Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-13-Speech-1-160"
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"en.20060213.14.1-160"2
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".
Mr President, the Commission very much appreciates the interest expressed by the European Parliament in the EU problem-solving network SOLVIT.
SOLVIT is more than just a system, it is in many ways the starting point of a change in administrative culture, for the following reasons: firstly, with its ten-week deadline and pragmatic approach, SOLVIT cuts procedural red tape and puts citizens and businesses first; secondly, Member States are made directly responsible for solving internal market problems that arise between them and, thirdly, with its fully transparent way of working, SOLVIT delivers measurable results that make a real difference for citizens and businesses. After three years of experience, the Commission can wholeheartedly recommend SOLVIT as an alternative, fast and effective way of handling complaints. Therefore, more resources have been allocated to the Commission SOLVIT support team, which, since September, counts five full-time and four part-time staff.
One of the key policy objectives for SOLVIT is to integrate it as a standard instrument in the toolbox of all Commission case handlers dealing with the complaints of citizens and businesses. We also wish to further increase awareness about the existence and the possibilities of SOLVIT within other EU institutions, such as the European Parliament, within national administrations and within organisations representing citizens and business interests.
There are currently two issues that need to be addressed to allow SOLVIT to reach its full potential: the need for Member States’ authorities to change administrative practices and habits, and ensuring that sufficient resources are available at national level to handle SOLVIT complaints and to engage in awareness-raising activities.
SOLVIT is a tool designed for problem solving. The Commission believes that the SOLVIT working method can be developed in order to support administrative cooperation in many areas. Inspired by the success of SOLVIT, we are currently developing an internal market information system, which is a more general tool aimed at supporting administrative cooperation between Member States across the internal market.
The profile of SOLVIT at the political level should be raised. It is only with sufficient political commitment that administrations will be prepared to resort to faster and more informal methods for problem solving wherever possible. It is only with a clear political will that sufficient staff will be allocated in national administrations to solve problems within deadlines and to get the word out to businesses and citizens.
Given its rate of success so far, the Commission believes that it will be possible to ensure more awareness-raising without having to provide a binding legal basis for SOLVIT. The absence of such a binding legal basis has, to date, allowed a great deal of flexibility. Moreover, over the past few years we have seen interesting spontaneous developments, such as the more structural resolution of problems by several SOLVIT centres, even though this is not part of the SOLVIT mandate as described in the Commission recommendation.
The Commission will continue to play an active role in the further development of SOLVIT. A second annual report on the functioning and development of SOLVIT will be available in April 2006 and will allow the European Parliament to further monitor the situation."@en1
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