Malta Business Bureau welcomes European Commission commitment to strengthen single market

The Malta Business Bureau (MBB) welcomes the publication of the European Commission’s New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery.

The strategy outlines the EU’s commitment to ensure that its industrial vision learns lessons from the COVID-19 crisis and helps drive the transformation to a more sustainable, digital, resilient and globally competitive economy.

The Communication proposes a set of instruments including a Single Market Emergency Instrument, a structural solution to ensure free movement during future crises; enforcing the Services Directive to ensure Member States comply with their obligations not to introduce disproportionate requirements on foreign companies; strengthening market surveillance of products by supporting national authorities to increase capacity; and mobilising investment to support SMEs, including addressing payment delays, providing measures to address solvency risks and implementing Alternative Dispute Resolution schemes.

MBB President Simon De Cesare said:

“The revamped Industrial Strategy is a very good step forward aimed towards solidifying the Single Market, which is the EU’s biggest and most successful project. We particularly welcome the initiatives to ensure minimal disruption in the Single Market during future crises, as it will allow for smoother cross-border movement of goods and services which were severely disrupted during the pandemic.”

“In addition, we are very happy to see two key issues raised by the MBB in the 2019 report on the Single Market, ‘The Impact of the European Single Market on Maltese Businesses’, have been taken up. Specifically, the commitment for greater enforcement on the obligations of the Services Directive which will ensure that Member States do not introduce protectionist requirements, as well as providing support to Member States’ market surveillance authorities to increase their capacity to better be able to go about their duties and ensure a fair level playing field for all companies,” he added.

The Malta Business Bureau is the EU-business advisory office of The Malta Chamber and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, and is a partner of the Enterprise Europe Network.