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20th anniversary of the Single market in Europe – XLVII COSAC
25/04/2012
The 47th plenary session of the Conference of the committees of the national Parliaments of the European Union Member States (COSAC) took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from 22 to 24 April 2012. The conference is part of parliamentary initiatives of the Danish Presidency of the EU Council and aims to discuss and coordinate policies among the national parliaments of the EU Member States.
The National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria has been represented by Mrs. Monica Panayotova, Chairperson of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds (CEAOEF), Mr. Vladimir Toshev, Mr. Dzhevdet Chakarov and Mrs. Meglena Plugtshieva, Deputy Chairpersons and the members of the Committee – Mr. Svetlen Tanchev and Mrs. Silviya Hubenova.
Within the two plenary days, the participants in the Conference discussed key issues with the president of the European Commission Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister of Denmark Mrs. Helle Torning-Schmidt and the European Commissioners Mr. Michel Barnier, Mr. Janez Potočnik and Mrs. Neelie Kroes.
Common denominator of the Conference has been the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Single Market and its achievements, as well as recommendations for its further development in the context of implementation of the priorities grounded in the “Europe 2020” strategy. The Single market has been viewed through several core perspectives: the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the EU; smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe; the single market for services and the full implementation of the Services Directive in the Member States; energy efficiency of the European economy; the Digital Single Market.
The chairman of CEAOEF, Mrs. Monika Panayotova put the accent in her speech on two key elements for the success of the Single market – removal of the still existing barriers in front of the free movement of workers and the necessity for investments in the countries from Central and Eastern Europe: “If we really want to have flexible and truly single market in the EU and the if we want the European Union to continue to be a global player, it is high time we start thinking and acting for the benefit of the common competitiveness of the whole European Union. Therefore, it is necessary that the still-existing barriers in front of the free mobility of Bulgarian and Romanian workers are removed”. It was in this regard that Mrs. Panayotova asked the Commissioner in charge for the Internal Market and services – Mr. Barnier to give his comments on the findings in the Commission Report on the effects of the free movement of workers from Bulgaria and Romania on the GDP of the EU. Commissioner Barnier responded that opening the labor markets for Bulgarian and Romanian workers has been lied down in treaties and has to become reality by the end of 2013, at the latest. In the meantime, the European Commission urges the states that so far have not done so to take actions in that respect as soon as possible, before the negotiated deadlines. The second point Mrs. Panayotova made was that a mutually beneficial “win-win” situation could arise for both Western countries (investors) and Central and Eastern European countries (beneficiaries): companies from richer EU Member States investing in Central and Eastern Europe will boost their return and increase their competitiveness while, at the same time, this will result in faster catching-up for those countries. Additionally, the single market will become more homogeneous and coherent.
In the framework of the third panel, dedicated to the Single market of services, Mr. Svetlen Tanchev commented that officials from the European commission should facilitate the coordination between Member States. in that aspect. Mr. Tanchev noted that the the Points of Single Contact and the Internal Market Information System do not function effectively and in that regard, analysis should be carried out on the effectiveness of the undertaken measures for the improvement of the functioning of the Single market.
Mrs. Siviya Hubenova also expressed her position within the discussion that followed in the “Sustainable growth and implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy” panel. She stressed that now, more than ever, Europe needs action. In this regard, she suggested on behalf of the Bulgarian delegation that the transfer of good practices stimulating growth and job-creation is increased. She also urged the European Commission to make an assessment of the added value of the initiatives undertaken, so that those which are efficient to be transformed into know-how that might be used by everyone.
Within the framework of the panel for energy-efficient economy, the deputy chairperson of the Committee Mrs. Meglena Plugtshieva asked the Commissioner in charge of the Environment Mr. Janez Potočnik whether there is a tendency for the integration of the forest policy and its regulation on EU level. In her opinion this is an issue that has remained at the back of the agenda even though forests in Europe also need sustainable development and exploitation. In his answer, Mr. Potochnik explained that there is not too much enthusiasm for integration of forest policies on EU level. Nevertheless, the Commission works intensively for the renewal of the forest strategy.
In the informal talks that followed between national MPs and the representatives of the European Commission Mr. Dzhevdet Chakarov, deputy chairman of CEAOEF directed a question to Commissioner Potochnik about the future of the policy towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their regulation on EU level. In his reply Mr. Potochnik stated that it is becoming more and more apparent that a consensus on common European norms in the sector will be difficult to be reached. Instead, it will be up to each Member State to decide whether it should allow or ban the use of GMOs on its territory.
During its stay, the Bulgarian delegation received an invitation from the chairman of the Committee on European Affairs in the Chez Senate to visit Prague for a joint session with the senators in the end of July that should focus on the cooperation and interaction between the Member States from Central and Eastern Europe on key topics from the European Agenda.
