According to a press release published by the European Council on 13 April 2021, the Council adopted its first reading position on the proposed regulation establishing the EU Single Market programme for the years 2021 to 2027. This follows up on a deal reached last December with the European Parliament that paves the way for the swift adoption of the draft regulation at second reading.
Pedro Siza Vieira, Portuguese Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition stated that: "The Single Market is the backbone of our economy. The new programme will make sure that it functions properly for businesses and consumers alike and that it continues to promote sustainable competitiveness and growth throughout the EU."
The main objective of the Single Market programme is to enable citizens, consumers, businesses and public authorities throughout the EU to take full advantage of the market integration. To that effect, it promotes actions aiming to:
improve the governance and the functioning of the internal market;
strengthen the competitiveness of EU enterprises, in particular micro, small and medium-sized enterprises;
enable the development of high-quality European standards;
increase consumer protection;
enhance human, animal and plant health, as well as animal welfare;
promote high-quality, timely and reliable European statistics.
As ECOPNET, we would like to emphasize that benefiting from this new programme for single market will enhance the trade volume in EU and foster economic growth. ECOPNET (European Cooperation and Partnership Network) is ready to guide its partners on this issue, we also carry out numerous activities in our Trade Regulations Working Group. Please contact us for further questions that you may have.
The programme brings together activities previously financed under six different programmes. Its total budget is €4.2 billion. This represents a "top-up" of €119 million compared to the original Commission proposal.
Next steps
In line with the political agreement reached last December between the co-legislators, the European Parliament is expected to approve the Council’s position at first reading in the following months. The regulation will then be deemed to have been formally adopted. It will apply retroactively from 1 January 2021.
Source: European Council Press Releases