What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Removed:EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Added:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point 8: (8) for actions regarding customs or taxation, customs or tax authorities of Member States, and EU Customs Authority, and customs or tax authorities of third countries participating in the programme, provided that the conditions set out in Article 7 are met;

Removed:The Single Market is at the heart of the European project. It is the engine of our economies, the springboard to our businesses and safe home for European consumers. As we now enter a new financial cycle, the Single Market is under pressure. In addition to persistent challenges, including inter alia regularity fragmentation, unjustified internal barriers, limitations in enforcement, our internal market is also faced with unprecedented challenges in a volatile geopolitical situation. These include an intensified global competition, the weaponization of dependencies, the rise of digital markets, sharp inflows of non-compliant and illegal goods, and mounting threats to the Union’s financial interests, including by fraud and illegal activities.

Added:Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new): (8a) for actions regarding the protection of the financial interests of the Union, including preventing and combatting fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, the administrative, law enforcement, customs, tax or other competent public authorities, of Members States or in third countries participating in the programme, provided that the conditions set out in Article 7 are met;

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 1: 1. The programme shall be implemented by annual work programmes as referred to in Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 11c to supplement this Regulation by adopting the work programmes.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. The work programmes shall implement the objectives set out in Article 3. They shall for each action set out in detail the total amount of additional resources referred to in Article 5, and the distribution of those additional resources allocated to the objectives of the programme referred to in Article 3.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 1 c (new): 1c. Actions set out in the Annex to this Regulation implementing the specific objectives referred to in point (g) of Article 3(2) of this Regulation shall be implemented in accordance with Articles 13, 14 and 17 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

Added:Article 11 – paragraph 1 d (new): 1d. The Commission shall ensure that stakeholders are consulted in the development of the work programmes.

Added:Article 11 a (new): Article 11a / Monitoring and reporting / 1. Without prejudice to the Performance Regulation, the Commission may adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 11c to supplement this Regulation by setting out performance indicators to be used, where relevant, in addition to or instead of the indicators set out in Annex I to the Performance Regulation for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the programme. Such performance indicators shall be used in the assessments and evaluations undertaken by the Commission in accordance with Articles [9 and 10 of the Performance Regulation];

Added:Article 11 b (new): Article11b / Exercise of the delegation / 1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. / 2. The power to adopt delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission until 31 December 2034. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before that date. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. / 3. The delegation of power may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. / 4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. / 5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. / 6. A delegated act adopted shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European …

Added:Article 13 – paragraph 1: 1. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of the actions carried out under Regulations (EU) 2021/444, (EU) 2021/690, (EU) 2021/785, (EU) 2021/847 and (EU) 2021/1077, which shall continue to apply to those actions, until their closure.

Added:The Single Market is at the heart of the European project. It is the engine of our economies, the springboard to our businesses and safe home for European consumers. As we enter a new financial cycle, the Single Market is under pressure. In addition to persistent challenges, including inter alia regularity fragmentation, unjustified internal barriers, limitations in enforcement, the internal market is also faced with unprecedented challenges in a volatile geopolitical situation. These include an intensified global competition, a weaponization of dependencies, the rise of digital markets, sharp inflows of non-compliant and illegal goods, and mounting threats to the Union’s financial interests, including by fraud and illegal activities.

The Single Market is our best anchor for stability, driver for prosperity and shield to counter external pressure. However, to achieve its full potential and secure the integrity of our internal market, protecting the interests of our economies, business and citizens, we need to build on its strengths and reduce its weaknesses. A collective and coordinated Union response, to strengthen the Single Market, our Union’s interests and our resilience, will be key. The Single Market and Customs Programme will be a critical and strategic instrument to achieve this.

As part of the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) package, the Commission proposes a new Single Market and Customs Programme (SMCP) for the 2028-2034 period, bringing together four programmes, supporting activities in different policy areas, under one consolidated framework. The SMCP aims to strengthen the Single Market, the Customs Union, tax cooperation and the fight against fraud. The reduced design aims to foster flexibility, simplification and synergies, supporting the Union’s horizontal policy mainstreaming priorities.

Change 8

Changed:Overall, the RapporteurIMCO Report welcomes the new Single Market and Customs Programme,Programme and supports the objective to increase synergies with a more integrated approach to improve the well-functioning internal market. With the SMCP, key and interconnected policy areas such as customs, market surveillance and anti-fraud activities, which are operationally closely connected, are strategically brought together under the same financial envelope and governance model. The Rapporteur isReport also positivereflects tothe European Parliament position on the proposedoverall increaseEU long-term budget for the period 2028-2034 as adopted in the MFF Interim Report in April, and welcomes the increase of the total financial envelope,envelope of the SMCP of approximately ten percent given the criticality of strengthening the Single Market in times of increased pressure and uncertainty.

Change 9

Changed:However, the Rapporteur also identifies some weaknesses and several points of improvements inNevertheless, the Commission's proposal andIMCO henceReport proposes a numberseveral ofkey changes to enhance the overall package, improve clarity on key objectives, and strengthen the governance structure.structure of the programme.

Accountability and predictability

Change 10

Changed:While the Rapporteur sees merit in a flexible approach, in particular in regard to responsiveness to changing needs and circumstances over time, this must be balanced by an adequate level of predictability, transparency, and mechanisms for accountability. This is important for several reasons. To provide enough predictability for beneficiaries, to ensure consistency and financial continuity for core objectives, systems and legally mandated activities, and to ensure that democratic oversight, control and governance is safeguarded. In this context, the RapporteurReport proposes, inter alia, more clearly defined programme objectives, an improved structure on horizontal versus programme specific objectives, aligned with a budget breakdown allocating funds to the respective key elements of the programme accordingly. In addition, the Rapporteur also suggests introducing new provisions to limit the level of flexibility to shift funds without adopting a delegated act.

