European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European...

20
INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012 EN European Economic and Social Committee Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption Single Market Observatory http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.smo-observatory Find the SMO on

Transcript of European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European...

Page 1: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

EN

European Economic and Social Committee

Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption

Single Market Observatory http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.smo-observatory

Find the SMO on

Page 2: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 1 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Introductory session

Nikos Nikolaou, director at the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK), reminded the participants that the EU had the largest GDP of all economies worldwide and highlighted the principles of solidarity and common understanding. The issue of the social dimension of the Single Market was most relevant at a time when Europe was facing high unemployment and the real risk of a weakening of the Single Market. He welcomed the participants and the EESC delegation on behalf of the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK).

Staffan Nilsson, president of the European Economic and Social Committee

Staffan Nilsson, president of the European Economic and Social Committee, informed the participants that the EESC had been closely following progress in achieving the Single Market since 1994, when it set up its Single Market Observatory. Thanks to Jacques Delors's initiative, the Common Market departed from a strictly economic approach to develop into an integrated economic and social Single Market. With its three groups – Employers, Employees and Various Interests – representing civil society, the Committee perfectly matched the complex nature of our Single Market. This had been recognised by the Commissioner, Mr Barnier, who wished to cooperate closely with the Committee on his initiatives aimed at re-launching the Single Market. Today's event was about "going local" on the social dimension of the Single Market: as the house of civil society and as an EU institution, the Committee needed to reach out to national civil society organisations and build a bridge between Brussels and local stakeholders. In doing so, it intended to trigger the feeling among them that Brussels was actually just round the corner! Indeed, Cypriot civil society was represented at the EESC! Mr Nilsson thanked the EESC members from Cyprus in general and Mr Kittenis in particular for their spirit of cooperation. On the question of whether or not the Single Market could become a social Single Market, he said that as Article 3(3) of the Lisbon Treaty put it, the Single Market was not an end in itself but an instrument to achieve social progress and sustainability. Therefore, it was there to serve us in an extremely interactive world whereby citizens and businesses would cross borders sometimes on a daily basis. It was one of the major achievements of European integration over the past decades in post WWII Europe as it had brought political stability, peace and wellbeing. Mr Nilsson added that the current crises were the ultimate stress test and that if we wanted this success story to remain one, we must absolutely make sure it provided the answers people were expecting in such troubled times. This was only possible if its social dimension became tangible while its economic advantages

Page 3: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 2 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

remained visible – achieving this was quite a challenge in today's extremely competitive global environment. In other words, "economic freedoms had to be in balance with the respect of fundamental social rights"1. Through its Single Market Observatory, the Committee had made recommendations on the various Commission Communications on and around the Single Market Act,

and would soon also react to the Communication on the Single Market Act II2. Together with the Consultative Committee of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA

CC) it had also been reflecting and making recommendations on a "Grass-root (or citizens-orientated) Single Market approach". Indeed the Single Market was shared by 30 countries, including Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway3. Over the years, the European Economic and Social Committee has also issued opinions targeting social issues in the context of the Single Market. Essentially, the Committee's contribution on the social dimension of the Single Market – in the context of the consultation on the Communications on the Single Market Act – pinpointed the following key aspects:

• the Charter of Fundamental Rights was an integral part of the Single Market and the Member States that still had an opt-out should adopt it;

• employee involvement and transparency of information provided by businesses must be improved;

• the balance between high labour standards and economic freedoms must be struck through social partner consultation; and

• the role and impact of the social economy must be acknowledged. In its opinion on The social and environmental dimension of the Single Market (rapporteur: Andrzej Adamczyk, Group II – Employees, Poland), the Committee expressed the view that labour market integration was the best safeguard against social exclusion, while the issue of the mutual recognition of qualifications must come to a positive conclusion. The Single Market had led to lower prices but this was often at the expense of employees laid off through business restructuring or relocation. Mr Nilsson said that workers were consumers and limiting the cost of labour for the sake of competitiveness could lead to lower consumption and reduced growth. In its opinion on The social dimension of the Single Market (rapporteur: Thomas Janson, Group II – Employees, Sweden), the Committee insisted on higher quality social dialogue as well as on a European mechanism for dispute resolution, while at the same time conciliation had to be reinforced. Macroeconomic dialogue must be further developed to prevent another financial crisis, while the European social model must be promoted in international relations.

