In this part of the treatise we have studied the main freedoms of the internal market as well as some closely linked policies such as the taxation, the competition and the public procurement policy of the European Union.
However it should be noted that there are other policy areas which strongly contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and the proper functioning of the four freedoms.
Among those areas the consumer protection policy should be mentioned first. The principals of the EC consumer protection policy are the followings (1) the right to the protection of health and safety, (2) the right to the protection of economic interests, (3) the right to the compensation of damages caused by faulty services or products, (4) the right to the information and education, (5) the right to representation of consumer interests in the development of community policies. In the field of consumer protection the Council adopts EC rules in co-decision procedures with the Parliament however Member States can maintain or adopt stricter provisions in this field. Although, it should be mentioned, that the interest of consumer protection can be an exemption to restrict the free movement of goods in the internal market according to Article 30 of the EC Treaty. In the area of consumer protection there is community legislation in the field of misleading advertising, food labelling, cosmetic safety, general product safety, cross boarder payments, contracts between distant parties and distant selling and unfair contract terms. One of the most important result achieved in the area of consumer protection has been the adoption of the food safety legislation improving food safety in Europe and aiming at restore the consumer trust in food safety.
The new rules have set up the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Consumer protection is continuously on the agenda of the European institutions.
An other important policy area is the environment protection. The EC environment protection policy is a well-developed policy area with complex structure and detailed rules. The main objectives of the EC environmental policy is to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, to protect human health, to encourage prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources and to promote measures at international level to deal with regional and worldwide environmental problems. The EC environmental policy are established on the following main principles: (1) the principle of prevention, (2) the principle of rectifying environmental hazards at source, (3) the polluter pays principle, (4) the integration principle= to integrate the environmental aspects to Community policies, (5) principle of avoidance. The main fields of the environmental legislation are the air pollution control, water pollution control, waste management, noise reduction, nuclear safety, protection of flora and fauna, provisions of chemicals. In the field of pollution the Community objective is to reduce the emission by limiting pollution to minimum level of protection. The recent environmental action program of the Community which is the sixth environmental action program seeks to find the answers to the new challenges and focuses on the sustainable development. The action program underlines the challenges caused by climate change, nature and biodiversity and highlights the importance of environment and health as well as the natural resources and waste.
The EC established the European Environment Agency (EEA) in 1990 to provide adequate information on the state of environment, and to direct the countries attention to the proper implementation on the environmental policy.
As part of the free movement of persons related legislation the employment and social policy as well as the public health policy has horizontal significance. In the field of employment policy with the wage of the company merges the adoption of common principles and basic rules of the labour law was necessary. Community legislation was adopted in the field of equal treatment and payment for men and woman, health and safety at work, to improve conditions in the workplace, to set the minimum rules for working time and to involve workers in decisions and to inform them about this decisions. To strengthen the rights of labour force the, European Community – with the exception of the United Kingdom – adopted the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (the Social Charter) in 1989. The employment policy is a key issue in the competitiveness and growth of the European Union. The improvement of employment situation became a strategic objective of the EU together with the aim at preserving the European Social Model where such exists. The Lisbon Strategy contains special objectives for employment policy until 2010: (1) raising the level of employment of 70%, (2) reducing, by 50%, the number of 18-24 years old with lower secondary education, (3) fight social exclusion, (4) improve the adjustment of pension system, (5) improve lifelong learning.
Other policy areas such as research and development, industrial policy, policy for small and medium size enterprises, energy policy, transport policy, regional policy and last, but not least, the common agricultural policy to form an integral part of the internal market and the European Union.
| Previous chapter |