Background to the programme financing activities to support a well-functioning, sustainable internal market
Why do we need the Single Market Programme?
The single market is a major contributor to growth, competitiveness and employment. It helps to create jobs and brings consumers greater choice at lower prices. While it continues to be an engine for building a stronger, more balanced and fairer economy, it continuously needs to adapt to a rapidly changing environment characterised by digital revolution and globalisation.
The COVID-19 pandemic only served to underline the need for adaptation and transition to a more green and digital economy. By helping the EU embrace sustainability and digitalisation, the Single Market Programme will be an important tool to face recent unprecedented challenges and lay the foundations of Europe’s long-term recovery.
The basis for the programme
The Single Market Programme is a modern, simple and flexible programme, which consolidates a large range of activities that were previously financed separately, into one coherent programme.
This will reduce overlaps and improve coordination. It will ensure continuity in the efficient delivery of the single market on the ground, while providing better value for money for EU citizens, and allowing a focus on priorities essential for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The programme brings together 6 predecessor programmes, notably the grants and contracts part of COSME (the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), programmes on consumer protection, consumer and end-users in financial services, specific activities in the field of financial reporting and auditing standards, measures that contribute to a high level of health for human, animals and plants along the food chain and in related areas, and European statistics.
It also integrates a number of former prerogative budget lines. Drawing from the lessons of the impact assessment, this integrated setup is expected to constitute a more flexible and agile financing framework, which will make it possible to better exploit synergies and prevent duplication and fragmentation.
Activities
The Single Market Programme’s main activities include
- data gathering, analyses, studies and evaluations in support of effective enforcement and modernisation of the EU legal framework
- capacity-building activities and facilitation of joint actions between EU countries, their competent authorities, the European Commission and decentralised EU agencies
- financing of mechanisms allowing individuals, consumers and business representatives to contribute to decision-making processes
- strengthening the exchange and dissemination of expertise and knowledge
- setting of common European standards