1 From the Committee opinion CESE 525/2011, Towards a Single Market Act:

http://eescopinions.eesc.europa.eu/EESCopinionDocument.aspx?identifier=ces\int\int548\ces525-2011_ac.doc&language=EN 2 http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/smact/docs/single-market-act2_en.pdf 3 Staffan Nilsson welcomed Robert Trausti Arnason, senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, deputy permanent delegate at BUSINESSEUROPE

and member of the Confederation of Icelandic Employers, and Marianne Breiland, from the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

Page 4: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 3 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Briefly concluding, the EESC president hoped that today's event would contribute to making Cypriots feel and understand that Europe – and its Single Market – was for them as European workers, consumers and businesses and that they could help shape it...

Bryan Cassidy, president of the Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption of the European Economic and Social Committee

Bryan Cassidy, president of the Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption of the European Economic and Social Committee, presented the section, which covered a wide range of issues, from consumer protection to services, including competition policy and SMEs, company law, innovation and intellectual property and Single Market policies to name just a few. Since 1999, the section had organised the European Consumer Day – a key event held in March each year and involving the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU presidency-in-office. He said that at a time of great economic stress, the attention of the whole EU – if not the whole world – was focused on trying to find ways out of the crisis. As representatives of civil society, the members of the European Economic and Social Committee also had a responsibility to help provide solutions. He added that as well as receiving no pay for their work at the Committee, members did not take orders from their national governments. Charged with monitoring the flow – sometimes more of a deluge – of communications, draft laws generally known as directives emanating from the European Commission or from EU presidencies, the Committee issued opinions that conveyed a sense of perspective based on a democratic consensus. Mr Cassidy concluded by touching on the controversial nature of the social dimension of the Single Market, while adding that it was clear that it was at the same time a core component of European integration. The public hearing organised by the SMO was one of the many events celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Single Market, which in 1992 loosened the restrictions on the movement of goods, people and money and on the provision of services. He added that the Cyprus events (including of course the final Single Market Week conference on Saturday 20 October) would be followed by a conference in London on 5 November where the European Economic and Social Committee would play a full part.

Michel Mercadié, Social Platform and honorary president of FEANTSA (the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless)

Michel Mercadié of the Social Platform, and honorary president of FEANTSA, indicated that he would express the views of the Social Platform. The Monti report came to the conclusion that the Single Market fell short on the social issue and that it had to be reconciled with the social dimension. The Social Platform however was of the opinion that, contrary to Prof. Monti's views, the market was not enough. Indeed civil society thought that the Single Market must not depend on the market only, as was illustrated by the attacks on public services and services of general interest (SGI). He added that citizens were also users of Community laws and could not be seen as just being consumers.

Page 5: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 4 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

He said that the following issues were crucial today:

• the Almunia Package had a salutary effect on social services of general interest (SSGI) though he thought that the Commission proposals put them at risk;

• the current state of affairs on access to bank accounts was not satisfactory from the perspective of vulnerable consumers and it mattered most to the fight against over-indebtedness. He informed the participants that the Social Platform was currently drafting a position paper on this particular issue;

• the public procurement directive showed the way forward. Mr Mercadié was pleased that the European Parliament shared the views of the Social Platform and supported the idea of social services having their place in public procurement. He stressed the cultural diversity of social services in the European Union and their local dimension as well as the need to apply the EUR 500 000 threshold in this context. He thought that applying the principle of the economically most advantageous option was bottom line while Member States should have the right to attribute contracts to non profit activities. He concluded this particular point by stating that the Social Platform was categorically opposed to social security being subject to tenders on an annual basis;

• the European social business initiative, which was derived from the American model, had the potential to contribute to reinvigorating the social economy, which created more jobs – that could not be relocated – than the market economy. The financial issue (e.g. equities, access to credit)

remained complex4

. Mr Mercadié referred to the blurred definition of the social economy and to the need to go beyond the mere concept of profit. He

also referred to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the necessary democratic governance as well as to the fact that the social economy might also be profit-orientated;

