What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A10-0000/2025),(A10-0151/2025),

A. whereas the EU is one of the largest economic blocs in the world;world, with a population of around 450 million people; whereas ensuring a competitive, dynamicfit-for-purpose and simplified regulatory environment is essential for strengthening the EU’s global position and forposition, fostering long-term growth, consumer confidence and innovation; whereas such efforts should be designed to benefitprotection, bothand businessesinnovation, and consumers bycompleting enhancingthe markettwin access;transition;

B. whereas the Draghi and Letta reports have identified regulatory complexities and the inconsistent implementation of EU rules as major obstacles to the competitiveness of the EU single market;

B. whereas the Commission has set targets to reduce administrative costs by 25 % for all companies and 35 % for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by 2029; whereas the Commission communication entitled ‘A simpler and faster Europe’ underlines the need to deliver fast and visible improvements through smarter regulation, more effective implementation and better stakeholder engagement; whereas such efforts should be designed to benefit businesses, consumers and society at large by enhancing market access, reducing unnecessary burdens and ensuring a fair level playing field, while also upholding the EU’s core policy objectives and high social and environmental standards;

C. whereas the Niinistö report’s observations on simplifying the EU’s defence industry highlight the strategic need to streamline regulations in key sectors to reduce fragmentation, accelerate procurement and foster European security and competitiveness;

C. whereas the Draghi and Letta reports have identified internal market fragmentation, regulatory complexities and the inconsistent implementation of EU rules as major obstacles to the competitiveness of the EU single market; whereas according to the Draghi report, fostering a more stable and predictable regulatory environment, with a focus on necessary and proportionate legislative action, could help reinforce the EU’s competitiveness;

D. whereas the 2025 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report and the Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard provide critical information on the current state of the single market;

D. whereas the Niinistö report’s observations on simplifying and strengthening the EU’s defence industry highlight the strategic need to streamline regulations in key sectors to reduce fragmentation, accelerate public procurement and improve delivery to support the defence industries and enable Member States to meet essential defence spending targets and foster EU security and competitiveness;

E. whereas the Competitiveness Compass and the Commission’s work programme 2025 set out ambitious policy objectives aimed at reinforcing the resilience of the single market, reducing administrative burdens and aligning the regulatory framework with global best practices; whereas the views of businesses must be taken into account to ensure that EU policies support economic activity and create a positive environment for investment and innovation;

E. whereas the 2025 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report and the Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard provide critical information on the current state of the single market, business sentiment and sectoral competitiveness; whereas the services sector remains less integrated than the goods sector; whereas the lack of harmonisation continues to hinder the provision of cross-border services, especially by SMEs; whereas recent statistics indicate that permitting times for opening and operating a business in the EU remain significantly longer than in competing regions, creating barriers to investment and innovation;

F. whereas regulatory fragmentation, complexity, overlaps and inconsistent implementation of EU internal market rules create unjustified barriers and unnecessary administrative burdens that disproportionally impact SMEs, small mid-caps and start-ups, representing 99 % of EU businesses, limiting their capacity to innovate, invest, scale-up, compete effectively and engage in cross-border activities within the single market and on global markets; whereas the SME test and better implementation and simplification, where necessary and justified, of EU rules are essential to ensure proportionality in the legal framework; whereas, as highlighted in the Draghi report, the EU’s competitiveness gap is also driven by the underperformance of large firms and whereas successful companies in the internal market, that also capture value from global markets, are vital for creating prosperity for the EU and its citizens;

G. whereas robust enforcement of single market rules, including through swifter and effective infringement proceedings, should be considered essential to ensure fair competition and business confidence, and to protect consumers from the consequences of market fragmentation and reduced choice; whereas efforts to improve, streamline and simplify the EU’s legislative framework should also focus on enhancing quality, clarity and coherence, on reducing fragmentation in the implementation of EU rules, as well as ensuring that the legislation is easily understandable for authorities and all stakeholders;

H. whereas the Competitiveness Compass and the Commission’s work programme 2025 set out ambitious policy objectives aimed at reinforcing the resilience of the single market, reducing administrative burdens, and aligning the regulatory framework with global best practices; whereas it is important to further link the EU’s industrial strategy to the single market strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU economy, including by supporting the development and uptake of clean and strategic technologies;

