Recommendations for the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, 2 nd semester 2013

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1 Position Paper February 2013 Recommendations for the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, 2 nd semester 2013 Executive Summary Rather than set out a wide range of objectives that would be unachievable during the six months tenure, EUROCHAMBRES instead invites the Lithuanian Presidency to focus on the following 5 business related deliverables: 1. Internal market: deliver a clear message prior to the new EU legislative term to shift the focus from developing new legislation to enforcing existing directives and regulations and to review the role of mutual recognition; 2. SME policy: five years on from the endorsement of the Small Business Act for Europe by the EU Council in December 2008, initiate a long overdue follow-up discussion among heads of state at the December 2013 summit on progress made and measures still required to make the EU a better place to create, develop and run a business; 3. Smart regulation: mark the 10 th anniversary of the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Lawmaking with various activities to reinforce the commitment of the EU institutions and member states to evidence based, competitiveness-proofed policy making; 4. Eastern Partnership: move forward in the DCFTA negotiations with Eastern Neighbourhood countries and ratification of the agreement reached with Ukraine. Stimulate SME development, strengthen business representative organisations and fight against corruption should be among the priorities of our cooperation with EaP countries. 5. EU-US Trade and Investment Partnership. Ensure a comprehensive negotiating position of the EU, comprising all areas identified by the High level Working Group. Focus should be given on removing behind the border obstacles and regulatory convergence, customs facilitation, government procurement at sub-federal level, investment, services, as well as elaborating clear and innovative provisions for SME s. EUROCHAMBRES Position Paper February 2013

2 Internal Market The completion of the single market, allowing businesses to trade across the EU unencumbered by legislative barriers and procedural obstacles, is a crucial facilitator of economic recovery and growth. Chambers firmly believe that the focus of policy makers should shift from initiating new ideas to improving the delivery of existing ones. Reflecting this, Chambers argue that the Commission s recent Better Governance for the Single Market communication is of greater significance than its more illustrious stable mates, the Single Market Acts (SMA) I and II. EUROCHAMBRES thus advocates a Lithuanian Presidency approach to internal market issues based on enforcement, not invention. A good starting point would be to press national governments to produce and publish tables illustrating the correlation between the directives and the transposition measures, something that very few currently do. Chambers welcome the Lithuanian Presidency plan to consider the potentially greater role of mutual recognition and reinforced market surveillance in the completion of the single market. EUROCHAMBRES believes that a clear reference to this aspect in Council conclusions could act as a valuable indicator for the Commission s term. These conclusions should stem from a high level discussion on single market governance with relevant business representatives, notably Chambers of Commerce. This dialogue could also provide an opportunity to obtain commitments from member states and the EU institutions on the swift delivery of SMAs I and II. SME Policy The European Commission adopted the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) in June 2008 and the communication was formally endorsed by the European Council in December of the same year. EUROCHAMBRES broadly supports the content of both the original and the 2010 revised SBA and welcomed the spotlight it shone on SME policy. The Chamber network has been actively involved in contributing to and monitoring the implementation of the SBA s various elements at national and EU level. Moreover, national Chambers are in regular contact with the national SME Envoys designated to contribute to the governance of the SBA and EUROCHAMBRES takes part regularly in the meetings of the SME Envoy Network organized by the European Commission. Notwithstanding these new and generally value adding mechanisms and despite the worsening of conditions for smaller businesses in the intervening five years and the current historically low levels of business confidence 1, SME policy has not remained a top priority across the EU. The regular references to smaller businesses as the backbone of the economy by leading policy makers have consequently taken on an increasingly hollow tone from a Chamber perspective. 1 The 20 th edition of the annual EUROCHAMBRES Economic Survey published in November 2012 showed the lowest levels ever recorded for the business confidence indicator: EUROCHAMBRES Position Paper February 2013 Page 2 of 5

