470th EESC Plenary Session

Guests José Manuel Barroso and Michel Barnier

On 15 -16 March 2011 the 470^th Session of the European Economic and Social Committee was held in Brussels. One of the guest speakers was José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, who presented the recent challenges of the European Union one week before the EU Spring Summit. Mr. Barroso stressed particularly that: “We all together have to develop a credible system of governance guaranteeing both prevention and correction.”  The other guest was Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, who said: “The 21^st Anniversary of the Single Market is approaching and we mustn´t be nostalgic. No, we have to act fast! Next week in the collegium of the commissioners we will choose 12 priorities which will be the first train followed by the others.”

The main discussion was based on the opinion INT/548 Forward to the Single Market Act:

The EESC has been closely following the Single Market from the civil society perspective and set up its Single Market Observatory (SMO) in 1994 to this effect. It therefore asks the European Commission to associate the SMO as one of the major stakeholders to such initiatives as the Single Market Forum.
The contribution of civil society organisations is an indispensable element for the right focusing of the measures that are required to relaunch the Single Market since they represent its users. The 50 proposals under scrutiny are only the start of a long term process to revive the Single Market. In its opinion the EESC also identified a number of measures that are missing in the Single Market Act and will make proposals in due time.
The EESC does not present in this opinion an in-depth study of all the Single Market Act proposals. Some of them have already been the subject of Committee opinions. It will issue more detailed positions when the European Commission proposals emerge following on the communication, including the proposals related to the EU 2020 flagship initiatives. The EESC identified priorities, which the basic components of European civil society as represented at the EESC have agreed upon. The EESC insists on the need for a holistic approach that goes beyond the artificial division of the Single Market Act into three pillars. The Committee aims at remedying the eclectic nature of the proposals by suggesting more coherence and mutual interdependence of individual measures.
Open communication on the added value and challenges is of paramount importance in order to gain public support. It is important to take into account the reality on the ground and the real worries of citizens.
The European Commission cannot alone take responsibility for raising awareness on Single Market issues and for informing the public on instruments that are available for all. The input of organised civil society is indispensable as well as the involvement of national governments. Political parties, the media, educational institutions and all stakeholders have a historical responsibility in relation to the EU being able to successfully cope with the challenges of the global world based on the values that so far have characterised our social market economies.
The Single Market is at the heart of European integration and its EU 2020 Strategy. Monitoring, managing and enforcing Single Market legislation is crucial. To achieve this, the European Commission should cooperate closely with Member States through better use of the Single Market Scoreboard.

The Plenary Session adopted also the other opinions important for business and emplyoers:

• INT/545 Innovation Union

Innovation is the only answer to the current and future challenges facing society: it is at the core of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
The "Innovation Union" is one of the seven flagship initiatives announced in this strategy. It aims to improve conditions and access to finance for research and innovation, to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs.
Europe starts from a position of strength:
- a number of Member States are world leaders in manufacturing, creativity, design, aerospace, telecommunications, energy and environmental technologies;
- we have some of the most innovative regions in the world;
- our economies are supported by some of the world's most dynamic public services and strong traditions in social innovation.
Innovations need a European approach and a European single market, in which the European Research Area with a powerful R&D Framework Programme plays a key role.
The Committee welcomes the Commission's Communication and the fact that innovations are understood and defined in terms of their broader ramifications – in other words, that they span not only research, technology and products, but also all human interactions and kinds of organisations, including social services, business practices and models, design, branding and services, as well as the diverse interplay between them.
The essential political task is to create reliable, innovation-friendly Europe-wide boundary conditions and frameworks with sufficient leeway, thus relieving potential inventors and innovation processes of the burden of the present fragmentation and overloading of regulatory frameworks and bureaucracies diversified across 27 Member States plus the Commission. The Committee recommends concentrating much more effort on removing any obstacles opposing or hindering the swift introduction of innovations and the creation of an Innovation Union.