Last but not least, a visit to Bulgaria of representatives of the French senate by invitation of Mrs. Monika Panayotova – Chairperson of CEAOEF has been negotiated and scheduled to mid-may this year.
The National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria has been represented by Mrs. Monica Panayotova, Chairperson of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds (CEAOEF), Mr. Vladimir Toshev, Mr. Dzhevdet Chakarov and Mrs. Meglena Plugtshieva, Deputy Chairpersons and the members of the Committee – Mr. Svetlen Tanchev and Mrs. Silviya Hubenova.
Within the two plenary days, the participants in the Conference discussed key issues with the president of the European Commission Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister of Denmark Mrs. Helle Torning-Schmidt and the European Commissioners Mr. Michel Barnier, Mr. Janez Potočnik and Mrs. Neelie Kroes.
Common denominator of the Conference has been the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Single Market and its achievements, as well as recommendations for its further development in the context of implementation of the priorities grounded in the “Europe 2020” strategy. The Single market has been viewed through several core perspectives: the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the EU; smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe; the single market for services and the full implementation of the Services Directive in the Member States; energy efficiency of the European economy; the Digital Single Market.
The chairman of CEAOEF, Mrs. Monika Panayotova put the accent in her speech on two key elements for the success of the Single market – removal of the still existing barriers in front of the free movement of workers and the necessity for investments in the countries from Central and Eastern Europe: “If we really want to have flexible and truly single market in the EU and the if we want the European Union to continue to be a global player, it is high time we start thinking and acting for the benefit of the common competitiveness of the whole European Union. Therefore, it is necessary that the still-existing barriers in front of the free mobility of Bulgarian and Romanian workers are removed”. It was in this regard that Mrs. Panayotova asked the Commissioner in charge for the Internal Market and services – Mr. Barnier to give his comments on the findings in the Commission Report on the effects of the free movement of workers from Bulgaria and Romania on the GDP of the EU. Commissioner Barnier responded that opening the labor markets for Bulgarian and Romanian workers has been lied down in treaties and has to become reality by the end of 2013, at the latest. In the meantime, the European Commission urges the states that so far have not done so to take actions in that respect as soon as possible, before the negotiated deadlines. The second point Mrs. Panayotova made was that a mutually beneficial “win-win” situation could arise for both Western countries (investors) and Central and Eastern European countries (beneficiaries): companies from richer EU Member States investing in Central and Eastern Europe will boost their return and increase their competitiveness while, at the same time, this will result in faster catching-up for those countries. Additionally, the single market will become more homogeneous and coherent.
In the framework of the third panel, dedicated to the Single market of services, Mr. Svetlen Tanchev commented that officials from the European commission should facilitate the coordination between Member States. in that aspect. Mr. Tanchev noted that the the Points of Single Contact and the Internal Market Information System do not function effectively and in that regard, analysis should be carried out on the effectiveness of the undertaken measures for the improvement of the functioning of the Single market.
Mrs. Siviya Hubenova also expressed her position within the discussion that followed in the “Sustainable growth and implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy” panel. She stressed that now, more than ever, Europe needs action. In this regard, she suggested on behalf of the Bulgarian delegation that the transfer of good practices stimulating growth and job-creation is increased. She also urged the European Commission to make an assessment of the added value of the initiatives undertaken, so that those which are efficient to be transformed into know-how that might be used by everyone.
Within the framework of the panel for energy-efficient economy, the deputy chairperson of the Committee Mrs. Meglena Plugtshieva asked the Commissioner in charge of the Environment Mr. Janez Potočnik whether there is a tendency for the integration of the forest policy and its regulation on EU level. In her opinion this is an issue that has remained at the back of the agenda even though forests in Europe also need sustainable development and exploitation. In his answer, Mr. Potochnik explained that there is not too much enthusiasm for integration of forest policies on EU level. Nevertheless, the Commission works intensively for the renewal of the forest strategy.
In the informal talks that followed between national MPs and the representatives of the European Commission Mr. Dzhevdet Chakarov, deputy chairman of CEAOEF directed a question to Commissioner Potochnik about the future of the policy towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their regulation on EU level. In his reply Mr. Potochnik stated that it is becoming more and more apparent that a consensus on common European norms in the sector will be difficult to be reached. Instead, it will be up to each Member State to decide whether it should allow or ban the use of GMOs on its territory.
During its stay, the Bulgarian delegation received an invitation from the chairman of the Committee on European Affairs in the Chez Senate to visit Prague for a joint session with the senators in the end of July that should focus on the cooperation and interaction between the Member States from Central and Eastern Europe on key topics from the European Agenda.
Last but not least, a visit to Bulgaria of representatives of the French senate by invitation of Mrs. Monika Panayotova – Chairperson of CEAOEF has been negotiated and scheduled to mid-may this year.
