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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
News article19 April 2022Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Commission seeks views on the upcoming Single Market Emergency Instrument

The Commission published a call for evidence and a public consultation on the upcoming proposal for a Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI). With the call for evidence, the Commission takes the opportunity to explain to the public why this Instrument is being prepared, what it aims to achieve and to gather their views on crisis-related disruptions to the Single Market. 

The objective of the public consultation questionnaire is to collect detailed input from experts and the general public on any crisis-related Single Market problems encountered and on the potential solutions. This evidence will be used when carrying out an impact assessment and designing the future SMEI proposal.

Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager, said: “The Single Market is one of our greatest achievements and a pillar of our resilience. The Single Market Emergency Instrument will help us react more quickly during future crises and guarantee a smooth functioning of the Single Market when it is the most needed. To ensure the circulation of goods and people, access to vital supplies and services at all times.” 

Commissioner Breton, responsible for the Internal Market, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic and more recently Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted a number of challenges for the Single Market and the resilience of our supply chains in times of crisis. It is time to have a structural reflection, without naivety, and without taboos, on how to be better prepared to anticipate and react to the next crisis which, whatever its nature, may cause major shocks to demand or supply, affecting our industries and fragmenting our Single Market. In doing so, we are looking carefully at the measures that our international partners have already put in place to become more responsive and stronger in defending their interests.” 

One of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis is that our Single Market is one of the best assets to ensure the resilience of the EU economy. We need to have the right tools in place to ensure the functioning on the Single Market when emergencies arise. The ongoing conflict at Europe’s doorstep further highlights these shortcomings. As announced in the Industrial Strategy Update, the Commission will propose a Single Market Emergency Instrument to ensure better preparedness, greater transparency and better coordination between Member States of crisis response measures. This will help mitigate harmful impacts on the Single Market, safeguard the free movement of persons, goods and services as well as maximise their availability for an adequate crisis management.

The call for evidence and the public consultation will be open until 11 May 2022 at midnight.

More information

Single Market Emergency Instrument

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