Completing the Single Market

The European Commission has adopted an action plan for the completion of the Single Market, which will be presented to the European Council, to be held in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997. The aim of the action plan is to secure renewed political commitment from the Member St...

The European Commission has adopted an action plan for the completion of the Single Market, which will be presented to the European Council, to be held in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997.

The aim of the action plan is to secure renewed political commitment from the Member States, in order to establish the measures necessary for the full functioning of the Single Market by 1 January 1999 - the same date as the single currency is due to be introduced. The completion of the Single Market is also a major part of the Confidence Pact for Employment. Four strategic targets are laid down in the action plan:

- Making the rules more effective;
- Dealing with key market distortions;
- Removing obstacles to market integration;
- Delivering a Single Market for the benefit of all citizens.

The action plan groups the remaining measures necessary into three phases. Firstly, urgent actions which do not require further legislation at European level. This includes the full transposition of existing legislation, ensuring the full implementation of liberalization measures, and improving access to information on rights in the Single Market. The second phase covers measures which have already been proposed by the Commission, but for which the Parliament and Council have not yet completed the legislative process. These include the proposed Directives on protection of biotechnology inventions and the proposed European Company Statute.

The third phase includes measures where the Commission has not yet put forward its proposals, or where progress on existing proposals is likely to prove difficult. The Commission undertakes to put forward a number of proposals for measures before the end of 1997, in areas such as copyright and related rights in the Information Society, digital signatures, and cross-border mergers. Areas where proposals have already been put forward but where agreement will be difficult include restructuring the Community framework for taxation of energy products, and abolition of frontier controls.

The final version of the action plan, adopted on 4 June 1997, takes into account comments from Member States and other interested parties, submitted following publication of the draft action plan in April 1997.