THIS WEBSITE IS AN ONLINE ARCHIVE OF THE DANISH EU PRESIDENCY 2012 AND WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED

The Single Market

The internal market of the EU is a single market in which the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons is ensured and in which European citizens are free to live, work, study and do business. Over the last 20 years, it has contributed to promoting growth in the European countries.

During the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, a number of dossiers on the single market will dominate the work of the Council. Below you can read more about these matters and EU policy in this area.

Venture Capital

Better access to financing, especially for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), is one of the 12 key initiatives in the European Commission’s Single Market Act, and a proposal was put forward in the end of 2011.

The objective of the proposal is to create a single market for venture capital, making it easier for venture capital funds (risk capital) to invest in SMEs. The main focus is on innovative and newly established companies.

Reform of the European Patent System

The establishment of a European Unified Patent Court System is closely related to the establishment of a Unitary Patent for the EU. These initiatives have the potential to minimise costs and make it easier to obtain and enforce patent rights in the EU, which considerably eases the burdens for enterprises in the EU. 

The implementation of unified patenting, by which one patent application applies to all of Europe, will ensure the best conditions for innovation for both entrepreneurs and enterprises. The establishment of a common European Patent Court System contributes to ensuring that disputes are resolved in the best possible way in Europe.

The reform of the patent is negotiated in a so-called enhanced cooperation, which was agreed in March 2011, and which involves all EU Member States except Spain and Italy.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR & ODR)

If consumers are to have confidence in cross-border transactions, especially e-commerce, it is necessary to have easy and inexpensive ways of settling disputes. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a flexible and focused way to solve disputes. This is why it is important to ensure that all Member States have an ADR system that can deal with complaints nationally and across borders. 

An online platform which consumers can make use of in the event of complaints related to e-commerce across borders will further ease case handling and the communication between the parties involves.

The future of the European Standardisation System

The revision of the legislation concerning standardisation aims at improving the efficiency and flexibility of the European standardisation process. Furthermore, the revision is one of the 12 key initiatives in the Single Market Act put forward by the European Commission.

The proposal will benefit both European companies and consumers, and at the same time promote the digital agenda, making it possible for private standards on information and communication technologies to be recognised as European standards and be used in public tenders.

Revision of European legislation on accounting

The aim of the proposal is to reduce administrative burdens and modernise the legislation for especially small and medium sized businesses. Furthermore, the proposal includes legislation on country-by-country reporting for multinational companies. The proposal is one of the 12 key initiatives in the European Commission’s Single Market Act.

Public Procurement

The Public Procurement Directives define a number of rules and procedures in order to make public procurement transparent. Transparency generates competition, which leads to savings or lower prices.

The existing set of rules is often criticised for being complicated and administratively burdensome. The aim of a revision of the Public Procurement Directives is to simplify public procurement and increase flexibility.

Another dimension which is expected to be part of the discussions is the question of whether the Public Procurement Directives should be used to promote strategic aims in areas like the environment, social inclusion and innovation.

Proposal for an Orphan Works Directive

The main objective of this proposal is to create a legal basis ensuring legal online access across borders to orphan works in digital online libraries and archives.

In order to achieve this goal, the Commission has proposed the introduction of an agreement on mutual recognition of the status of an orphan work.

Before a work can obtain status as an orphan work, a thorough investigation concerning the origin of the work must be completed, fulfilling the rules set out in the directive. If such an investigation determines that a given work is an orphan work, it will be considered  an “orphan” in the entire EU. This makes it possible to make orphan works available online for cultural and educational purposes without any preceding permission, unless the author or owner of the rights to the work appears and withdraws the orphan status of the work.

The focal point for European growth
The Single Market is one of the biggest successes of the EU and has been the focal point for European growth since its establishment in 1992. With the integration of national markets, the EU has created the world’s largest market – a market with over 500 million consumers.

During the last 20 years, the Single Market has opened up to more competition, created new jobs, defined more affordable prices for consumers, and enabled businesses and citizens to benefit from a wide choice of goods and services.

Europe is recovering from the worst financial crisis in decades and the last years have been characterised by financial insecurity and declining economic growth. The EU is continuously working towards an optimised Single Market which benefits both enterprises and consumers. A main priority is to further simplify the regulations which still prevent citizens and businesses from making the most of the advantages of the Single Market.

The relaunch of the Single Market to ensure growth
In 2012, the Single Market will celebrate its 20th anniversary. In the light of the 20th anniversary, the Commission has presented the “Single Market Act”, which aims to update one of the EU’s greatest successes.

The Act identifies 12 key initiatives intended to contribute to the relaunch of the Single Market. Through the initiatives – one for each focus area – the relaunch of the Single Market will help to ensure growth and employment and put Europe back on track. The 12 key initiatives are:  

  1. Access to finance for SMEs (Easier access to financing by allowing venture capital funds to move freely across Member States)
  2. Mobility for citizens (Revision of laws so professional qualifications are recognised throughout the EU)
  3. Intellectual property rights (Setting up unitary patent protection and a unified patent litigation system)
  4. Legislation on alternative dispute resolution (Establishing procedures to resolve disputes out of court when consumers encounter problems)
  5. Services: increased standardisation (Revision of the legislation on the European standardisation system)
  6. Networks (Improving EU energy and transport infrastructure legislation)
  7. The digital single market (Review of the Directive on Electronic Signatures)
  8. Social entrepreneurship (Setting up a European framework facilitating the development of social investment funds)
  9. Taxation (Review of the Energy Tax Directive)
  10. Social cohesion (Improving and reinforcing the Posting of Workers Directive)
  11. Business environment (Simplification of the Accounting Directives) 
  12. Public procurement (Revised and modernised public procurement legislative framework)

In addition to the 12 key initiatives, the Single Market Act also focuses on concrete steps which will help to ensure better and more homogenous use and enforcement of the regulation in the Single Market. The goal is to ensure a well-functioning Single Market for businesses and consumers.

The ambition of the Commission is to adopt the 12 initiatives in the Single Market Act before the end of 2012 – the 20th anniversary of the Single Market. The Danish Presidency supports the Commission’s ambition, and will work towards achieving as many concrete results as possible.

Here you can find more information about the Single Market

European Commission's website on the Single Market

EU legislation on the internal market