Debate: Tackling non-tariff and non-tax barriers in the single market
Date: TUESDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2022
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

Nevertheless, too many barriers still continue to hamper the functioning of our market and, without doubt, there is a significant untapped potential for further integration. It is more important to remove excessive barriers, paying specific attention to removing obstacles to cross-border provision of services and related administrative burden. The pandemic also highlighted that, in times of crisis, we need to be able to better address possible shortages of critical products following supply chain disruptions, and to ensure free movement of people, goods and services. For all these reasons, we shall therefore propose a single market emergency instrument to strengthen the resilience of the single market and ensure greater transparency and coordination when a critical situation emerges. The Commission has already presented the contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis and is also preparing a contingency plan for transport.  The pandemic has also underlined the need to address the previously existing barriers in order to unlock the full potential of the single market. Specifically, along with the updated industrial strategy that we presented last year, we published the first Annual Single Market Report, which gave an overview of the pertinent single market barriers, ecosystem by ecosystem, and analysed the progress made in tackling them. This work will continue in future editions. The implementation and enforcement of the single market rules remain a top central political priority for this Commission. We will use all preventive and reactive means, as well as all possible formal and informal tools, to achieve this founding objective of ensuring the free circulation in a space with no barriers for citizens and stakeholders. We will continue to work hand in hand with Member States and the European Parliament on the implementation of specific actions and horizontal measures of the long—term action plan for better implementation and enforcement. In this respect, the Single Market Enforcement Task Force has become a key vehicle for coordinated response and work to address remaining barriers.  The persistent barriers in the services sector, which the rapporteur has rightly underlined, deserve particular attention. The economic performance of the single market for services can be improved by reducing regulatory barriers and ensuring that any remaining restrictions are justified and proportionate. In parallel to this important work on enforcement, the Commission is planning targeted initiatives, such as a common electronic form for the declaration of the posting of workers and the use of European service standards as a tool to address cross-border barriers and increase consumer confidence in cross-border provision of services.  Tackling barriers entails a holistic approach, which your report precisely mirrors, in particular, the harmonisation of standards around public procurement. We share the Parliament’s view that public procurement should not be detrimental to the single market, but rather strengthen its resilience. To do so, the Commission is laying several building blocks, such as the proposal on distortions caused by foreign subsidies that you are well aware of.  A final point on standardisation: we presented a standardisation strategy very recently, last week, which was very well received by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). This strategy will ensure that European industrial and technological leadership and clout are projected internationally. Good governance of our standardisation systems, based on our common values and the clear priority, will consolidate the role of the European Union as the world’s setter of global standards.