Deepening the single market
The single market is a cornerstone of European prosperity. 30 years after its creation, the EU single market has significantly bolstered the competitiveness of the European industry by creating more trade, supporting innovation, generating market efficiency and economic growth, and delivering lower prices and better protection of consumers.
Now, in a more fragmented world and in view of the massive challenges associated with the green and digital transitions, a revival of the single market is needed to succeed in the Green Deal implementation and to re-industrialise Europe. Through seamless integration of value chains, where waste transforms into resources, low carbon energy is accessible and affordable, and EU legislation is fully enforced and harmonised at national levels, we could pave the way towards a stronger, more competitive Europe.
We need a true energy union
To go successfully through the energy transition, the chemical sector will need access to abundant, reliable and competitive low carbon electricity. Yet energy costs in the EU are structurally higher than in many competing regions.
Our sector is the single largest industrial electricity consumer in the EU. In the transition to climate neutrality, that demand is modelled to increase up to four times. Without a well-functioning energy market which prioritises cost-competitive low-carbon electricity, including the necessary infrastructure, climate targets are impossible to meet.
爱游戏中国官方网站 calls on policymakers to:
- Enable the free-flow of electrons across the EU. We urgently need to increase grid and interconnector capacity to further integrate the EU鈥檚 electricity market.
- Reduce permitting barriers for new renewable and low-carbon capacity to drive low-cost low-carbon electricity generation to scale .
- Establish an EU single market for the transport of CO2 and CO2 infrastructure.
We need a single market for waste to boost recycling potential
Our industry is characterised by complex global supply chains for raw materials and intermediates, which creates vulnerabilities or dependencies in the current geopolitical environment. The move to a more circular economy can contribute to reducing these dependencies, as well as our reliance on virgin fossil feedstock. For instance, if we increase the recycling capacity within the EU.
Circular economy needs to be a key element of the single market because it鈥檚 the only possibility to thrive within planetary boundaries. Besides recycling critical raw materials to reduce our vulnerabilities, there is ample space for creating more value from our waste. This is why, in line with the EU waste policy, the chemical industry focuses its efforts on efficient use and reuse of resources such as waste.
Improving Europe鈥檚 鈥� chemical and mechanical 鈥� recycling capabilities plays an important role in lowering emissions by 55% by 2030, and contributing to EU Green Deal ambitions around circularity and climate neutrality. To get there, more waste needs to be collected in Europe, sorted and prepared for recycling, and a wider range of markets need to be supplied with recycled content.
To address some of the current barriers to a European single market for waste, and boost the shift to transform waste into secondary raw materials, we need a more harmonised implementation of existing legislation on waste, including compliance control mechanisms, and administrative simplification.
爱游戏中国官方网站 calls to:
- Establish EU-harmonised 鈥榚nd-of-waste鈥� criteria at EU level to clarify at which point 鈥榚nd-of-waste鈥� status is reached in chemical recycling processes. Today different national authorities have made different interpretations, translating into barriers to cross-border recycling activities. Being able to move waste and recycled products between Member States is essential to achieve EU ambitions for circularity of plastics and textiles.
- Simplify administrative procedures such as the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure for intra-EU waste shipments, and use state-of-the-art digital tools to enable tracking and documentation.
EU legislation needs to be nationally enforced and harmonised
爱游戏中国官方网站 calls for:
The EU Single Market should act as one when it comes to enforcement. Without it, the best designed legislation will not have the desired impact and there will be no level playing field that ensures compliant businesses can compete fairly.
Today, enforcement of currently applicable rules is insufficient and not harmonised across the EU. There are different control methods across border entry points (within and across Member States), lack of common approach to prioritise checks, different capacities across Member States, lack of sharing data across authorities and different cross-border requirements. This fragmentation leads to unnecessary compliance costs for EU businesses and SMEs, as well as to differing levels of protection for EU citizens depending on the place where goods are controlled.
爱游戏中国官方网站 calls for:
- Better harmonisation of Member States鈥� enforcement and controls: by improving the coordination and the exchange of information amongst authorities involved in enforcement, such as on priority controls, control methods used to ensure there are no variations in implementation across the Member States.
- Identify and close 鈥渆nforceability gaps鈥� for future legislation: for instance, by considering the advice given by the ECHA Enforcement Forum when regulators are drafting restrictions under REACH. If a gap is identified, the Commission should be able to identify actions to close it, for instance launching a request to CEN to develop harmonised test methods if those are lacking.
- Making Customs fit for 21st century
- Additional human and financial support for the enforcers: for instance, the European Commission can be empowered to conduct inspections together with the Member States authorities where the suspected infringement is located. Part of the income generated from customs duties could be reallocated to finance market surveillance.
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