I. whereas in efforts to simplify the regulatory environment in the EU’s internal market, the views of businesses, trade unions, consumers, civil society actors, academia and other concerned stakeholders should be taken into account to ensure that EU policies support economic growth and quality jobs and create a positive environment for private investment and innovation and for reaching policy goals such as sustainability, digitalisation and consumer protection by means of comprehensive, transparent and inclusive public consultations, with particular consideration given to the specific needs and perspectives of SMEs and start-ups, as well as other stakeholders with limited capacity, ensuring that simplification efforts do not penalise early movers or remove incentives for innovation-led businesses;

J. whereas unjustified national barriers to the free movement of goods and services, undermine the functioning of the single market and should therefore be addressed and prevented; whereas the International Monetary Fund has estimated that internal market barriers in the EU are equivalent to a 45 % tariff on manufacturing and a 110 % tariff on services; whereas such fragmentation weakens competition, hinders productivity and growth, and disproportionately affects SMEs;

K. whereas the impact of territorial supply constraints (TSCs) on the single market, SMEs and EU citizens’ consumer purchasing power is significant as, according to the Commission, TSCs cost EU consumers more than EUR 14 billion a year;

Strengthening the single market to boost the EU’s competitiveness and global influence

1. Underlines that the EU is falling behind in terms of global competitiveness;competitiveness, particularly in certain sectors; recognises that shortcomings in implementation, regulatory fragmentation and unnecessary administrative burdens are keysome of the main factors in the EU’sEU lagging behind in investment, innovation, job creation and business opportunities; emphasises that the promotion, streamlining and simplification of rules and the implementationproper and timely implementation, as well as the effective enforcement, of common rules strengthen the single market, thereby boosting competitiveness, economic prosperity, employment, skills developmentdevelopment, high quality jobs, high environmental standards and innovation;

2. Recognises that in order to secure the EU’s prosperity, it is necessary to reduceimprove regulatory coherence and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on businesses – specifically smaller businesses and start-ups; insists, therefore, that barriers that currently hinder growth, job creation and investment must be removed and that resources should be directed towards encouraging innovation and fostering growth;growth while ensuring a level playing field based on high social and environmental standards; underlines the need to mobilise private investment and stresses that particular attention should be paid to reducing compliance costs for SMEs through digital tools and targeted derogations; stresses that tailored provisions for SMEs must go hand in hand with reforms addressing the persistent barriers faced by companies in the scale-up phase, while also enabling larger companies to operate and compete across borders and internationally;

3. Emphasises that increased harmonisation, streamlined processes and the correct implementationimplementation, effective application, compliance, monitoring and enforcement of EU laws are vital for the proper functioning of the single market and forthe reachingachievement of crucial EU policy goals; welcomes the Commission’s planobjectives to boost competitivenesscompetitiveness, innovation and productivity through the simplification, streamlining and improved implementation and enforcement of EU rules; calls on the Commission to act upon the recommendations ofcontained in the Draghi, Letta and Niinistö reports with concrete measures and clear timelines;

Streamlined rules, better implementation and robust enforcement for a predictable and competitive business environment

4. Underlines that regulatory streamlining and simplification aimare toaimed facilitateat facilitating compliance processes, while upholding the EU’s core policy objectivesobjectives, ensuring that social and environmental standards, as well as digital rights and consumer protection, are not compromised, and ensuring a stable and predictable regulatory environment for businesses;businesses that provides legal clarity and certainty for all; underlines that competitiveness and innovation, especially in the context of the current cost-of-living crisis, must deliver outcomes that benefit consumers; stresses that simplification should also reinforce the EU’s long-term objectives, including the digitalisation of the economy, the green transition and consumer protection, while ensuring technology neutrality;