• INT/550 Consumer and cross-border possibilities within the Single Market

The EESC thanks the Hungarian Presidency for having given it the opportunity to issue an opinion on the main developments regarding possibilities for European consumers within the Single Market and thereby to contribute to the work of the EU Presidency during the first half of 2011.
The EESC considers that there is a need to kick-start discussions on establishing a new approach to consumer policy with a view to 2030 and hopes that the Hungarian Presidency, the other institutions and the social partners will take on this challenge.
The Committee welcomes the Council's approval of a common approach regarding consumer law on 24 January 2011, but is concerned about the subsequent developments in the European Parliament, and therefore urges the Hungarian Presidency to maintain the path set by the Council, ensuring that the final result can restore the confidence of consumers.
In this opinion the EESC makes various specific recommendations regarding the following issues:

• Review of the directive on unfair commercial practices
• Legal instrument for collective action at EU level
• Review of the "package travel" directive and the legislation on air passengers' rights
• Single market in retail financial services
• Digital agenda
• Local cross-border trade.
  
  
• SOC/391 The future of the European Social Fund

Cohesion policy must not simply reduce the disparities between regions; it should also contribute to reducing the social inequalities affecting certain population groups, by promoting a society of full employment, equal opportunities, social integration and social cohesion.
The ESF is the key instrument for supporting the implementation of the European employment strategy and it must continue in the future to be an effective instrument for investing in human resources and promoting a high level of quality jobs and social inclusion, within the framework of the "Europe 2020" strategy. In view of the current economic situation, therefore, the ESF must remain an important strategic and financial instrument and be given more resources.
At this time of economic crisis, the European Council's decision to enhance the role of the ESF is particularly important. Investment must be aimed at both the development of human resources, improving skills and the reintegration into the labour market of workers who have been made redundant. Nonetheless, priority should be given to the creation of quality jobs, sustainable growth and the incorporation into the labour market and into society of vulnerable social groups. The ESF should – as an EU instrument promoting investment in human resources – support the three priorities of the Europe 2020 Strategy: smart, inclusive and sustainable growth.

• SOC/395 Youth on Move

The EESC stresses that the objectives proposed by the Youth on the Move initiative should be monitored, and the progress of implementation should be measured using clear indicators, so that the Member States can step up their efforts if these objectives are not met in time.
At a time when the economic crisis has forced a review of budgetary priorities, the EESC stresses the importance of maintaining and increasing, wherever possible, the effective use of resources assigned at national and EU level to the education and training and employment of young people. Economic recovery policies must encourage the creation of stable jobs and prevent any interruption of studies.
The EESC supports the creation of a quality framework for traineeships and applauds the measures geared towards removing legal and administrative obstacles to the free movement of young people for education, traineeships and apprenticeships.
The EESC welcomes the Commission's initiative to enhance the validation of non-formal learning and increase the visibility of skills acquired outside the formal education system (such as through the European Skills Passport). Discussion on ways of validation should also focus on the quality of the education and training provided and its supervision and monitoring. At the same time, the EESC reminds that everyone should benefit from measures which enhance non-formal learning, which therefore should not be limited to young people with fewer opportunities only.
The EESC welcomes the development of instruments at national level, such as the Youth Guarantee, which help young people to move from education to the labour market. However, the EESC is of the view that some of the other initiatives need to be examined further before they are implemented. This is the case for the comparison of higher education results, developing a Youth on the Move Card, establishing a "Your first EURES job" initiative and working on the future of the European Progress Micro-Finance Facility.
The EESC backs the Commission's efforts to identify the most effective ways of supporting youth employment. These include training programmes, security measures and benefits combined with activation, recruitment subsidies and suitable wage and social security arrangements, as well as career guidance. The EESC stresses that these steps must be undertaken by using and enhancing social dialogue and dialogue with civil society.
The initiative does indeed highlight education and employment, but it does not place sufficient emphasis on developing social capital and youth participation in European civil society. Furthermore, inclusive growth should also be included as a matter of priority in strategies for young people, and the necessary means for implementation should be introduced, such as maintaining and strengthening the existing Youth in Action programme.

