The Malta Business Bureau has called for the European Commission to ensure a greater focus on the correct implementation and proper enforcement of single market rules.

Welcoming the European Commission’s communication on “Better governance for the single market”, the MBB said that, from a Maltese business perspective, it is paramount that internal market legislation is adequately transposed into national law for local companies to operate on a level playing field across the EU’s internal market.

National authorities should ensure that the transposition process involving EU directives respects the minimum harmonisation levels required by law, but that the transposing legal notices do not go beyond EU law requirements.

The implementation of single market legislation should be smart to avoid ushering in additional administrative burdens for business. Rules should be clear, corresponding to the regulatory needs they are meant to address, without generating new layers of legal and administrative obligations for firms.

The addition of requirements, not originally foreseen in EU directives, are often among the root causes of problems encountered by companies dealing with import and export regulations, customs procedures and other verifications in cross-border trade.

The Commission’s proposal to prepare an annual report on the integration of the single market will serve to feed the formulation of the country-specific recommendations within the ambit of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

A sample analysis of the regulatory transposition processes taken by member states’ governments should also be carried out. The findings would serve as the basis for the development of a comparative indicator on smart legislative transposition evaluating the performance of national public administrations.

Proposed national co-ordinating single market centres must be set up with the cooperation of business intermediary organisations which could act as the first filter on issues related to problems encountered by businesses in their dealings with the single market.

For information on EU affairs related to business, contact the MBB on 2125 1719 or at info@mbb.org.mt. Alternatively, visit www.mbb.org.mt.

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