  by 
national  authorities.  This  also  includes  a  further  reflection  on  the  role  of  the 
Commission  and  the  means  open  to  it  to  ensure  proper  enforcement  of  Single 
Market rules. 

improvements. 

Clear  and  understandable  rules  are  a  central  component  of  the  Commission's 
regulatory  policy,  one  of  the  aims  of  which  is  to  create  a  legislative  framework 
which  encourages  citizens  and  business  to  take  advantage  of their  Single  Market 
rights  without  imposing  undue  legislative  burdens  upon  them.  The  Commission 
will continue to play an active role in the preparation  of guidelines on the  drafting 
of  Community  legislation,  taking  into  account  also  the  Declaration  39  of  the 
Treaty  of  Amsterdam.  But  the  rules  with  which  citizens  and  businesses  must 
comply  are those adopted  by the  Member  States and  here, too, the quality  of the 
legislation  is a factor  in securing its effective  application.  For this reason, it would 
be  advisable  to  establish  an  informal  mechanism  of  reciprocal  information  and 
dialogue  among  Member  States  and  the  Commission  during  the  implementation 
period, in order to produce a common approach to transposition. 

(3) 

Uniform  enforcement  of  Single  Market  rules,  is  crucial  to  generating  business 
to  effective  and  consistent 
confidence.  Administrative  cooperation  is  the  key 
application  of  agreed  rules  throughout  the  territory  of  the  Union.  National 
officials  should be encouraged to share their know-how and experience of applying 
Single  Market  rules,  not  only  on  a  ad  hoc  basis,  but  also  in  a  more  structured 

1 CSE (97)  1 final, 4 June  1997 

2  This and other suggestions made in this Communication  arc discussed  in greater detail  in the attached 

staff working paper (SEC ( 1998 ) 903). 

fashion:  for  example  by  using  seminars  supported  by  funding  from  the  Karolus 
programme or techniques such as mutual audit and peer review; and by using the 
coordination centres created as a result of the Action Plan. 

(4)  Where Member  States  fail  to  comply  with their obligations,  the Commission  will 
not  hesitate to have recourse to  infringement  proceedings.  The Commission  will 
continue to streamline its management  of infringement  cases and will insist  on the 
strictest  compliance  by Member States.  In  addition,  national  courts also  have an 
essential part to play. 

(5) 

The Commission therefore calls on the Council: 

•  to  emphasise  that  Member  States  should  give  the  highest  priority  to 
complying  with  their  obligation  to  implement  Single  Market  legislation 
fully, on time and with a satisfactory quality level. 

•  to  agree  that  Member  States  should  implement  the  timetables  they  have 
submitted under the Action plan, as well  as continue to  submit timetables 
in relation to all new Single Market measures after the expiry of the Action 
Plan; 

•  to  examine the suggestions  contained  in the attached  staff working paper 

on ensuring the quality of implementing legislation; 

•  to  affirm  the  intention  of  Member  States  to  take  all  steps  necessary  to 
ensure  the  effective  operation  of  the  arrangements  for  enforcement  and 
problem-solving  established  under the  Action  Plan and earlier  resolutions 
of the Council; 

•  to emphasise that Member States should comply with Community law and 
in particular respect the deadlines in letters of formal  notice  and reasoned 
opinions from the Commission in accordance with their commitment under 
the Action Plan. 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 296  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

10  09  02  01 

Catalogue  number  :  CB-C0-98-335-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-36429-0 

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