Single Market 2021-2027

Objectives of the programme

The general goals of the programme are:

• to improve the functioning of the internal market and in particular to protect and strengthen the role of citizens, consumers and businesses, especially SMEs, by applying Union law, facilitating access to markets, setting standards and promoting the health of people, animals and plants and animal welfare, as well as promoting cooperation between European and national authorities;
• to develop, produce and disseminate high-quality, comparable, timely and reliable European statistics that support the design, monitoring and evaluation of all Union policies;

The program has the following specific objectives: 

A) Making the internal market more effective, also in the light of digital transformation:

• facilitating the prevention and elimination of discriminatory, unjustified or disproportionate obstacles and supporting the development, implementation and application of Union law in the areas of the internal market for goods and services - including by improving the application of the principle mutual recognition - of public procurement rules, company law and contract and non-contractual law, anti-money laundering rules, rules on free movement of capital, financial services and competition, including by developing user-centered governance tools;
• supporting effective market surveillance across the Union to ensure that only safe and compliant products offering a high level of protection for consumers and other end-users are made available on the Union market, even when the sales took place online, as well as to achieve greater homogeneity of market surveillance authorities across the Union, and to increase their capacities.

B) Strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs and achieve additionality at Union level through measures aimed at: 

• provide various forms of support to SMEs, as well as clusters and business network organizations, including in the tourism sector, thereby promoting the growth, expansion and creation of SMEs;
• facilitate access to markets through the internationalization of SMEs;
• promoting entrepreneurship and the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills;
• promoting an SME-friendly business environment, supporting the digital transformation of SMEs and encouraging new business opportunities for SMEs, including social economy enterprises and those with innovative business models;
• supporting the competitiveness of ecosystems and industrial sectors, as well as the development of industrial value chains; 
• promoting the modernization of industry, contributing to a green, digital and resilient economy.Ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market through standardization processes:

C) Ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market through standardization processes:

• to make possible the financing of European standardization and the participation of all relevant stakeholders in the definition of European standards;
• support the development of high-quality international standards on financial and non-financial reporting and auditing, facilitate their integration into Union law, and promote innovation and the development of best practices in corporate reporting ;

D) Promote consumer interests and ensure a high level of consumer protection and product safety:

• regarding consumers:
• initiating educational actions and assisting consumers, businesses and civil society representatives as well as strengthening their role, in particular as regards consumer rights under Union law;
• ensuring a high level of consumer protection, sustainable consumption and product safety, in particular for the most vulnerable consumers, in order to improve fairness, transparency and trust in the internal market;
• ensuring that the interests of consumers in the digital world are duly taken into account;
• supporting competent law enforcement authorities and representative consumer organizations, as well as actions that strengthen cooperation between competent authorities, with particular attention to the issues raised by existing and emerging technologies;
• helping to improve the quality and availability of standards across the Union; effectively tackling UTPs;
• ensuring that all consumers have access to effective redress mechanisms and have adequate information on markets and consumer rights and promoting sustainable consumption, in particular by raising awareness of the specific characteristics and environmental impact of goods and services ;
• with regard to consumers and other end users of financial services:
• enhancing the participation of consumers, other end-users of financial services and representatives of civil society in policy-making relating to financial services;
• promoting a better understanding of the financial sector and the different categories of financial products marketed;
• safeguarding the protection of consumer interests in the retail financial services sector;

E) Contribute to a high level of protection of the health and safety of persons, animals and plants in the plant, animal, food and feed sector, inter alia through prevention, detection and eradication of animal diseases and pests to plants, including through emergency measures adopted in the event of large-scale crisis situations and unforeseeable events affecting animal or plant health by supporting the improvement of animal welfare, the fight against resistance antimicrobial and the development of the sustainability of food production and consumption, as well as stimulating the exchange of best practices among stakeholders in these sectors;

F) Develop, produce, disseminate and communicate high-quality European statistics.

Beneficiaries

These entities are eligible to participate in the program:

• legal entities established in a Member State or an overseas country or territory connected to it; a third country associated with the program;
• legal entities established under Union law or international organizations;
• exceptionally, legal entities established in a third country which is not associated with the program, provided that the participation of those legal entities in action pursues the objectives of the program and that the activities outside the Union contribute to ensuring the effectiveness of the interventions carried out in the territories of the Member States to which the Treaties apply.

Forms of financing

The program can grant funding in all forms provided in the Financial Regulation, notably grants, prizes and procurement. It may also grant financing in the form of financial instruments in the context of blending operations.

Grants can cover up to 100% of eligible costs.

An action which has received a contribution under another Union program may also be financed under the program, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. The rules of the Union program concerned to apply to the corresponding contribution made to the action. The cumulative funding does not exceed the total eligible costs of the action. The support from the different Union programs can be calculated proportionally in accordance with the documents specifying the conditions for the support

Actions that have received a Seal of Excellence under this program may receive support from the ERDF or the ESF Plus, if they comply with the following cumulative conditions:

• they have been evaluated in the framework of a call for proposals under the program;
• they comply with the minimum quality requirements indicated in the call for proposals;
• cannot be funded under the call for proposals due to budgetary constraints.

Budget

The financial envelope for the implementation of the program in the period between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2027 is equal to 4,208,041,000 euros.

Links

Regulation (EU) 2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing a programme for the internal market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics (Single Market Programme)