The EFC secretariat participated in a high level conference organised by European Commission on 8 February 2011 as part of the public debate on the Single Market Act (SMA). The discussion focused on the importance of the Single Market for citizens, the need for strong and sustainable growth and concerted action.
José Manuel Barosso, President of the European Commission, called for a focused and balanced set of core Single Market measures which can help kick-start growth and create jobs. He pointed out that the 50 proposals of the Single Market Act should be reduced to around 10-12 key priority measures which can be implemented by the end of 2012. In particualr, priority will be given to those SMA proposals that:
- still need political support and momentum are not already covered in other EU strategic plans i.e. Europe 2020
- can have a maximum impact on Europe’s competiveness, i.e. growth and jobs creation
- provide concrete answers to the concerns of citizens and that help overcome current obstacles to investment, innovation and mobility of companies and citizens in the EU.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Commissioners Michel Barnier, Algirdas Semeta and John Dalli during different panel discussions with representatives of the European Parliament, the Hungarian EU Presidency, governments, regional and local authorities, and civil society stakeholders.
One of the 50 proposals of the Single Market Act , namely proposal 37, is related to the European Foundation Statute.
The EFC has already submitted its contribution to the European Commission consultation on the SMA outlining its strongly support for the Commission’s proposal to move forward with the Statute and give details of how we believe the Regulation on a European Foundation Statute should look. The EFC also shared its views on other relevant aspects of the SMA, such as advancing solidarity in the Single Market, supporting creativity and social innovation, and measures promoting a friendly legal and fiscal environment for citizens and foundations including review of the VAT regime and the coordination of tax policies.
The EFC has aslo started work at the European Parliament level. Thanks to the mobilisation of EFC members and partners 364 Members of the European Parliament have already backed up a written declaration asking the European Commission to work on establishing a European Statute for mutual societies, associations and foundations.