European Union News - Internal Market

EU ministers on Transport held a debate on the fourth railway package which mainly focused on the proposal for a recast of the 2008 directive on the interoperability of the EU rail system. According to the Council, ministers broadly acknowledged the need to increase the efficiency of the authorisation process. However, misgivings were expressed about the transfer of competences from national authorities to the European Rail Agency as proposed by the Commission.

The agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the so-called "Two-Pack" is an essential step towards ensuring fiscal stability in view of the 2014 budget cycle. Once these measures have been approved by the Parliament in plenary session, the European Commission stress on the need to take next steps in the short term in order to complete the Blueprint for a Deep and Genuine EMU.

The European Parliament has approved new EU legislation that will allow European consumers to access faster and cheaper ways to solve their disputes concerning the goods and services traded within the single market. These new rules aim to avoid customers the need to engage in long and costly legal procedures which are particularly cumbersome in cross-border or on-line shopping.

Ministers meeting at the General Affairs Council reached a political agreement on the draft regulation aimed at strengthen the conditions and procedures for action by customs authorities in the EU in order to protect intellectual property rights. Among other measures, the draft regulation provides for a simplified procedure that will to facilitate the destruction of counterfeited and pirated goods seized by customs authorities.

From 11 March, it enters into force the last deadline to phase out animal testing for cosmetic products in Europe, which consist in that cosmetics tested on animals cannot be marketed any more in the EU.

Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht announced to have joined forces to help secure a WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement as part of global efforts to increase trade's contribution to development. Trade facilitation refers to measures aimed at simplifying, modernising and harmonising merchandise import, improving tax collection at the border, export and transit procedures, especially customs requirements.

An inverted triangle will shortly appear on the inside leaflet of certain medicinal products on the EU market. According to the European Commission, this symbol will allow patients and health care professionals to easily identify medicinal products that are undergoing additional monitoring, and its accompanying text will encourage them to report unexpected adverse reactions through national reporting systems.

The results of a public consultation launched by the European Commission shows that SMEs see the biggest difficulties and costs as a consequence of the rules regarding the REACH chemical legislation, value added tax, product safety, recognition of professional qualifications, data protection, waste legislation, labour market related legislation, recording equipment for road transport, public procurement and the modernised customs code. While recognising the overall necessity of having European-wide rules in these areas, the Commission stressed that it will now thoroughly address these concerns via the new Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) launched in December 2012.

The European Commission has imposed a €561 million fine on Microsoft for failing to comply with its commitments to offer users a browser choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser. In particular, Microsoft failed to roll out the browser choice screen with its Windows 7 Service Pack 1 from May 2011 until July 2012, according to the Commission.