European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
single market
The European Commission at mid-term: State of play of President Juncker’s ten priorities
Written by Etienne Bassot and Wolfgang Hiller, At a time when, more than ever, citizens expect the European Union institutions to address their concerns and deliver on promises and commitments made, this analysis provides an overview of the work carried out by the European Commission at the mid-term of its current mandate, notably in the … Continue reading
Single market information tool (SMIT) [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Cemal Karakas (1st edition), Competition and consumer protection in the single market are often undermined by measures such as price discrimination based on residency, geo-blocking of online audio-visual content, or limited cross-border parcel delivery. While many businesses do not cooperate with the Commission by e.g. disclosing their pricing structure, Member States often do … Continue reading
Double taxation dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Cécile Remeur (2nd edition), Double taxation happens when two (or more) tax jurisdictions impose comparable taxes on the same cross-border taxable event. This can happen since taxation is a sovereign right for individual countries. The proposal for a directive on double taxation dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union is instrumental to reducing … Continue reading
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Ivana Katsarova (4th edition), On 25 April 2017, the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education voted to amend the proposal for an updated EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, presented by the Commission in May 2016. MEPs also voted to open interinstitutional trilogue talks, with a view to finalising the legislation on the … Continue reading
Reflection paper on the social dimension of the EU
Written by Nora Milotay, The paper on the EU’s social dimension, the first of five papers within the white paper process, is the European Commission’s contribution to a debate among the leaders of the 27 Member States (other than the UK), EU institutions, social partners and citizens on two major issues in the social and … Continue reading
WIFI4EU – Promotion of internet connectivity in local communities [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Christian Scheinert (2nd edition), On 14 September 2016, the Commission published a proposal for the promotion of very fast wireless internet access in local communities. This service would be provided free of charge to the public at large. The areas covered would encompass public administrations, libraries and hospitals, as well as outdoor spaces … Continue reading
Consumer Protection Cooperation [EU Legislation in Progress]
The Commission estimates that the detriment to consumers caused by non-compliance with basic EU consumer rules in certain cross-border online markets and also by inefficient cross-border enforcement amounts to €770 million per year.
To remedy this, the Commission has presented a legislative proposal to review the existing rules on consumer protection cooperation between enforcement authorities as part of its e-commerce package in May 2016. Continue reading
Outcome of the special European Council (Article 50) meeting of 29 April 2017
Written by Ralf Drachenberg, At their first formal meeting as the European Council of the EU-27 on 29 April 2017, EU leaders took a united stance on the main priorities of the EU-27 for the Article 50 negotiations, namely to guarantee EU and UK citizens’ rights, settle the UK’s financial obligations to the EU, and … Continue reading
Understanding social dumping in the European Union
Written by Monika Kiss, Although a recurring term in discussions related to working mobility, wages and the social security of workers, social dumping has neither a generally accepted definition, nor easily definable limits. It is rather a set of practices on an international, national or inter-corporate level, aimed at gaining an advantage over competitors, which … Continue reading
Outcome of European Council meeting of 9 March 2017 and of informal meeting of the EU27 of 10 March 2017
Written by Suzana Anghel and Ralf Drachenberg, After re-electing Donald Tusk as its President, the European Council meeting of 9 March 2017 discussed the economic situation in Europe, progress on measures regarding migration, internal and external security, and external relations. In his first speech to the European Council, the recently- elected President of the European … Continue reading
Outlook for the 9 March 2017 European Council, and the Informal meeting of the 27 Heads of State or Government on 10 March 2017
Written by Susanna Tenhunen and Ralf Drachenberg, At their 9-10 March 2017 meeting, EU leaders will focus on the economic situation in Europe, including the economic and social priorities of the 2017 European Semester, trade policy and delivery of the different single market strategies. The European Council will also discuss migration, security and defence, and … Continue reading
Understanding equivalence and single passport in financial services: Third country access to the single market [Policy Podcast]
Written by Marcin Szczepański, Alongside closer integration of the single market in financial services on the one hand and the more general globalisation of the sector on the other, the issue of access for third-country institutions has become increasingly important – not least recently in relation to the question of access to the continent for … Continue reading
The Juncker Commission’s ten priorities: State of play at the start of 2017
Written by Étienne Bassot and Wolfgang Hiller, More than two years since Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took office on 1 November 2014, having presented the ten priority areas that would serve as his Commission’s guiding lines for the following five years, the European Commission is now approaching the midway point of its mandate. Building on the … Continue reading
Understanding the Single Market for services [Policy Podcast]
Services account for 70% of European Union (EU) GDP and for a similar share of jobs, but only 20% of services, representing 5% of EU GDP, are provided across borders. Intra-EU trade in services has been less affected by the crisis than trade in goods, however, and experts agree that further integration of the market will bring about significant economic gains Continue reading
Cross-border parcel delivery services [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Jana Valant (1st edition), High prices and the inconvenience of cross-border parcel delivery have been identified as being among the main obstacles to a bigger uptake of e-commerce among European consumers and retailers. Research shows that current cross-border parcel delivery prices charged by universal service providers can be almost five times higher than … Continue reading
Outlook for the European Council of 17-18 March 2016
Written by Ralf Drachenberg and Stanislas de Finance The European Council of 17-18 March 2016 will discuss further steps to address the migration crisis, focusing on the follow-up to the 7 March meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government with Turkey and on reforming the EU’s existing framework for a common asylum policy. … Continue reading
A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe
Written by Marcin Szczepański The European Commission has proposed a new strategy to create a fully integrated Digital Single Market (DSM), in order to gradually bring down the remaining obstacles and move from 28 national markets to a single one. The strategy comprises a mix of legislative and non-legislative initiatives to be tabled by the … Continue reading
Digital Single Market and geo-blocking
Written by Tambiama Madiega On 6 May 2015 the European Commission unveiled its Digital Single Market Strategy with which, inter alia, it intends to remove barriers to e-commerce across Europe. One such barrier is ‘geo-blocking’, that is commercial practices that prevent or restrict customers from accessing or purchasing a product or a service online, thereby … Continue reading
The EU’s prominent antitrust cases [What Think Tanks are thinking]
Written by Marcin Grajewski The European Commission is pursuing a number of high-profile investigations in the competition area, highlighting the determination of the new team at the European Union’s executive to be a tough enforcer of antitrust laws. Last month, the Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Google, alleging the company has abused its … Continue reading
A connected Digital Single Market – State of play and the way forward
Written by Marcin Szczepański Information and communication technologies and the digital economy have the potential to improve Europe’s productivity and create growth and jobs. The EU has been making efforts to help create a more integrated European digital economy since the mid-1990s. In 2010, the Commission added new momentum to the process, and with the … Continue reading