• he pointed at the fact that the social economy was based on citizen initiatives and had a rather local dimension. The cross-border dimension of the social

economy would ultimately drift towards the setting up of consortia, which he did not endorse on the grounds that clusters of social enterprises aimed in the first place at benchmarking and sharing practices. Mr Mercadié also drew attention to the social impact of liberalisation in this sector (e.g. energy)

and called for a clarification of SSGI since their legislative framework was far too complex5. He finally made a distinction between economic services of

general interest (ESGI) and non economic services of general interest (NESIG);

• budgetary regulations – and the budgetary treaty – risked jeopardising public services, which would have consequences for vulnerable citizens. He therefore called for the fiscal compact to be accompanied by a social pact. In view of the increase in poverty since 2010, the current programme must be redirected if it was to be successful;

• in the same vein, job creation must help combat the lack of job security, which would distort statistics (see the working poor). Mr Mercadié called for a combination of public services and social protection systems and added that social expenses were also a form of investment.

He concluded by declaring that public expenses were not the cause of the crisis and were not to be its victim either. He pointed out that the EU's public expenses were too low (i.e. 1.24% of the EU budget). He finally "reworded" the topic of the hearing into "The social dimension of the European Union and its Single Market".

4 See EESC opinion on European Social Entrepreneurship Funds (rapporteur: Ariane Rodert): http://eescopinions.eesc.europa.eu/EESCopinionDocument.aspx?identifier=ces\int\int623\ces1294-2012_ac.doc&language=EN 5 See also Article 14, Protocol 26 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Page 6: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 5 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Edgardo Maria Iozia, president of the Single Market Observatory, said that Cyprus was entering difficult times with budgetary restrictions putting social cohesion at risk. In this context, the social dimension of the European Union and of its Single Market was vital. He added that credit had gradually replaced investment over the last 10 to 15 years, which had led to (over)indebtedness. Ariane Rodert, member of the European Economic and Social Committee, endorsed Michel Mercadié's take on the current situation from the perspective of the social economy and said that in terms of growth, this particular sector would fill a gap as a job creator and as a strong element of the European social model. The social economy should not be seen from an expense point of view but rather as an added value for society. She said that the many good initiatives from the European Commission still needed to be implemented at Member State level, whereby coherence in the application of rules would be difficult to achieve in view of the diversity of national positions. This in turn would make cross-border cooperation equally complicated. She regretted that certain social economy issues such as the measurement of social outcomes fell somewhat short in the Commission's Communication. Evangelia Kekeleki, vice-president of the Single Market Observatory, indicated that some 81 million Europeans were on the verge of poverty. She considered social enterprises to be instruments for rebuilding trust but regretted that little progress if any had been achieved. She finally raised the question of whether or not social entrepreneurship could help overcome the challenges Europe was facing today. Martin Siecker, member of the Single Market Observatory, said that, in view of growing inequalities, the current system did not deliver although its objective was about improving living standards and creating jobs. Growth, however necessary, had to be sustainable and compatible with social well-being. The current downturn generated fear, which in turn generated a rejection of European integration. Pedro Almeida Freire, vice-president of the Single Market Observatory, shared Mr Siecker's views on the distribution of wealth and added that in spite of the downturn large companies had reaped more profit.

Nikos Satsias, from the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK), informed the participants that Milton Friedman6

had foreseen the collapse of the European Union due

to a lack of support from its Member States. He wished the institutions to be more bottom-up and wondered if the Single Market could function without having (negative) social consequences. He wished to know what role the European Economic and Social Committee could play in this context. Staffan Nilsson said that there was room for improvement to make the institutions – including the EESC – more bottom-up although criticism could partly be based on the public lacking information on how the institutions were actually operating. Mr Iozia said that the Single Market Observatory would draw attention to the necessary social dimension of the Single Market as t did for instance in a 2008 opinion where it deplored social inequalities (incl. top managers' remunerations).

6 http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Friedman.html. See also the Milton Friedman vs. Robert Mundell controversy on the viability of the European project:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybowyer/2012/08/01/happy-birthday-milton-friedman-the-european-crisis-is-your-latest-vindication/.

