A3-0253/94

Resolution on the Commission's 1993 report on the Community Internal Market

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Commission's 1993 report on the Community internal market (COM(94)0055 - C3-0136/94),

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (A3-0253/94),

A.welcoming the Commission's presentation of its first annual report on the Community internal market, which responds to recommendations to produce such a report both from the European Parliament and from the Sutherland Group,

B.underlining the important role of the annual report in ensuring transparency so that national and regional administrations, economic operators, trade unions, consumers and all those concerned by the operation of the internal market are sufficiently informed about the internal market and its strengths and weaknesses,

C.considering that the annual report will also provide an opportunity for ensuring sufficient democratic accountability of the internal market process, so that the European Parliament as well as national and regional parliaments can review, at the very least on an annual basis, not just progress in legislation but the overall administration of the internal market and ways in which it could be improved,

D.whereas the annual report provides an extremely valuable instrument for the continuing Community evaluation of the operation of the internal market:

- emphasising that the completion of the internal market is a longer term process,

- pointing out the areas where the internal market is working properly, and those where barriers still remain or are even being created,

- providing an update on the state of relevant internal market legislation, and indicating where new legislation or other measures might be required,

-providing an evaluation of how the internal market is being managed, at Community, national and regional level,

-providing guidance on the interpretation of internal market rules,

-citing relevant judicial decisions with an impact on the operation of the internal market,

Content of the annual report

1.Considers that the first annual report provides an impressive degree of detail, both on horizontal issues affecting the internal market and on the situation in individual sectors; welcomes, in particular, the very helpful annexes to the report, such as that outlining the current state of national transposition of existing internal market directives;

2.Calls upon the Commission to consider incorporating the following additional elements in subsequent annual reports:

-an annex listing all national measures notified to the Commission with implications for the free movement of goods in the non-harmonized sectors,

-an annex listing the main decisions of the European Court of Justice with implications for the internal market with a brief indication of their contents and a cross-reference to the main text of the report,

-a chapter on research on internal market questions, including summaries of relevant research carried out within or on behalf of the Commission,

-a more precise indication of who is responsible for internal market coordination in the different national administrations as well as an organigramme of the relevant Commission services;

3.Calls for its annual resolution on the internal market report to be published in the Commission's subsequent annual report and for the Commission to respond within six weeks to the main suggestions made in such resolutions; calls upon the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to produce annual resolutions on the internal market, and for these also to be included in the Commission's text;

Impact of the internal market

4.Considers that one of the central objectives of the Commission's continuing assessment of the internal market should be more precise evaluation of the impacts of the internal market:

-the impacts of the internal market on individual industrial and service sectors,

-the impacts of the internal market on industrial structure, on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and on delocalisation,

-the impacts of the internal market on trade and investment patterns within the Community, and on the extent to which new business is really being generated across borders,

-the impacts of the internal market on economic and social cohesion, and in particular, on the respective impacts in central and peripheral regions of the Community, and in rich and poor regions,

-the impacts of the internal market on the European Union's overall international competitiveness,

-the links between the Community internal market and the European Economic Area,

-the impacts of the internal market on the environment,

-the impacts of the internal market on the consumer;

5.Calls on the Commission to keep it fully informed on progress in its follow-up to the Cecchini report;

6.Notes that the Council has suggested holding a discussion every autumn on the overall impacts of the internal market, and that the Commission will be providing the necessary background information to the Council. Calls upon the Commission to keep the Parliament fully informed of all such developments;

Outstanding problems

7.Notes that the Commission's first annual report has identified a number of outstanding internal market problems and that these include:

-delays in abolishing controls and identity checks at national frontiers,

-delays as regards full implementation of community rules on the rights of residence and the mutual recognition of diplomas and other qualifications,

-problems with the temporary VAT system, and the absence of a Community withholding tax,

-problems as regards the collection of intra-Community statistics, and the unnecessary bureaucracy and paperwork that is being created,

-ongoing problems in the sensitive field of public procurement,

-delays as regards completing the European company law framework,

-problems as regards full application of the internal market in the services area,

-slower-than-hoped progress as regards completing the social dimension of the internal market;

8.Regrets the lack of progress in all these areas, and calls for them to be resolved as soon as possible;

9.Calls for subsequent annual reports to include a short opening summary of the main internal market problem areas that still need to be resolved;

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