The point of departure for the EFTA Consultative Committee opinion was the European Commission Single Market Review of November 2007 and which sets out various proposals to make the single market function more efficiently in the 21st century in the face of globalisation. While welcoming renewed attention and initiatives to improve the functioning of the single market, the Committee  regretted strongly that EFTA and the EEA had not been mentioned once in the entire Commission package. The social partners called for more activities to promote the EEA in Brussels and throughout the European Economic Area both by the relevant authorities and by the social partners themselves. They also urged the EEA EFTA States' authorities to present a joint position on the Single Market Review to the Commission  The Review covers the very core of the EEA cooperation and the focus should thus be on EEA-30 rather than EU-27. A joint recommendation by the EEA EFTA States to this end would be very important.

The EFTA Consultative Committee also welcomed the aspiration of the Commission to bring more benefits to European citizens by empowering consumers (e.g. consumer scoreboard), opening up for small businesses, and stimulating innovation in the single market. Among its specific recommendations, the Committee asked the EEA EFTA authorities to prepare consumer scoreboards also for the EEA EFTA States and to fully support new activities such as the Small Business Act.

The Single Market Review underlines the importance of giving the internal market a stronger social dimension, and the EFTA Consultative Committee welcomed initiatives for more inclusive policies and underlined specifically the important role of the social partners who represent key stakeholders in the single market. The Committee emphasised that a well-functioning, competitive and innovation-friendly single market is dependent on good market regulations as well as good regulations on social policy and well functioning labour markets.

The EFTA Consultative Committee in its opinion also looked closer at how a new impact-driven, evidence-based, decentralised and network-based approach to the single market might impact the EEA cooperation. While new instruments, methods and networks were welcome to the extent that they make the single market work better in practice - a key priority for the Consultative Committee - the Committee asked the EEA EFTA authorities to analyse how new, and especially non-legel initiatives could be integrated into a legal instrument such as the EEA Agreement, and how EEA EFTA participation in new networks and initiatives, which are meant to develop, implement and enforce more efficiently EEA law, could be ensured.

To read the opinion in full, please click here.