Activities of Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE related to 2015/2354(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (22)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the single market has been, and remains, the cornerstone of EU integration and the engine of sustainable growth and jobs;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas Member States have to refrain from discriminatory measures, such as trade and tax laws that only affect certain sectors or business models and distort competition, making it difficult for foreign business to establish themselves in a given Member State, which constitutes a clear breach of internal market principles;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas there is a low level of recognition enjoyed by the social economy enterprises at European level and whereas most of these enterprises are not recognised by a European-level legal framework, but only at national level in some Member States, with different legal forms; whereas this lack of an EU legal framework hinders their capacity to operate cross-border within the internal market;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining barriers from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of sustainable growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Reiterates the importance of removing barriers (including linguistic, administrative and those relating to lack of information) which restrict the business potential of online cross-border trade and undermine consumers’ confidence in the single market; emphasises the importance of eliminating operational restrictions to the exercise of the retail activity such as the regulation of shop opening hours, retail specific and selective taxes and the disproportionate request of information to the companies;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that it is necessary to adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs,, SMEs and social economy enterprises or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; reminds that social economy enterprises have revealed a huge innovative potential, coming up with creative solutions to major economic, social and environmental challenges: calls on the Commission to propose such a definition including social economy enterprises;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that there is a need to promote social economy enterprises within the internal market policies, having in mind that there are around 2 million social economy enterprises in EU, accounting for approximately 10-12% of all European businesses; stresses, moreover, that the social economy is rapidly growing, it provides quality products and services, and creates high quality jobs;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to themse and other programmes and instruments, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures; calls on the Commission to further enhance awareness of financing instruments through targeted communication campaigns;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and , start-ups, and social economy enterprises in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Asks Member States to transpose internal market rules in a coherent and consistent way and to implement fully and correctly the internal market rules and legislation; stresses the fact that requirements for extra tests and registrations, the non-recognition of certificates and standards, territorial supply constraints and similar measures create extra costs for consumers and retailers, thereby depriving European citizens of the full benefits of the single market; calls also on the Commission, with the aim of ensuring better governance, to operate an adequate policy towards those Member States which fail to properly apply internal market rules and to do so, where appropriate, by means of infringement procedures and by speeding up those procedures using a fast-track approach;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Encourages the Commission to set up an easily accessible database containing all EU and national labelling requirements; at the same time warns against the multiplication of labels and labelling requirements and calls for simplification, including by bringing together various aspects of sustainability in one label, while reducing differences in national mandatory labelling requirements and establishing common benchmarks/criteria at EU-level, where appropriate;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Acknowledges the competence of local authorities with regard to urban planning; highlights, however, that urban planning should not be used as a pretext to circumvent the right to free establishment; recalls, in this connection, the importance of proper enforcement of the Services Directive; urges Member States to remove barriers to free movement and to open up their markets in order to stimulate competitiveness and promote diversity among shops, which is essential if shopping areas – in particular in town and city centres – are to remain attractive;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy, and in particular the announced Single Digital Gateway; calls on the Commission to explore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway to help European start-ups to scale up across Europe; urges the Commission for their swift implementation;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market; calls on the Commission to explore means of assisting Member States in finding short or long-term legislative solutions towards the sharing economy;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Commission to introduce and implement before 2019 an SPC manufacturing waiver to boost the competitiveness of the European Generics and Biosimilar Industry in a global environment, as well as to maintain and create additional jobs and growth in the EU, without undermining the market exclusivity granted under the SPC regime in protected markets;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for measures to facilitate access to the patent system in Europe for all micro-enterprises and SMEs and start-ups that wish to use the European patent with unitary effect in innovating their products and processes;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation and organising compliance dialogues with Member States; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential wherever regulatory fragmentation is hampering business activity and reducing consumer choice and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council; underlines the importance of providing relevant information on retail products, in particular the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to give the highest political prominence to the retail sector as a pillar of the single market, including the digital single market, and to lift regulatory, administrative and practical obstacles hampering the start-up of businesses, development and continuity and making it difficult for retailers to fully benefit from the internal market; considers that retail market legislation should be evidence- based, taking into account the needs of the sector;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that regulatory differences between Member States regarding differing labelling requirements create unnecessary obstacles to the activities of suppliers of goods and to consumer protection; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a mandatory scheme for the provision of key information for furniture, established at EU level; considers that such an initiativea better harmonization of these rules would be beneficial for consumers, industries and trade operators, ensuring transparency, and adequate recognition of European products and harmonised rules for operators in the single market;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Emphasises that social economy enterprises represent a diversity of business models, that is key for a highly competitive and fairer single market; calls on the Commission to mainstream the social economy within its single market policies and to develop a European Action Plan for social economy enterprises in order to unlock the full potential for a sustainable and inclusive growth.