5. Considers that a well-functioning single market, in which rules are implemented and enforced in a correctcorrect, coherent and effective way, is a shared responsibility of the EU institutions and the Member States; stresses that gold-plating of EU directives and fragmented enforcement of EU rules remain an obstacle for the single market, disproportionately burdening SMEs and start-ups; demands that the Commission ensure that EU rules are properly enforced across all of the Member States in a harmonised manner in order to address cross-border barriers; urges the Member States, therefore, to eliminateaddress gold-plating and to ensure that national implementing measures are published transparently and in a timely manner and to avoid inconsistent implementation of EU laws;laws, demandswhile thatrecognising the right for Member States to maintain or introduce national measures under the conditions provided for in the Treaties; calls for strengthened cooperation among existing authorities from different Member States and between national and EU regulatory authorities; encourages the Commission ensureto thatsupport rulesMember areStates properlyin enforcedachieving acrossmore allharmonised implementation of EU law by further facilitating structured exchanges and mutual learning, including through the Memberorganisation States;of transposition workshops and the development and use of comparative tools and practices;

6. Asks the Commission to adopt measures to ensure that current and future legislation remains proportionate and does not add unnecessary burdens for businesses, while making sure it achieves its objectives, and to include in its relevant legislative initiatives a mandatoryan early review clause (of three to five years),clause, without increasing administrative burdens in the process; callsbelieves forthat review clauses, beyond the overall effectiveness of legislation, should serve to specifically assess the impact of legislation on EU competitiveness and should be used to evaluate the need for revision of allthose relevant legislative acts that unnecessarily hamper competitiveness; recommends that such reviews also assess the digital readiness of legislation and its adaptability to innovation; urges the Commission to establish and apply a clear methodology and a simple baseline for burden reduction and for measuring and monitoring progress towards the established targets, enabling effective actions and accountability; recognises that achieving meaningful reductions in administrative burdens is a shared responsibility between the EU institutions and the Member States, and must be pursued while fully upholding the EU’s core policy objectives; calls on the co-legislators to ensure that EU legislation is targeted, proportionate and fit for purpose and that the better regulation principles are respected in all stages of the policy cycle;

7. Urges the Commission to prepare high-quality impact assessmentsassessments, which are an integral part of EU lawmaking and are important to ensure sound legal acts, of all legislative proposals, including delegated and implementing acts; underlines that the impact assessments should account for the cumulative effects of regulations and assess the interoperability between new and existingcurrent rules, particularly concerning reporting requirements; insists that all impact assessments include a competitiveness check, specifically assessing the impact on smallSMEs, start-ups and mediummidcaps, enterprisesas (SMEs)well as on high-growth emerging technologies; emphasises that the competitiveness check should be systematically applied to all relevant legislative proposals, also considering their cross-sectoral impact and start-ups;the impact of national spillover effects, and its findings should be taken into account, as also outlined in the EU Competitiveness Compass; considers that the Regulatory Scrutiny Board has an important role in providing quality assurance of Commission impact assessments, fitness checks and major evaluations, and stresses that it must act in a transparent manner and must have the means and the independence to carry out impartial, rigorous and high-quality scrutiny of all Commission impact assessments and legislative proposals and to raise concerns in the case of missing impact assessments; recommends strengthening the Board’s mandate and reinforcing its capacity, through adequate resourcing, to enable it to fully and effectively perform its tasks;

8. Calls for impact assessments to be carried out systematically on significant amendments proposed by Parliament and the Council to the Commission’s proposals, as already agreed by the co-legislators in 2016;

8. Calls for impact assessments to be carried out on substantial amendments proposed by the Parliament and the Council to the Commission’s proposals, as already agreed by the co-legislators in 2016, when appropriate and necessary for the legislative process, also considering the timeline of the lawmaking process; calls for effective enforcement of the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making and suggests further developing and using a methodology for impact assessments and competitiveness checks for the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Member States; underscores that an adequate impact assessment should include potential short- and long-term costs and benefits, assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts in an integrated and balanced way and using both qualitative and quantitative analyses;

9. Considers that it is vital to avoid overlaps and to address unclear definitions and inconsistencies amongbetween differentvarious legal acts, especially concerning single market legislation forcovering goodsgoods, services and services,digital technologies, while bearing in mind their respective specificities, in order to enhance legal clarity and efficiency; urges the Commission to prioritise evaluations in these areas, with the aim of ensuring a predictable and coherent legal framework that enables businesses to engage in long-term planning and investment; stresses that the effective implementation, enforcement and uniform application of the existingcurrent legal framework must be prioritised over thebefore introductionnew oflegislation newis legislation;proposed;

