Stronger Enforcement Of Single Market Rules Needed In The EU – EGBA

EGBA welcomes the European Commission’s action plan for the enforcement of EU single market rules published and urges the Commission to ensure online sectors and consumers truly benefit from the single market.

EGBA agrees that implementation and enforcement of EU law is a joint responsibility of both the European Commission and Member States. But that joint responsibility does not negate the special role of the European Commission as the guardian of the Treaties to ensure EU law is adhered to, as well as its role in supporting Member States to avoid potential infringement by scrutinizing their draft laws and maintaining dialogue via the Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) notifications. In this respect, EGBA welcomes the Commission’s firm commitment to strictly ensure that Member States properly notify all their draft laws to the Commission.

The EU single market cannot work properly without stronger enforcement of its rules. Such enforcement is particularly needed in the online sphere, not least because EU citizens are spending more time online purchasing goods, services and engaging in entertainment activities, such as online gambling[2].

The need for stronger enforcement is particularly clear in those sectors which are not yet harmonized, such as online gambling. The EU online gambling sector is worth €22.2 billion, and growing by 10% each year, but the 16.5 million Europeans who bet online experience 27 different sets of national online gambling policies.

“EGBA welcomes the Commission’s commitment to making the single market work but EU law should be enforced more strongly across all sectors, including online gambling.” – Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.

Source: EGBA.eu