Page 7: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 6 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Michel Mercadié said that the Social Platform had formed an alliance with trade unions and environmental NGOs. He said that the social economy needed more professionalism and must involve citizens. He said that according to the Commissioner, Mr Barnier, the American and European models were divergent on a number of issues (e.g. on social services) and added that impoverished consumers had to be brought back into consumption along different lines. Certain Member States did not have a social economy though they could benefit from it and from the capillary effect of sharing experience and good practices as illustrated by the setting up of a network for assistance to the homeless in Italy.

General debate

Introduction by Edgardo Maria Iozia, president of the Single Market Observatory

Mr Iozia informed the participants that the Single Market Observatory forwarded the findings from its public hearings to "Brussels" in general and to the Commission in particular. The social dimension of the Single market was considered to be an important issue by the members of the European Economic and Social Committee as some of them came from Member States currently in deep crisis so that awareness of the reality on the ground and of what was at stake was so to speak "built-in".

Contributions

Dimitris Kittenis, former secretary general of the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK) and member of the Single Market Observatory, said that the Single Market should target the establishment of a single set of rules for consumers while focusing on their effective protection. He stressed the importance of effectively opposing monopolies in the Single Market. Jan Oraveč, member of the Single Market Observatory, said that while income inequalities were a source of frustration (which was also the case with absolute income equality under communist rule in most of the post 2004 enlargement Member States), the debate on the social dimension of the Single Market should not focus on this particular issue. Vincent Farrugia, member of the Single Market Observatory, said that the European social model had worked well in times of economic growth and thought that a democratic system including accountability would provide results. He added that the conclusions of the Council Summit showed how difficult it was to achieve consensus and that it was also important not to lose sight of the fact that the European Union had brought peace. He raised the question of responsibility for the current crises, i.e. at central or national level. The accountability system in troubled times for the European Union was basically the problem and civil society must

Page 8: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 7 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

provide solutions and at the same time exert pressure on their respective governments. He regretted that so much emphasis was laid on the problems and less on the solutions. Christos Karydis, director of the economics department, Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK), referred to the situation in Cyprus where competition went from nil to limited in a monopolistic context, which resulted in the absence of consumer protection unlike in other Member States. This was also illustrated by the fact that the Cypriot government decided not to establish an authority in charge of consumer protection while there existed an authority for the promotion of competition.

Elena Papachristophorou, director of the Cyprus Consumer Centre7, pointed out that together with SOLVIT and IMI (the Internal Market Information system

8), the

European consumer network helped consumers press for their rights and resolve disputes out of court. She added that Cyprus was currently setting up an out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism. Leonidas Paschalides, director of education and development at the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the current problems were not created by the Single Market – nor by the Troika for that matter as far as Cyprus was concerned – and that over time Member State governments had failed to develop the appropriate or necessary strategies. This resulted in the typical European idiosyncrasy we knew today. In his view, the European Union must help with monitoring mechanisms for national systems to guarantee proper functioning. The Cyprus Competition Commission had not achieved its goals partly for internal reasons. The Single Market was ultimately weakened by the lack of support and commitment on the part of national structures. Mr Paschalides finally referred to the fact that only one initiative from the Single Market Act I had been implemented to date and called for more pressure from civil society on their respective governments. Carlos Pereira Martins, member of the European Economic and Social Committee, said that economists were subject to much criticism in times of crisis. The fact that economics was basically a social science was being ignored by most decision-makers who did not have much experience with the real economy either. He underlined the fact that the current crisis was different from past ones insofar as it was global. Martin Siecker said that the lack of ethics on the part of global economic actors hindered the achievement of a fair global economic environment. Citizens' confidence was undermined and this resulted in euroscepticism rapidly developing over the last 20 years and jeopardising the exemplary European integration project. Manus O'Riordan, member of the Single Market Observatory, regretted that the many excellent EESC opinions did not appropriately impact on the EU decision-making process. The Single Market was considered as a right although it was a privilege. He said that the United Kingdom wanted a strong European currency so that it could draw benefits in terms of trade. He added that fault lines already existed before the financial crisis, for instance in the manufacturing sector. He referred to Ireland, where freedom of establishment as well as the unregulated financial sector had fuelled the banking crisis.