10. Urges the Commission to ensure a more structured and transparent stakeholder consultation process, including a review of the expert groups system, to ensure inclusive and well-informed decision-making processes and to improve the quality of single market rules;

10. Urges the Commission to ensure a more structured, transparent and inclusive stakeholder consultation process, including a review of the expert groups system; calls for measures to strengthen SME and start-up representation and for consultations to be adapted to the needs of SMEs and other stakeholders with limited capacities by allowing sufficient response time and improving accessibility to ensure inclusive and well-informed decision-making processes and to improve the quality of single market rules; emphasises that strengthening stakeholder engagement, including adequate geographical representation, is essential for deepening the single market, ensuring its effective functioning and reflecting its diversity; further underscores the crucial role of civil society in the decision-making process, which ensures a plurality of views and a fair and balanced representation; supports the establishment of regular implementation dialogues, including with social partners;

11. SuggestsCalls thaton the Commission to develop a mechanism to set aclear deadlinedeadlines for the publication of guidelines and enforcement measures before a regulation takes effect;effect in order to avoid regulatory uncertainty and implementation delays; insists that such guidelines also be prepared in an inclusive and balanced manner and serve as a tool to facilitate compliance rather than becoming an additional burden; stresses, furthermore, that they should be concise and clear, particularly for SMEs; demands that the use of level 2 legislation, such as delegated and implementing acts, be limited to technical matters, and thatprovide clear timelines and sufficient notice periods for economic operators areand ensured;be in line with the mandate set by the co-legislators;

12. UrgesHighlights the Commissionimportance of start-ups and scale-ups in driving innovation and securing the co-legislatorsEU’s tofuture balanceleadership regulatoryin cautioncritical withindustries; innovation-friendlyurges policiesthe Commission and regulations,the thusco-legislators designingto ensure that future regulations withare designed to support innovation inand mind;to always uphold high standards; suggests the inclusion of regulatory sandboxes in all future regulations affecting innovative sectors, where relevant, with a particular focus on benefiting SMEs and start-ups; advocates forthe establishment of ‘EU innovation hubs’ across the Member States;

13. Welcomes the appointment of a Commissioner for Implementation and Simplification andSimplification; calls for the Commissioner to have adequate resources and authority to ensureensure, in collaboration with the College of Commissioners, the proper implementation and enforcement of EU legislation and sector-specific simplification; urges all the Commissioners to systematically assess the streamlining and implementation needs within their respective policy areas;areas and to work in close cooperation and coordination to ensure coherence and achieve tangible results on simplification and streamlining; calls on the Commission to continue putting forward ‘Omnibus’proposals to simplify and streamline single market legislation, where necessary and justified by impact assessments; underlines that new simplification proposals should improve regulatory coherence, preserve legal predictability for streamliningcompanies singleand marketshould legislation;not undermine agreed policy objectives;

14. Notes that while the Commission has improved the detection and rectification of EU law infringements, enforcing EU rules and rectifying infringements in the single market still takes too much time; calls on the Commission to uphold its role as a guardian of the Treaties by fully utilising its enforcement powers, including the initiation of infringement procedures, when necessary, to ensure the timely, consistent and effective enforcement of the single market rules, as well as by reviewing its infringement procedures to ensure swifter, more automatic and predictable responses; recommends expanding infringement procedures to address systemic violations of single market rules; stresses the need to tackle regulatory fragmentation, which undermines the level playing field and legal certainty, while acknowledging Member States’ discretion provided for under the Treaties to implement directives;

Unlocking the full potential of the single market

15. Calls on the Commission to strengthen existing enforcement instruments, such as SOLVIT and the Single Market Enforcement Taskforce, to tackle issues related to the functioning of the single market;

15. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to make use of the current compliance and cooperation toolkit more effectively and coherently; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to strengthen current enforcement and cooperation instruments, such as SOLVIT, product contact points and the Single Market Enforcement Taskforce, to tackle issues related to the functioning of the single market; encourages, furthermore, the Commission to perform an inventory of tools, mechanisms and processes used to develop legislative and non-legislative initiatives, and monitor and enforce compliance with EU legislation, with the objective of improving their coherence, eliminating duplications and consolidating and streamlining them, and, based on that inventory, to consider expanding current networks and tools; urges enforcement authorities and the competent bodies across the Member States to enhance cooperation and mutual support in order to address unjustified regulatory fragmentation and ensure more streamlined, fit-for-purpose and harmonised implementation of single market rules and expresses support for the creation of national-level coordination platforms to facilitate efficient and coherent implementation and transposition of EU rules;

