Overview
The file concerns an upcoming European Commission legislative initiative titled the Horizontal Single Market Strategy. The procedure is at the stage of awaiting publication by the Commission. This analysis is based on the provided procedural data and records of stakeholder outreach and positions.
Institutional handling
The initiative is being prepared by the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), under the responsibility of Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné. Within the Council of the European Union, the Competitiveness Council (COMPET) is the relevant configuration.
Stakeholder reactions
Substantial stakeholder engagement has preceded the proposal. A total of 86 meetings have been held, involving 70 meetings with Members of the European Parliament, 11 with Commissioners, and 5 with European Commission staff. These engagements involved 68 distinct organisations. The most active entities in these meetings have been Amazon Europe Core SARL, Bolt, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the eBay EU liaison office, and EuroCommerce.
Stakeholder positions on key topics have been articulated. On the topic of the 'Overall simplification of regulation in the EU', several organisations expressed clear support. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise strongly supports this objective, explicitly calling for the removal of barriers, a reduction in red tape, and the simplification of cross-border trade. Bolt also strongly supports simplification, criticising what it terms 'outdated regulations' and 'fragmentation'. Wolt supports the objective, welcoming the Strategy's focus on harmonisation and calling for further action. The European Round Table for Industry similarly supports simplification, with its discussion of barriers and recommendations to deepen the Single Market signalling a clear policy direction in favour of regulatory simplification.
On the topic of 'EU Single Market harmonisation', support is also strong. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise strongly supports harmonisation, explicitly advocating for removing barriers, digitalising processes, and taking a holistic approach. Wolt strongly supports this focus, welcoming the harmonisation agenda and calling for 'more action to reduce barriers'. Bolt strongly supports harmonisation, explicitly advocating for the removal of outdated national frameworks and barriers to achieve the full potential of the Single Market. The European Round Table for Industry also strongly supports this objective, explicitly advocating for 'removing barriers' and 'deepening the Single Market'.