7

8 http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/imi-net/index_en.html.

Page 9: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 8 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Christoph Lechner, member of the Single Market Observatory, said that the crisis had resulted in a EUR 20 billion deficit and wondered where this money had gone. He agreed that the Single Market did not work as far as the financial sector was concerned due to a lack of regulations, which in turn resulted in Member States – and their tax payers – being indebted. He was convinced that savings in the social sector would ultimately result in further costs in the future. He drew the attention to social impact assessments especially in the context of a broad policy of austerity. He concluded by saying that the financial sector must be regulated if we were to avoid crises happening again in the future. Answering Michalis Lytras, member of the European Economic and Social Committee, who regretted the lack of awareness of the European Union being a single economic entity, Mr Nilsson said that that much needed to be done in order to foster citizens' trust in the European project and that austerity was a short term option while EU freedoms remained theoretical. Irini Pari, member of the European Economic and Social Committee, said that the Single Market had a social dimension in so far as it had created some 3 million jobs while 2.5 million students could enjoy mobility thanks to the Erasmus programme. She added that the keywords for the future of the Single Market were "more" and "further". This applied for example to trans-European networks (which needed more funding) and to the digital Single Market. She pointed at insufficient or deficient transposition and implementation of EU rules. She concluded that Member States would progress at different speeds on certain issues, which would generate a lack of coherence that impacted on the workability of the Single Market. Doros Polykarpou, from the non-governmental organisation Action for Equality, Support and Antiracism (KISA), informed the Committee that her organisation was not involved in the civil dialogue at EU level. She said that the issue of the social dimension went far beyond strictly economic aspects and wondered how immigrants could be associated with the EU consultation process. They positively contributed to the economy but did not reap the benefits of their participation. She raised the question of what the Single Market had to offer to those actors, who were outside "mainstream citizenship", i.e. the working poor with substandard wages. All actors of the EU economy should enjoy equal treatment. Mr Iozia agreed with Ms Polykarpou that the benefits of the single Market were unequally distributed. Ullrich Schröder, member of the Single Market Observatory, said that multinational companies were making more profit today than before the crisis. He added that

other world players had a higher growth rate than the European Union and referred to the EESC opinion on tax and financial havens9

. The Single Market was not the

source of the crisis but a key to exiting it. Benedicte Federspiel, member of the Single Market Observatory, stressed that consumer issues were cross-sectoral in the light of consumers being citizens and consumer policies thus raising societal issues. She pointed at differences between consumer organisations at national level in terms of influence on their respective governments and at the fact that consumers tended to think in general terms and not strictly in economic terms. Referring to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (ADR), she said that the Commission proposal would not yield since this was left up to the Member States whereby the results would vary from one Member State to the other.

9 The rapporteur was Mr Iozia: http://eescopinions.eesc.europa.eu/EESCopinionDocument.aspx?identifier=ces\int\int587\ces1289-2012_ac.doc&language=EN

Page 10: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 9 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Alfred Gajdosik, member of the Single Market Observatory, said that citizens and politicians had a different perspective. Citizens' concerns were long-term (basically a whole lifetime) whereas politicians' horizon was set by the next elections. Čveto Stantič, member of the Single Market Observatory, wondered how the complex situation we were in could be satisfactorily dealt with in the absence of overall coherence. In this context, he referred to phone calls in border areas (Slovenian regions along the Italian border in this particular case) where local phone calls could be considered as international calls due to providers automatically switching. Pedro Almeida Freire, member of the Single Market Observatory, warned that there was a risk of solving a particular imbalance by creating a new one. He added that every economic system targeted full employment. The factor of distribution played a crucial role and the Single Market had failed to provide overall balance although it was expected to distribute benefits evenly, hence risking implosion by not doing so. This was exacerbated by the growing disparities of views across all actors. He expressed the wish to see the EESC become more provocative. Evangelia Kekeleki said that the Single Market must move forward but that it was not enough to simply quote its many achievements as they did not benefit all citizens. She felt that the "splitting" of benefits would ultimately equal a lack of benefits. She regretted that of the three pillars of the Single Market Act only the economic one was visible. She added that the environmental and social pillars were undermined by economic priorities. In her views, environmental and social qualitative criteria needed to be introduced to restore consumers' trust and to foster social responsibility. In this respect, the Single Market shared responsibility in the current confidence crisis.