16. Emphasises the crucial role of the free movement of services in unlocking economic potential, while noting that integration in this sector remains weaker than in the goods sector;sector, stresseswith an insufficient cross-border dimension of services in the single market; stresses, therefore, the need to ensure the consistent application of the Services Directive;Directive, demandswhose thatimplementation has only partially succeeded in achieving its intended goal owing to persisting unjustified barriers, which are particularly burdensome for SMEs and which take various forms and limit the Commissionability introduceto provide services across borders; notes the important role of the services sectors in the recently published single market strategy; calls for new initiatives and targeted sectoraland effective measures thatin key sectors for the single market which address the persisting unjustified barriers and enhance market integration,integration without compromising on social standards, while also maintaining regulatory coherence and preventing the fragmentation of single market rules;

17. Notes that inconsistency in the implementation of EU rules hampers the effective functioning of the single market, including the free movement of workers;

17. Regrets the insufficient use of the notification procedure under the Services Directive; calls on the Member States to ensure the systematic, timely and transparent application of the notification procedures under the Services Directive and the Single Market Transparency Directive;

18. Recalls the importance of common standards for the functioning of the single market; stresses the importance of safeguarding the EU standardisation system and maintaining its operational integrity;

18. Calls on the Commission to propose efficient legislative and non-legislative instruments to prevent new single market barriers when necessary and justified;

19. Urges the Commission to reduce unnecessary reporting burdens by implementing targeted measures, such as extending reporting intervals, eliminating redundant obligations and ensuring proportionality in sector-specific requirements; stresses the importance of tailored approaches for SMEs and start-ups, of fostering a digital business environment, and of upholding the ‘once-only’ principle in order to streamline compliance procedures;

19. Calls on the Commission to explore different methods to tackle territorial supply constraints, including non-legally required restrictions such as disproportionate language requirements for product labelling, as they constitute persistent barriers that decrease competition and impact the cost of living;

20. Acknowledges and recognises the potential of the Commission’s intention to propose a new EU-wide legal regime, the ‘28th legal regime’, aimed at supporting the growth of smaller and innovative companies;

20. Notes that simplifying administrative procedures, such as licensing and certification, and streamlining compliance processes is essential in order to reduce costs and legal uncertainties, particularly for SMEs; highlights that streamlined processes would enable SMEs to operate more effectively within the single market;

21. Notes that inconsistency in the implementation, enforcement and coordination of EU rules hampers the effective functioning of the single market and could have negative effects on the free movement of workers and professionals; underlines that administrative obstacles and inconsistent recognition of qualifications risk increasing labour and skills shortages and weakening the EU’s competitiveness; urges the Commission to continue evaluating the application of the Professional Qualifications Directive across Member States and identify measures to address inconsistencies in recognition processes; highlights the need for streamlined automatic procedures and fast-track mechanisms to facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications, particularly in sectors facing labour shortages; calls on the Commission to ensure that the single market rules for the free movement of workers respect the current social standards in the Member States while stressing the importance of removing unjustified barriers; strongly supports the digitalisation of the A1 form, required under Regulation 883/204, throughout all Member States to streamline procedures for cross-border provision of services;

22. Considers that the single market plays a vital role in times of crisis if Member States act in a coordinated way; considers, in this respect, that the recently adopted Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act (IMERA) will be important to ensure such coordination so as to prevent shortages and ensure the smooth functioning of the single market, including the free movement of essential goods and services throughout the EU;

23. Recalls the importance of common standards for the functioning of the single market; stresses the importance of safeguarding the EU standardisation system, while improving it where issues have been identified, and maintaining its operational integrity;

