BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsmeddelelsen, engelsk utgave)

Open markets matter. They create opportunities for growth, employment and investment. They are important for EU businesses as well as for those in developed and developing economies around the globe. Open markets are of particular importance for the EU since it is the largest trading block in the world. There is a risk that the ongoing financial and economic crisis will bring about more protectionism. It is important to learn from the past and counter such tendencies. In their recent Washington meeting Heads of State and government of the G20 placed a clear emphasis on realising the full potential of the trade agenda [1].

In this context, removing remaining trade barriers – first and foremost through the successful and swift conclusion of the Doha Round of global trade talks, but also through bilateral and regional approaches - acquires further importance in order to unlock business potential and growth, particularly for SMEs which account for over 99% of EU enterprises and 67% of private sector jobs. Regulatory convergence and cooperation, including for the financial sector, can be an effective path to pursue international stability and enhance trade opportunities.

The Global Europe strategy, launched at the end of 2006 [2], is an essential part of the external pillar for the European Union’s Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs and sets out an ambitious agenda for opening the markets that matter most, particularly in Asia. A key strand of this has been taken forward since April 2007 through the EU's renewed Market Access Strategy [3]. The importance of these efforts to open markets was recognised last year in the Commission's Lisbon strategy Report to the Spring European Council [4], and endorsed by European leaders, who proposed to report each year on market access, identifying countries and sectors where significant barriers remain.

Two main thrusts were defined:

• The EU should use all its instruments to ensure that its openness is maintained and to increase access to third country markets for its companies.

• The EU should upgrade its strategic dialogues with key third countries to develop mutually beneficial solutions, promote higher standards and greater regulatory convergence.

The European Economic recovery plan adopted on 26 November 2008 by the European Commission [5] confirmed these objectives and proposed concrete actions to maintain and increase market openness and support employment [6], during the current difficult economic times. Improved market access and regulatory convergence and cooperation are major elements of this plan. In the current economic context efforts towards regulatory convergence in financial sectors become critical.

This Communication provides a first reporting on Market Access, and proposes how the Union can best achieve its objective of openness at home and abroad, and especially how it can ensure fair and open access to those third country markets that matter most to EU businesses, including through regulatory co-operation.

It is a further step in developing a stronger external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs after 2010. This will draw on the contribution of other Lisbon policy fields and address the links between the policies we pursue at home and abroad which was also highlighted by the Single Market Review [7] and the renewed Social Agenda [8].

1 Heads of State and Government of the G20 agreed on 15 November 2008 not to raise new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services within the next 12 month and to reach agreement in 2008 on modalities that lead to a successful conclusion of the WTO's Doha Development Agenda with an ambitious and balanced outcome.
2 COM(2006) 517, 4.10.2006.
3 COM(2007) 183, 18.4.2007.
4 COM(2007) 803, 11.12.2007.
5 COM(2008) 800, 26.12.2008.
6 In its renewed Social Agenda - COM(2008) 412 -, the Commission had already underlined that it will pay increasing attention to the projection of its social policies externally and the social impacts of its internal policies globally.
7 COM(2007) 724, 20.11.2007.
8 COM(2008) 412, 2.7.2008