Labour MEP Louis Grech is insisting that the European Commission should come out with a proposal for the creation of a Citizens Rights Charter to accompany the Single Market. He also suggested 2012 as the year of its launch, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Single Market.
A recent resolution on the Outcome of the Single Market Forum approved by the European Parliament includes amendments by Mr Grech urging the Commission to provide citizens with a handbook that would outline citizens’ rights and obligations when moving, working, shopping and selling across borders in the Single Market. Mr Grech’s proposal received almost unanimous support in Parliament, and the idea was dubbed as “very practical” by Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier.
Speaking to The Times Business, Mr Grech noted the low level of knowledge among citizens about the rights and benefits that the Single Market offers them, and pinpointed improving this awareness as a crucial step towards improving the market’s credibility among citizens and reinvigorating the Single Market project.
“Many citizens simply don’t know their rights, but offering them information in a targeted, accessible way will mean that citizens and consumers are empowered as well as protected within the Single Market,” he said.
The EP’s resolution also takes note of the persistent gaps within the European Single Market identified by participants of a recent Single Market Forum held in Krakow and calls for the adoption of measures in order to bridge these gaps as a matter of urgency.
“At present, the dynamics of the Single Market don’t match what people expect from it, which has led to frustration for citizens when trying to use their qualifications or open a bank account abroad, for example,” Mr Grech argued. He urged the Commission to continually and systematically assess the state of play of the market by holding a bi-annual Single Market Forum and supplementing this with annual visits to assess and promote the market in the individual member states.
Pointing out that 2012 will be the 20th anniversary of the Single Market Act, Mr Grech said that the resolution calls on the EU executive to work with member states, applicant countries and EEA partners to hold and promote major public events in next year in order to celebrate this anniversary.