24. Urges the Commission to identify and reduce unnecessary reporting burdens by implementing targeted measures, such as extending reporting intervals, eliminating redundant obligations and ensuring proportionality in sector-specific requirements, without compromising the policy objectives, which the requirements seek to implement; reiterates the need to ensure that reporting obligations stemming from various pieces of EU legislation are coherent; stresses the importance of the ‘think small first’ principle, of tailored approaches for SMEs and start-ups, and of fostering a digital business environment, enabled by trusted digital identities, secure data exchanges and legally recognised digital notifications; emphasises the importance of upholding the ‘once-only’ principle in order to streamline compliance procedures and reiterates the importance of harmonising reporting formats and digital interfaces across Member States where feasible; stresses that justified and proportionate reporting requirements are necessary to ensure proper monitoring and compliance with adopted rules, thereby ensuring effective enforcement and improved data collection to guide future policy initiatives;

25. Emphasises that the new legislative framework aims to improve the internal market for goods and strengthen the conditions for placing a wide range of products on the EU market; calls on the Commission to revise it with a view to making it future-proof, ensuring its adaptability to evolving geopolitical challenges and to the requirements of the digital and green transitions, thus enhancing the overall competitiveness of the EU single market;

26. Acknowledges the Commission’s intention to propose a new EU-wide legal regime, the ‘28th legal regime’, aimed at creating a business environment that supports the growth and upscaling of SMEs, including smaller and innovative companies, fostering EU global competitiveness; notes that the new regime could facilitate the development and deployment of the upcoming European Business Wallet;

Embracing digitalisation and artificial intelligence for growth and governance

21.27. Welcomes the Commission’s planned fitness check on the legislative acquis in the digital policy area; calls on the Commission to include an Omnibus simplification regarding the envisaged Digital Package; demands that the Commission clarifyassesses and clarifies the legislative framework and the interplay between existingcurrent EU legal acts, such as the Digital Services Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Artificial Intelligence Act, e-commercethe rulesRegulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising, the Product Liability Directive, e-commerce and cybersecurity rules, and between these acts and future legislative initiatives before their adoption by the Commission; insists that regulators, networks of national authorities and stakeholders be involved in this process and stresses that the results of this mapping exercise should serve to identify potential overlapping, contradictory provisions and potential enforcement conflicts and address these shortcomings; in addition, it should serve to improve coordination between enforcement authorities across the Member States and the Commission’s internal services and to improve the ability of businesses to invest and innovate in the EU; insists that the Commission ensure that all laws adopted and enforced in the 2019-2024 Commission term are correctly and consistently implemented and applied across all of the Member States; calls on the Commission to include, where necessary and justified by impact assessments, proposals for simplification in the envisaged digital package, aimed at increasing coherency, legal clarity and predictability for all stakeholders, without undermining agreed policy objectives;

22. Recognises the potential of digitalisation and artificial intelligence as key tools for reducing administrative burdens and for streamlining administrative procedures, including reporting, authorisation, permitting and compliance requirements; believes that electronic tools and portals should be the standard for all reporting and administrative requirements and envisions their integration into a digital ‘one-stop shop’, where possible;

28. Notes the upcoming Commission report on the interplay between the Digital Services Act and other legal acts, and encourages the Commission to clarify through this report the way in which this regulation interacts with other legal acts, including how to address possible overlaps, in order to support the effective implementation and enforcement of the EU digital rulebook and to provide legal certainty to service providers, users, consumers and regulatory authorities;

29. Stresses that digital policy, especially in emerging technologies or in relation to highly complex technologies, should follow an iterative approach, also taking into account tools such as structured dialogue with businesses and other relevant stakeholders, co-regulation and regulatory sandboxes to ensure practical, proportionate and future-proof rules, designed with innovation in mind, while avoiding unintended consequences and assessing the impact of recently adopted legal acts before proposing new obligations; recalls the importance of common standards for the functioning of the digital single market; underlines the importance of EU leadership in the standardisation of digital technologies, as well as the critical importance of transatlantic and international cooperation, in this sphere, to ensure technological sovereignty and global competitiveness, in particular in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and cloud services;

30. Recognises the potential of digitalisation and artificial intelligence as key tools for boosting the EU’s competitiveness, reducing administrative burdens, streamlining and automating administrative procedures, including reporting, authorisation, permitting and compliance requirements, as well as for facilitating market entry and assessing applicable legislations; stresses the need to promote the uptake of these key tools to enhance regulatory efficiency, support better implementation and monitoring of single market legislation; notes that the varying level of digitalisation for administrations in the Member States constitutes a cross-border barrier;

