Resolution: Further steps towards a strong and competitive Internal Market
Whereas:
·         The Internal Market, as defined by the Maastricht Treaty, stands for the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, which means that all EU citizens should be able to live, work, study and do business throughout the EU as well as to enjoy a wide choice of competitively priced goods and services;
·         Since its inception in 1993, the Internal Market has opened up economic and working opportunities that have transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of Europeans;
·         Europe’s competitiveness is lagging behind on a global scale partly due to high tax pressure on European companies;
Noting that:
·         Calls have been made by European politicians, trade unions and other organisations in impose minimum levels of taxation across all European Union member states;
And considering that:
·         Enhancing competition between economic actors is key to the realisation of the Internal Market;
·         The completion of Europe’s Internal Market is key to enhancing its competitiveness;
·         Fiscal competition will lead to better use of tax payers money through budgetary discipline;
European Liberal Democrats call for:
1.      Further improvement of the mobility of labour force within the Internal Market, specifically through the following measures:
o        EU Member States shall make greater efforts to ensure the compatibility of national social security systems (pensions, unemployment benefits, etc.) in order to facilitate the fluid movement of people across national borders;
o        Transitional arrangements on the freedom of movement for citizens from new EU Member States should be immediately removed: there should not be ‘2^nd class’ citizens when it comes to the application of the “four freedoms”;
2.      The completion of the Internal Market for services, particularly in the following areas: mobile telecommunications, postal services, railway transportation, and energy;
3.      Further development of the European Commission’s “Better Regulation” initiative, through further efforts in cutting the bureaucratic “red tape” that frustrates businesses that operate in the Internal Market;
4.      The European Commission not to take any more policy actions in any form that impose more harmonised tax levels across Member States.