If one believes the economic forecast of the European Commission, Europe’s economy is growing and growing and growing - for the fourth year in succession. In spite of this, there were no joyful cheers at the press conference of Pierre Moscovici (Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs). Because the presented results left no doubt that the European Union has still a long way to go until it has recovered from the financial crisis 2008 and that it is still in no position to absorb fluctuations in the global economy.

They had already been announced last summer; this week it finally happened. The Commission is finally presenting concrete proposals as to how to gain control of the increasingly more sophisticated tax avoidance practices of major multinational corporations.

This week, the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) of the European Parliament presented a draft report on the Single Market Strategy of the Commission. The rapporteur is the MEP Lara Comi of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party and the EPP faction. The draft report repeats the one-sided market orientation of the Single Market Strategy

On the Single Market Strategy

This week, the Trade Committee adopted a report on the Trade in Services Agreement TiSA by a majority that includes important warning signals to the European Commission, the authority leading the negotiations. However, there are still far too many loopholes which may undermine the protection of public interests.

Given the fact, that the vote had already been postponed once, the Trade Committee of the European Parliament reached agreement at the beginning of the week.

A report by the European Parliament on the Annual Competitiveness Report by the European Commission, which contains significant demands, makes one take notice

There are hardly any areas where the competencies of the European Commission are as comprehensive as with regard to competition policy. The Directorate-General for Competition of the Commission is regarded as one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of European policy.

Last week, the draft of the own-initiative Report on Employment and Social Aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2016 was presented in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL).

This week, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) of the EU Parliament debated the composition of Workers representation on board level.Even though the report by the FEMM Committee has no binding or legislative effect, it nevertheless contains interesting issues worthy of discussion. For example, the rapporteur could imagine quotas to be implemented and urges, among other, trade unions to appoint workers representatives, to take affirmative action and to ensure that the proportion of women on boards reaches the threshold value of 40%.

This week, the Netherlands EU Presidency presented its priorities for the coming six months in the EU Parliament. The Netherlands will concentrate on the following three key objectives: a Union that focusses on the essentials, an innovative Union that creates growth and jobs and a Union that unites.

The European Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2016 is being published in an economic situation that continues to be strained and fragile. Unemployment in particular remains at a historical peak and long-term unemployment has doubled since 2008. The Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour (BAK) is of the opinion that a fundamental change of economic policy is necessary in the EU. However, despite some positive approaches, the Annual Growth Survey generally adheres to “business as usual”.

The EU Single Market Policy pursued hitherto and oriented almost exclusively to economic interests has missed the mark. This is shown by the catastrophic economic data for the EU as well as by the unprecedented figures for unemployment and poverty in the European Union. Today one quarter of the EU’s population is at risk of poverty. A key aim must be to implement measures that protect the interests of workers and support employees in their role as consumers. This is the only way to get the European Single Market on course for growth.