31. Believes that electronic tools and portals should be the standard for all reporting and administrative requirements and envisions their integration into a digital ‘one-stop shop’; calls on the Commission to explore the feasibility of such a digital ‘one-stop shop’ by expanding the Single Digital Gateway in order to facilitate a streamlined approach to accessing information, administrative procedures and assistance services for businesses and to offer more online services to both citizens and companies, particularly for SMEs, utilising digital public infrastructure such as the EU Digital Identity Wallets and the upcoming European Business Wallet, and ensuring consistency by streamlining such tools in all relevant legislative proposals;

32. Underlines the importance of interoperability to reduce administrative burdens, particularly the need to make reporting obligations coherent and easy to fulfil, and calls on the Commission to continue exploring ways to improve and digitalise reporting procedures to improve information sharing and compliance while not overburdening companies, including automated business-to-government reporting; welcomes the Once-Only Technical System as a key tool to enable automated cross-border data exchange and reduce duplicative reporting burdens for businesses; emphasises that any requirements for data sharing and reporting should be designed with digitalisation in mind, ensuring that data sharing and reporting requirements can be data-driven and automated;

33. Calls on the Commission to streamline current IT tools available to economic operators and relevant national authorities for notifying and communicating relevant information such as information on accidents, corrective measures and other data on the safety of products in the single market; highlights that a single IT tool should be developed in order to reduce time and costs and to increase compliance and enforcement;

34. Calls on the Commission to improve the development of compliance tools such as codes of practice, ensuring that they remain within the limits of underlying legal obligations, are practically implementable for companies of all sizes, and are developed through meaningful and timely stakeholder consultations;

35. Stresses the need for modern and robust digital infrastructure to facilitate the EU’s ambitions in digitalisation and frontier technologies; calls for continued investment in developing ‘digital highways’ that include cross-border high-capacity broadband networks, 5G corridors, secure cloud and edge infrastructure, as well as interoperable digital public services;

36. Calls for the harmonised rollout of digital labelling and the Digital Product Passport in EU product legislation; stresses their potential to lower compliance burdens, enhance consumer access to accurate information, and support multilingual interoperability while preserving the possibility for consumers’ products to be accompanied by essential information related to safety in paper format; urges the Commission to facilitate the development of harmonised standards and detailed guidance to avoid fragmentation and facilitate SME participation in cross-border trade;

Improving consumer protection in the digital age

23.37. Highlights that the streamlining of consumer protection legislation should not lower the current high standard of consumer protection across Europe;the EU; acknowledges the significant progress made in strengthening consumer protection rules and adapting them to new technological and sustainability realities; underlines the need to further strengthen consumer protection, such as in the area of e-commerce with regard to false or misleading product information; emphasises that effective enforcement and a thorough analysis of the consumer protection laws and their impact is important; insists that new legislative initiatives should focus on closing gaps in current legislation or address new substantiated challenges that are not tackled within the current legal framework;

24. Reaffirms that consumer protection laws should remain principle-based and coherent across different legal instruments; calls for proportionate and purpose-driven consumer information obligations;

38. Highlights that the rapid expansion of digital platforms and e-commerce has introduced new market dynamics and has created advanced opportunities and challenges and risks for users; acknowledges that the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act constitute important legislative instruments to ensure fair competition, contestability and fairness in digital platforms, while also fostering a safer, trustful and more transparent digital environment and consumer protection in the digital economy, and calls for proper enforcement of this technology legislation to ensure genuine, autonomous and informed consumer choice, protection and fair competition;

25. Calls for enhanced consumer redress mechanisms and the full enforcement of consumer rights in the EU, including through a revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation;

39. Reaffirms that consumer protection laws should remain mainly principle-based and coherent across various legal instruments, but should also allow for more specific provisions when necessary for legal certainty for both businesses and consumers; stresses the importance of avoiding excessive or redundant information obligations, which may impose unnecessary burdens on businesses without enhancing consumer understanding; calls for proportionate and purpose-driven consumer information obligations; notes that, according to the 2025 Consumer Condition Scoreboard, most consumers are not aware of their rights; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop campaigns to increase consumer awareness;