• TEN/432-433 Single European Railway Area

The EESC endorses the intention in the proposal for a recast directive for the first railway package of reducing differences in interpretation of legislation and eliminating the deficiencies of certain provisions in the body of railway legislation. However, the recast directive does not just amend existing provisions but also contains a substantial number of new regulatory provisions.
The EESC regrets the fact that the proposal does not address either interoperability (although establishing a single European railway area is heavily dependent on progress in technical interoperability) or imbalances in the management of railway traffic, which frequently prioritises passenger trains at the expense of freight.
During a time of considerable budgetary constraints it will be necessary to find new sources of funding for railway infrastructure. Given that most funding from the European structural and social cohesion funds is earmarked for road infrastructure, while TEN-T funding is directed mainly at rail, the EESC can endorse the setting-up of a single transport fund only if that fund is neutral and ensures a level playing-field with respect to all transport modes. The EESC would like to see this funding explicitly provided for in the review of cohesion policy post-2014.
The EESC deplores the delay in creating the conditions to ensure a level playing-field between rail and other transport modes, and the absolute inadequacy of measures to internalise the external costs and effects of transport by taking external social costs into account when setting tariffs.
Nor can the EESC approve of provisions contained in the annexes of the proposal for a recast directive that are clearly essential being amended by the Commission through delegated acts.
Finally, the EESC considers that absolute priority should be given to general implementation of the European signalling and traffic management system (ERTMS) in conjunction with the European Train Control System (ETCS).

• TEN/447 Energy Market Integrity and Transparency

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC):
- supports and endorses the Commission proposal to promote measures to prevent the manipulation of wholesale electrical energy markets and to make them more transparent;
- supports the choice to use a regulation on the legal basis of Article 194 TFEU; welcomes the decision to use delegated acts, which bring needed clarity to important aspects of the regulation such as the definition and timeframe for collecting data, under Article 290 TFEU which introduces this new administrative instrument in order to simplify the work of the European institutions, a decision which must be implemented in full compliance with the provisions of the Treaty and with appropriate disclosure; suggests that a specific period be set when issuing the delegated acts, as laid down in Article 290, in order to allow the regulation to be applied swiftly and uniformly. Without delegated acts, countering market manipulation will be problematic in the future; recommends that civil society stakeholders be involved in preparing the delegated acts and suggests that examples be included in the recitals;
- considers that the powers to be conferred on the national regulatory authorities are comprehensive and penetrating, and calls for the establishment of a procedure to monitor, relatively rapidly, the Member States' pledge to grant the national regulatory authorities effective powers of inspection and investigation, on a common, harmonised basis;
- welcomes the regulation's aim of enhancing coordination between the national authorities which regulate energy markets, those which regulate financial markets, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators and the Committee of European Securities Regulators;
- believes strongly that steps must be taken to increase participants' confidence in the market as participants must be sure that they are operating in a market which punishes market abuse with effective, dissuasive and proportionate penalties; recommends that the Commission monitor the regulation's implementation by the Member States;
- questions whether the costs incurred in implementing the regulation should all be paid from the public purse or whether market operators should bear part of them; in some countries, for example, the authorities which monitor the financial markets are partly funded by those they monitor;
- believes that it is vital to step up cooperation and coordination between transmission system operators;
- believes that it is imperative to continue building a Europe of energy, in which the general interests of the EU and of consumers are protected, energy supply is guaranteed, social, environmental and economic sustainability is safeguarded by means of well-designed policies which share out the benefits and ensure that the costs are reasonable, and market integrity is defended as a crucial component in the development of the social market economy;
- deems that this regulation should be coordinated with the revision of the Market Abuse Directive (MAD); calls for the guiding principles on which the new MAD draft directive is based to be included in the final text of the regulation. 

Vladimíra Drbalová
International Organisations and EU Affairs
Member of the EESC