3 EUROCHAMBRES therefore invites the Lithuanian Presidency to mark the fifth anniversary of the endorsement of the SBA by the European Council with a discussion on progress made and key forthcoming SME policy challenges at the December 2013 European Council. This would send a positive message to the SME community that Europe s leaders have not forgotten their central role in delivering growth and competitiveness and should ensure greater focus specific deliverables to address the most important issues, notably: Stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation Improving access to finance Reducing regulatory and administrative burdens and applying the think small first principle Facilitating access to the internal and third country markets EUROCHAMBRES also urges the Lithuanian Presidency to ensure that the finalization of the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework reflect the EU s growth and jobs strategy and the pivotal role of SMEs in meeting Europe 2020 s targets and objectives. New programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME must be ready to hit the ground running in early 2014 to ensure continuity and improvement. Smart Regulation The most direct way in which policy makers can improve business conditions is to develop policy in a way that contributes to competitiveness and growth and to rationalize the stockpile of existing regulatory requirements. The EU s smart regulation agenda should reflect this, moving beyond the conventional notion of minimizing regulatory and administrative burdens towards the development of effective processes for evidence based policy making. At EU level, this process should be embedded from start to finish, encompassing the Commission s initial reflection on the policy objective, the consideration of the appropriate mechanism (legislative or otherwise), the impact assessment of the chosen tool, the inter-institutional negotiations, the transposition and application and then ex-post evaluation. Similar principles should be enshrined at member state level too. The EU institutions can and must therefore be key players in this process. Regrettably though, the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-making 2 between the European Commission, Parliament and Council has remained largely a work of fiction. EUROCHAMBRES highlights in particular to the incoming Lithuanian Presidency that the Council has almost entirely failed to deliver on its commitments to assess the impact of substantive amendments or even systematically review the Commission impact assessment that accompanies legislative proposals. EUROCHAMBRES invites the Lithuanian Presidency to instigate a review of the actions of the Council secretariat and member states in relation to the smart regulation agenda. A renewal of the member states commitment to the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-making agreement on its tenth anniversary in December 2013 and a statement of intent to swiftly put in place more robust mechanisms for regulatory reform would reassure the business community and other stakeholders that this agenda will remain a top priority for member states and for the next EU legislative term /C 321/01: EUROCHAMBRES Position Paper February 2013 Page 3 of 5

4 Eastern Partnership EUROCHAMBRES welcomes the economic integration of the six countries with the rest of Europe; there is an untapped potential for trade and investment. The Eastern Neighbourhood policy should support that process. EUROCHAMBRES is actively engaged with these six countries and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of each is member of the association. EUROCHAMBRES main operation in the region is the EU funded East Invest programme, the main objective of which is to stimulate investment promotion and economic cooperation between the EU and the six EaP countries. East Invest covers a wide range of activities, including capacity building for business organisations (training, twinning, ), training for SMEs, matchmaking events in important trade fairs, etc. The programme is coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES and implemented through the East Alliance: 85 private sector organisations Chambers of Commerce, industry federations, SME agencies from all six EaP countries and most EU member states. Based on this experience, EUROCHAMBRES invites the Lithuanian Presidency to focus the EaP Summit on improving the business climate in these countries: tackle the problem of corruption/rule of law, support the development of SMEs, strengthen the capacity of business organisations. In this context, the negotiations, signing and ratification of the Association Agreements, or a more focused Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, is important and should be accelerated as much as possible. EU-US Trade and Investment negotiations EUROCHAMBRES welcomes the importance attached by the Lithuanian Presidency to the launch of the EU-US Trade and Investment negotiations. A comprehensive agreement may have significant impact on jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic. As to the substance of the agreement, negotiating efforts should primarily be geared towards creating increased regulatory compatibility through mutual recognition and legal mechanisms where regulators can recognize the equivalence of decision by their counterparts as well as establishing effective platforms whereby future legislation on both sides will not become an obstacle to transatlantic trade. Equally, increased market access must be ensured, not only at federal level by slashing tariffs to zero, but also at state level, particular in the procurement area. By the same token, EUROCHAMBRES is pleased to see that a SME angle has been recommended for this agreement, and urges the Lithuanian Presidency to include clear and innovative provisions in this field, that should help create a more SME friendly environment on both sides of the Atlantic. EUROCHAMBRES Position Paper February 2013 Page 4 of 5

5 Chambers contribution to the Lithuanian Presidency Term Beyond the various elements contained in this submission, the Chamber network aims to ensure that the Lithuanian Presidency term delivers tangible progress for the business community. EUROCHAMBRES and the national Chambers of Commerce & Industry thus confirm their willingness to collaborate with the Lithuanian Government in the preparation and implementation of its six-month Presidency of the European Council. Chambers will play an active role in the European SME Envoy Network during the second half of 2013, which will meet in Vienna in September and in Vilnius in November. EUROCHAMBRES plans to convene a meeting of its SME policy expert group in Vilnius on the occasion of the SME Assembly in late November and Chambers will be present in force at the Enterprise Europe Network annual conference in Lithuania (approximately one-third of the 600 EEN host organisations are Chambers). EUROCHAMBRES also looks forward to welcoming a senior representative of the Lithuanian Government to attend its traditional Business Breakfast in Brussels with the incoming Presidency in late June EUROCHAMBRES position papers can be downloaded via: EUROCHAMBRES The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry represents over 20 million enterprises in Europe 93% of which are SMEs through members in 44 countries and a European network of 2000 regional and local Chambers. ASSOCIATION OF EUROPEAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Chamber House, Avenue des Arts, 19 A/D B Brussels Belgium Tel Fax eurochambres@eurochambres.eu EUROCHAMBRES Position Paper February 2013 Page 5 of 5