40. Urges the Commission to use digital tools to enhance transparency and consumer trust in cross-border transactions; calls for effective enforcement of consumer redress mechanisms, including those concerning collective redress, and the full enforcement of consumer rights in the EU, including through a revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, focusing on improving cross-border enforcement; underlines, furthermore, the importance of the revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation to improve cross-border enforcement and to address unfair behaviour, particularly by non-EU traders; notes the importance of strengthening cooperation among Member States’ various competent authorities, including through coordinated joint-enforcement projects and streamlining the exchange of information;

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26.41. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

What is at stake here, ultimately, is the defence of liberal democracy, the rule of law and human rights – the defence of our way of life, our fundamental values, freedom, equality and the free movement of people, goods and services. For that reason, too, action needs to be taken to bolster Europe’s single market, our competitiveness and thus our economy.

We need to make the most of our strengths and address the single market’s shortcomings. The message from the business community and our firms is clear. Red tape must be cut for businesses. It weakens competitiveness and takes resources away from growth-creating activities. Several important reports have been written recently; they contain a host of tangible proposals. Where Draghi’s report focuses on boosting competitiveness, and Letta’s the single market, formerFinland’s Finnishformer President Sauli Niinistö argues in favour of a preparedness union and points to the need to simplify a number of rules, also with a view to strengthening Europe’s security.

The European Parliament, for its part, now ought to highlight the need for action and reforms that strengthen the single market, cut back on red tape and support uniform ways of implementing existing EU legislation in our Member States.

This also involves the tools we provide businesses with. This own-initiative report notes the considerable potential of digitalisation and AI as key tools for streamlining administrative processes, including reporting and licensing processes. It is equally important that businesses should have access to funding. The Capital Markets Union can also facilitate that.

After the Commission’s planned review of digital policy legislation, the need to lessen unnecessary burdens on businesses has to be addressed. Because of the volume of new digital policy legislation adopted during the last term of office, it is important that the Commission should also clarify how the various laws relate to each other. A single eGovernment solution, also using AI, would make things easier for businesses across the EU. For smaller firms, it would be particularly welcome if there were a single digital platform,platform – a ‘one-stopone-stop shop’,shop – where they could find all relevant information on applicable rules, manage reporting and all other administrative requirements, and obtain instructions on how to apply for different authorisations, etc. With regard to reporting, it must be sufficient for a firm to submit information only once. Similarly, both the e-wallet for businesses and e-ID for citizens should now be implemented quickly in all Member States.

This also concerns the availability of digital services across the single market. For instance, progress ought to be made on geoblocking audiovisual content in the single market so that streaming services would be more accessible across the EU.EU, without jeopardising the operating conditions of public service broadcasters. That would be of great importance for language minorities throughout the EU.

The voice of business must be heard in the legislative process

In order to ascertain what the consequences of a proposed item of legislation will be, impact assessments are needed. Without proper impact assessments, situations may arise where legislation has consequences that the legislative authority did not intend. The regulatory framework today is complex; it is therefore crucial to take various impacts into consideration as comprehensively as possible at an early stage in the legislative process.

It is crucial to consider the cumulative effects of different items of legislation; and it is crucial that new and existing rules should operate in a complementary manner. Any assessmentAssessments ought also to include a competitiveness check, focusing in particular on the impact of the regulatory framework on SMEs and start-ups.

Similarly, therebetter impact assessments need to be impactcarried assessmentsout foron the amendments proposed by Parliament or the Council during trilogues that may have a major impact on the legislation concerned. Nowadays, in practice, significant changes may be made during trilogues that are not subject to impact assessments. That, in turn, can produce unexpected consequences in practice which the legislative authority did not intend. At the same time, of course, it is important to safeguard the ability of individual MEPs to propose amendments. That is a fundamental democratic right. It is nonetheless also important – so as to maintain full confidence in the EU’s legislative process – that major proposals for amendments at the final stage of that process should also be subject to proper impact assessments.

Europe’s competitiveness and security are at issue

Enhanced competitiveness and greater security go hand in hand with a more powerful single market. We must therefore cut needless red tape so that our businesses can focus on the things that matter. That is the responsibility we all bear.

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ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she receivedincluded in her report input fromon matters pertaining to the followingsubject entitiesof orthe personsfile that she received, in the preparation of the draftreport, report:prior to the adoption thereof in committee, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

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