The completion of the single market, the sustainability of national debts and a grass-roots led EU cohesion policy are central to the success of the EU2020 strategy, insisted MEPs in a series of resolutions adopted on Thursday. The vote on Parliament's EU 2020 resolution has been postponed until June.

The EU should pass a "Single Market Act" by May 2011, setting out policy priorities for creating a highly competitive social market and green economy and covering both legislative and non-legislative initiatives, says a resolution drafted by Louis Grech (S&D, MT) and adopted by 578 votes to 28, with 16 abstentions.

MEPs call for "a more holistic approach" to the EU internal market that takes full account of citizens' concerns. Strengthening it will be vital if the Europe 2020 strategy is to preserve the social dimension of the EU model, whilst at the same time giving the Union the competitive edge it needs.

This position is intended as Parliament's contribution to a report prepared by Mario Monti, at Commission President José Manuel Barroso's request, on revitalising the single market.

Healthier public finances

A resolution on the long-term sustainability of public finances, adopted by 302 votes to 275 with 34 abstentions, calls for the prioritisation of debt surveillance, asks the Commission to evaluate the quality of Member States' debts, insists on Commission oversight of national debt statistics and emphasises that stronger supervision of the financial markets is essential for guaranteeing the long-term health of national budgets.

To improve transparency and evaluate the soundness of debt, Parliament also asks the Commission to carry out studies to assess the quality of the Member States' debt.  It also blames poor statistics for the markets' loss of faith in public finances and calls for the Commission to be empowered to control the reporting obligations of Member States.

Regional policy and R&D

A resolution on the "Contribution of the Cohesion policy to the achievement of Lisbon and EU 2020 objectives", drafted by Ricardo Cortés Lastra (S&D, ES) and adopted by show of hands, stresses the importance of involving local and regional authorities as well as stakeholders from civil society in the implementation of the EU 2020 Strategy.

In the final resolution, drafted by Lambert Van Nistelrooij (EPP, NL) and adopted by 559 votes to 18 with 36 abstentions, MEPs called for more "synergies" between EU research and innovation funds, regional development funds and the 7th Framework for Research and Development. Parliament also stresses that sustainable economic growth is increasingly dependent on the capacity of regional economies to innovate and invest in new technologies.