EUU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 660: Brev til beskæftigelseskommissær Marianne Thyssen om effektiv håndhævelse og implementering af EU-reglerne

Europaudvalget 2018-19 (1. samling)
EUU Alm.del Bilag 660
Offentligt

European Commission

Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs

Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200

1049 Brussels

Belgium

Minister for Employment

Ved Stranden 8

DK-1061 Copenhagen K

T +45 72 20 50 00

E [email protected]

uk.bm.dk

CBR 10172748

Letter to Commissioner Marianne Thyssen regarding effective

implementation and enforcement of EU-rules

File No.

2017 - 7537

Dear Commissioner Thyssen

I would like to thank you for your reply to my letter following the Peer Review on

“The efficient transposition, implementation and enforcement of EU OSH legisla-

tion” held in Denmark in June 2018.

I am delighted you agree that proper enforcement of legislation transposing the

EU-directives on occupational health and safety is essential. I am also happy that

you note our experiences regarding the Danish chemicals legislation in improving

efficient transposition. I hope it can inspire

other Member States’

in their transposi-

tion efforts.

As alluded to in my original letter to you of 31

of August 2018, I believe there is

still plenty of work ahead if we hope to achieve a better functioning Single Market.

I would like to provide you with a few examples, illustrating how concretely a lack

of proper implementation and enforcement goes against the spirit of the Single

Market based on full, fair, and equal competition.

In the area of occupational safety and health, I believe the experiences uncovered

through the Peer Review without doubt indicate, there still appears to be situations

at the national level where employers are unaware of certain regulations let alone

aware of what the regulations encompass and which actions need to be taken to

protect the workers.

Yet, challenges in ensuring proper implementation and enforcement extend to other

areas of the Single Market, too. A questionnaire undertaken among members of the

Confederation of Danish Industry, shows that almost a third of the interviewed

businesses have experienced cases of a lack of market surveillance across the EU.

This seems to be confirmed in the area of services as highlighted by a recent report

by EuroCommerce entitled

“Single

Market Barriers Overview” which you may

have heard of. The report lists a number of national examples of flawed implemen-

tation and application that result in hindrances and barriers to the free provision

and free movement of services.

EUU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 660: Brev til beskæftigelseskommissær Marianne Thyssen om effektiv håndhævelse og implementering af EU-reglerne

Unfortunately, these hindrances have not been sufficiently addressed and the report

therefore helpfully suggests what relevant actors, including the European Commis-

sion, can do in order to rectify the situation in each case.

Moreover, a recent report

entitled “Making EU Trade in Services Work for All” by

Copenhagen Economics shows that a full implementation and enforcement of the

Services Directive can add at least 2 percent to

the EU’s

GDP, showing the great

potential from uniform application, implementation and enforcement. I enclose for

your information both reports with this letter.

The challenges are not limited to the free provision of services, either. This applies

to the free movement of workers, too, as two recent reports from the European

Court of Auditors and the European Parliament illustrate. Both reports highlight

that more can be done in order to confront challenges related to the free movement

of workers. Granted, the Commission has taken important actions in this area

–

in-

cluding the proposal for a European Labour Authority which I welcome

–

but chal-

lenges persist, as the reports indicate in detail. I also enclose these two reports for

your information.

Another area of concern, are cases of dissimilar implementation across Member

States. A concrete example brought to my attention is the Construction Product

Regulation. According to the regulation, manufacturers can only market (most of)

their products if they have been marked with a valid CE marking and a so called

Declaration of Performance has been drawn up.

Despite the common EU-regulation, several Member States continue to require na-

tional certificates and documentation beyond the CE marking in national building

regulations. While not questioning the intentions of such national certificates for

reasons of safety or protection for example, the demand for additional certificates

can result in a heavy bureaucratic burden for manufacturers wishing to export their

products to these markets. One also has to ask oneself why the requirements of the

common EU-regulation are not sufficient if the national certificates cover the same

characteristics as the CE marking.

I naturally understand that the issues mentioned above do not limit themselves to

your area of competence within the Commission. However, I hope it provides you

with some food for thought in your discussions with relevant colleagues in the

Commission and highlights that the need for effective implementation and en-

forcement extends to many

–

if not all

–

areas of the Single Market.

While this is of course a matter for the next Commission President, I would en-

courage the Commission to strengthen the focus on implementation and enforce-

ment at the highest political level, e.g. by entrusting a vice president with strength-

ened responsibility for this area in the upcoming institutional cycle.

EUU, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Bilag 660: Brev til beskæftigelseskommissær Marianne Thyssen om effektiv håndhævelse og implementering af EU-reglerne

A comprehensive and united effort across the current and upcoming Commission is

required if we hope to achieve a Single Market with full, fair, and equal competi-

tion.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue with you on this important matter.

Yours sincerely

Troels Lund Poulsen