Page 11: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 10 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Appendix I 10 key recommendations

1. The Single Market is not an end in itself but an instrument to achieve social progress and sustainability (Article 3(3) of the Lisbon Treaty);

2. Impoverished consumers must be brought back into consumption along different lines;

3. Savings in the social sector today will ultimately result in further costs in the future;

4. Immigrants contribute positively to the economy but do not reap the benefits of their participation. This raises the question of what the Single Market has to offer to those actors, who are outside "mainstream citizenship";

5. The Single Market shares responsibility in the current confidence crisis by failing to introduce environmental and social qualitative criteria to restore

consumers' trust and to foster social responsibility;

6. The legislative framework on Social Services of General Interest (SSGI) needs clarification in view of its extreme complexity;

7. The fiscal compact must be accompanied by a social pact;

8. In terms of growth, the social economy fills a gap as a job creator and as a strong element of the European social model. Therefore it should not be seen from the expense point of view but rather as an added value for society;

9. Proving answers to people's concerns and making the social dimension of the Single Market tangible alongside visible economic advantages is the only way

out of the current confidence crisis;

10. Workers are consumers and limiting the cost of labour for the sake of competitiveness can lead to lower consumption and reduced growth.

Page 12: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 11 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Appendix II

The Internal Market Information System – IMI (see http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52008DC0703:EN:NOT and http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/imi-net/index_en.html)

(Greek PDF presentation attached to the e-mail containing this document)

IMI is a secure online application that allows national, regional and local authorities to communicate quickly and easily with their counterparts abroad. IMI is accessible via the internet without any need to install additional software. Currently, its focus is on the Services directive (2006/123/EC: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:376:0036:0068:EN:PDF) and the Professional Qualifications directive (2005/36/EC: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2005:255:0022:0142:EN:PDF). However, the Regulation concerning administrative cooperation through IMI

(COM(2011) 522 final: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0522:FIN:EN:PDF)10

enlarges the scope of IMI (see appendices I and II of the

Regulation). The European Economic and Social Committee has adopted an opinion on the communication (COM(2011) 75 final:

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/imi-net/docs/strategy_paper_en.pdf) and on the above-mentioned Regulation11

.

The development of IMI was funded under the IDABC programme (Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to public administrations, businesses and citizens) with a total budget of EUR 1 300 000 over a period of five years (2005-2009). IMI helps users:

• find the right authority to contact in another country; and

• communicate with them using pre-translated sets of standard questions and answers. IMI is used by the competent authorities at national, regional and local levels in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway which deal with the specific legislation supported by it. Registration for IMI is only open to these authorities and has to be approved by an IMI coordinator (http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/imi-net/contact_en.html).

10 To switch to the Greek version replace EN with EL. 11 See opinion CESE 1848/2011, rapporteur: Bernardo Hernández Bataller: http://eescopinions.eesc.europa.eu/EESCopinionDocument.aspx?identifier=ces\int\int572\ces1848-

2011_ac.doc&language=EN

Page 13: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 12 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Page 14: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 13 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Page 15: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 14 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Page 16: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 15 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Page 17: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 16 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Page 18: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 17 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

Appendix III The Cypriot SOLVIT Centre

http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/info/dvd-archive/index.htm (Greek full PowerPoint presentation attached to the e-mail containing this document)

Online complaint form: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/solvit/application/index.cfm?method=webform.homeform&language=en

Page 19: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 18 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

The list on the left is not exhaustive. SOLVIT will consider any case that meets the criteria above. However, since SOLVIT is an informal approach to problem solving it should not be used in situations where legal proceedings are already underway.

Page 20: European Economic and Social Committee Single … – CESE 2286/2012 ... senior adviser for European issues at the EFTA Consultative Committee, ... European Economic and Social Committee

- 19 -

INT/SMO – CESE 2286/2012

_____________