Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-19-Speech-2-039"
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"Madam President, Commissioner, Mr Vizjak, ladies and gentlemen, my thanks to everyone for their input on this but especially to the rapporteur, Alexander Stubb, who was very helpful in including us, the shadow rapporteurs for his report, in all aspects of the discussions. Thank you for that.
Approval of the goods package marks a serious advance towards achieving the single European market in goods and the three proposals together are necessary instruments if we are to have a single market in goods that works properly. We have the principle of mutual recognition, but it exists chiefly on paper. All too often the principle is ignored. The single market today is not working as Jacques Delors had envisaged it a quarter of a century ago. The European Commission calculates that it costs companies 2 to 10% more to sell their goods in another Member State, because the principle of mutual recognition is incorrectly applied. Indeed, as you too have worked out, Mr Stubb, this means an extra cost to the Union as a whole of EUR 150 billion a year. That is bad news, for businesses and their employees, but also for consumers who have to pay higher prices as a result. So it was high time to dust off the principle of mutual recognition and apply it properly. Hence this rigorously designed procedure with a reversal of the burden of proof, which requires the Commission to be informed of the Member State’s decision at the end of the procedure. I hope the Commission will also take action at the end of the procedure if it transpires that there are still a few little rules that are not based on objective criteria.
One or two things for the future: strict quality criteria for national supervisory authorities is a step forward but ultimately we need to improve cross-border cooperation when it comes to supervision. Our Committee on the Internal Market went on a tour of the port of Antwerp, where we saw the customs services demanding more funding – a matter for Member States – but also calling for more cross-border cooperation, which is something we need to work on for the future.
Secondly, we have greater clarity surrounding the CE mark but I agree with Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Gebhardt that we need to work on a real safety label in the future. I welcome the positive reply given by Commissioner Verheugen on this. Mutual recognition has to work better, and all parties on the ground have to accept their responsibilities here, Member States and the Commission too. But it remains the second-best solution. We want to see harmonising legislative initiatives in future to complete the single market in goods."@en1
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