EU, single market action plan: less constraints on medium-sized companies
Commissioner Séjourné speaks: 'We want to make life easier for mid-caps by extending small business facilities to them'
from our correspondent Beda Romano
2' min read
2' min read
BRUSSELS - Between now and the end of 2026, the European Commission intends to tackle the persistent barriers that still, 30 years on, hamper the free movement of goods and services in the single market. The aim is to make the EU more autonomous, less dependent on exports, against a background of increasing protectionism. Among other things, Brussels wants to simplify the administrative tasks of medium-sized companies.
New course for mid-caps
"We want to make life easier for the so-called mid-caps, i.e. medium-sized European companies with between 250 and 750 employees. Among other things, we want to give them the exemptions currently granted only to small companies, for example in the context of the application of the privacy regulation, known by the acronym Gdpr,' explained Single Market Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, 40, in a conversation with a number of European newspapers including Il Sole/24 Ore.
According to the French politician, 'many small companies have not wanted to grow in recent years so as not to fall within the scope of certain legislative texts that would have imposed particular obligations on them'. The European Commission therefore wants to rework a handful of legislative texts. "There is already an agreement with the main political forces in Parliament to make surgical changes to make life easier for the mid-caps". These now number 38,000.
The Action Plan
.Presented today, Wednesday 21 May, the action plan to revitalise the single market and abolish barriers to free movement includes a series of legislative proposals between now and 2026. "I am well aware that other Commissioners before me have wanted to tackle protectionism in national markets," explained Commissioner Séjourné. "This time, however, our strategy is different, no longer horizontal, but vertical and sectoral." The aim is to make full use of the single market instrument, which in fact can be a driver of competitiveness.
According to a report by the International Monetary Fund, 'the average cost to sell goods in EU member countries is equivalent to a tariff of about 45%, while in the United States the equivalent is about 15% (...) For services, there are even higher barriers, with an estimated tariff equivalent of 110%, on average'. More generally, regulatory differences between member countries limit the European projection of small companies.
