European Union Agrees on Need to Deepen Internal Market

17.10.2012

While preparing for a session of the European Council that will focus on the future of the economic and monetary union, today’s session of the European Union General Affairs Council in Luxembourg also emphasised the importance of developing the European Union internal market and its special role in restoring the EU’s competitiveness.

We are very pleased with the plan to deepen the internal market, and it is the most ambitious plan for developing the European Union internal market since the 1980s, said Estonian Ambassador to the European Union Matti Maasikas, who represented Estonia at the meeting. “We must also benefit from the crisis, and now is a good moment to move forward with ambitious plans,” Maasikas noted. “The internal market as a source of economic growth should, in Estonia’s opinion, be valued equally with other measures for boosting competitiveness, such as domestic structural reforms and foreign trade,” he added.

Maasikas stated that we need an internal market with such reach and depth, thanks to which Europe can be globally competitive. Estonia’s proposals for the better functioning of the transportation market have been taken into account when preparing the conclusions for the European Council. We emphasise that infrastructure development is a priority as well as the importance of a common services market.

On the topic of a banking union, Ambassador Maasikas said that it would be vital to have the involvement of all 27 European Union member states. Countries that belong to the euro zone and countries outside of it must all keep an open mind. A monetary union must serve the common market well and therefore we must look further into the future while also taking account the everyday concerns of citizens and restoring their trust. For this, it is necessary to move forward with the planned changes as well as the democratic control mechanisms tied to the changes.

Additional information:
Helen Ennok, press spokesperson, Estonia’s Permanent Representation to the EU
+32 474 98 16 57