On the guidelines for the financial year 2027 budget – all sections

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

1.Calls for the Union budget for 2027 to contribute to enhancing competitiveness and strengthening the functioning of the single market, while promoting and protecting the interests of European consumers by ensuring a high standard of protection, especially in the light of new challenges posed by the online environment; calls for removal of all unjustified barriers to hindering its functioning; highlights the need to reduce unjustified administrative burdens for companies, especially SME’s, mid-caps, start-ups and scale-ups, and ensure adequate implementation, compliance and enforcement of existing legislation; highlights the need to strengthen and increase the resilience of the single market, as well as its accessibility for business, aiming at increasing EU trade flows, securing supply chains and achieving value chains, thus contributing to economic growth; stresses that the single market is an essential element for achieving a globally competitive economy;

2.Highlights that the multiple challenges facing Europe require increased investment and coordination at European level and calls on the Commission to propose a Union budget for 2027 that reflects the urgent nature of these challenges and ensures the future of Europe’s strategic autonomy; underlines that the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the complicated situation in the Middle East with its potential to cause disruptions in the global trade flows, and hybrid attacks on Member States, among others, dictate the need for the single market to be resilient and ready to deal with emergencies, securing supply chains and access to critical raw materials; calls on the European Commission to ensure that budgetary allocations mitigate the effects of the war in Ukraine on Member States, particularly those that share a border with Ukraine;

3.Underlines the security crisis faced by the Union following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and highlights the increased security risks in the current geopolitical situation, especially for Member States neighbouring conflict areas; calls on the Commission to ensure that the Union budget prioritises investment towards development of the economy, particularly in the area of security and defence, fostering innovation, boosting the productivity of the European Defence Technology Industrial Base, and enhancing investments in these fields;

4.Recalls the need to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the EU economy through ambitious EU industrial policies, while maintaining a level playing field and legal certainty in the single market and reducing unjustified regulatory and administrative burdens to unlock the full potential of cross-border trade, particularly in services; calls for a genuine Competitiveness Fund setting the macroeconomic conditions for enhancing investment in key sectors in need; stresses that the new Competitiveness Fund should further contribute to strengthening the Single Market and its resilience whilst ensuring simplification and flexibility of funds;

5.Calls on the Commission to ensure that the 2027 Union budget prioritises investment in innovation and simplification, promoting measures that render the single market more accessible for technology and innovation start-ups, and reducing administrative burdens linked to the use of funds under the Union budget; highlights that the simplification of budgetary rules and procedures is essential for encouraging business to make full use of the benefits associated to the single market and to scale-up in Europe;

6.Highlights the need for the 2027 budget to support mitigating the financial and administrative impact of environmental and climate regulations on the internal market, ensuring that the transition is affordable for consumers and does not harm the global competitiveness of European industries;

7.Stresses the urgent need to allocate increased budgetary resources to strengthen the Customs Union and boost the resilience and effectiveness of customs and market surveillance authorities; underlines that these resources are essential to enable more systematic checks on products and to respond effectively to the increasing inflow of non-compliant, unsafe, and illegal products imported via non-EU e-commerce platforms, particularly regarding individual parcels imported directly by consumers; emphasizes the need for better cooperation among customs authorities, greater uptake of IT tools, and funding for common European capabilities, such as product-testing facilities; underlines that a properly funded and efficient customs and surveillance system is vital for ensuring a strict level playing field, preventing market distortions, protecting European consumers, and combating illicit activities and unfair competition;

8.Calls for the 2027 budget to intensify support for Member States in the digital transformation of the public sector, with particular attention to administrative procedures impacting businesses and consumers, enabling seamless access to digital public services;

9.Underlines the need for the Single Market Programme to adequately finance the improvement of capacities in public procurement, particularly by reducing administrative burdens; highlights that procurement authorities should be supported in further developing skills to ensure that public procurement serves the public interest through the diligent use of taxpayers’ money, facilitating access for SMEs, aligning procedures with best practices, and delivering more effective, impactful, and long-term investment.