Clarity on objectives

Change 11

Changed:The RapporteurReport proposesaims to clarify the objectives of the programme, while maintaining a simpler, yet comprehensive structure. Specifically, the Rapporteur sees a need to reinforce and add more granular language in regard totext severalreinforces key elements. Theseelements includeincluding to empower and protect consumers, improve the well-functioning of the Single Market, putstrengthen morethe emphasisEU oncustoms aunion, levelempower playingand fieldprotect andconsumers, ensuring fair competition, as well as protect the Union’s financial interests, including by supporting and strengthening anti-fraud activities. In addition, the Rapporteur proposes to streamlinea thestreamlined structure with the aim to make sub-objectives to a larger extent mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, as well as align Article 3 on programme objectives to the proposed budgetary allocation. This improves the link between objectives and budget allocations, enabling better oversight, legal basis for prioritisation and stronger governance.

Change 12

Removed:Performance framework

Added:Monitoring, reporting and evaluation

Change 13

Changed:A strong performance framework is a key priorityto formonitor and evaluate the Rapporteur.progress and performance of the Programme. Increased flexibility cannot come at the expense of oversight, monitoring, and evaluation. On the contrary, a higher level of flexibility needs to be mirrored by an even stronger performance framework. Nevertheless, the RapporteurReport appreciatesrecognises the value in athe centralizedhorizontal performance framework in the new MFF cycle,cycle and hence refrains from introducing programme specific provisions on reporting, monitoring, and evaluation at this stage.evaluation. The Rapporteur stresses, however, that the new centralized Performance Regulation needs to deliver clear, timely, meaningful and comparable performance mechanisms and indicators to ensure that the programme can be properly monitored and scrutinized, and its impact is comprehensively assessed and evaluated.

Implementation

Change 14

Changed:As the Commission’s proposal does not provide sufficient information on how the new programme will be implemented,Furthermore, the RapporteurReport suggests introducing implementingdelegated acts for the adoption of work programmes. This would give Parliament clear information rights and allow better oversight and scrutiny of the implementation of the programme. Considering the programme’s strategic importance for the Single Market and the Union, such a mechanism is important for adequate democratic oversight and governance.

Change 15

Added:Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he included in his report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that he received, in the preparation of the report, prior to the adoption thereof in committee, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

Added:The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Added:Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that he has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

Added:25.6.2026

Added:for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Added:on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Single Market and Customs Programme for the period 2028-2034 and repealing Regulations (EU) 2021/444, (EU) 2021/690, (EU) 2021/785, (EU) 2021/847 and (EU) 2021/1077

Added:(COM(2025)0590 – C100198/2025 – 2025/0590(COD))

Added:Rapporteur for budgetary assessment: Danuše Nerudová

Added:The Committee on Budgets has carried out a budgetary assessment of the proposal under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and has reached the following conclusions:

Added:The Committee on Budgets,

Added:A. whereas the proposal brings together parts of five separate programmes existing under the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), creating therefore a single envelope in the area of the single market, customs, taxation and anti-fraud;

Added:B. whereas in the current geopolitical context, removing barriers and reducing fragmentation is essential to unlocking new opportunities of growth across the economies of the Union and its Member States;

Added:C. whereas the absence of indicative sub-envelopes in the single market and customs programme’s (SMCP) budgetary architecture affords the Commission a degree of discretion over spending priorities during implementation that is incompatible with the principle of sound financial management and with the prerogatives of the budgetary authority; whereas the establishment of transparent sub-allocations per programme strand is a prerequisite for effective parliamentary scrutiny and accountability;

Added:D. whereas customs duties constitute a traditional own resource of the Union, and the effective functioning of customs authorities is therefore directly linked to the protection of the Union budget; whereas the proliferation of low-value consignments from third countries, often misclassified or undervalued, represents a direct threat to Union budget revenues, compounded by the exponential growth of e-commerce which has substantially increased the volume and complexity of customs operations without a commensurate increase in the resources allocated to customs authorities under the current MFF;

Added:E. whereas the presence of low-cost imported goods from third countries, frequently placed on the Union market in non-compliance with Union safety, environmental, labelling and consumer protection standards, creates unfair competitive conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in the EU that bear the full cost of regulatory compliance; whereas the programme should contribute to addressing this asymmetry through strengthened market surveillance and customs enforcement at the Union’s external borders;

Added:F. whereas the rapid growth of e-commerce has significantly increased low-value imports, creating substantial challenges for the competitive position of Union businesses and for customs and market surveillance authorities in ensuring compliance with Union standards; whereas the EU Customs Reform introduced a Union handling fee per parcel in order to tackle high e-commerce volumes, applicable from July 2026;

Added:G. whereas the European Court of Auditors delivered its Opinion 08/2026;

Added:H. whereas the European Economic and Social Committee delivered its Opinion INT/1104;

Added:I. whereas the 2026 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report noted that only 20.6 % of single market procedures are fully available online for cross-border users, imposing an unnecessary administrative burden on citizens, entrepreneurs and businesses, in particular micro-companies and SMEs, and limiting their ability to fully benefit from the single market;

Added:1. Considers that the programme envelope should be increased from EUR 6.2 billion (EUR 5.5 billion in 2025 prices) to EUR 6.9 billion (EUR 6.1 billion in 2025 prices), in order to deepen the single market while promoting convergence, strengthen the capacity of customs and market surveillance authorities, and protect the safety, security, and financial and economic interests of the Union and its Member States;

Added:2. Considers that sufficient resources, including human, technical and IT resources, must be available from the outset and throughout the entire programming period of the 2028-2034 MFF to ensure an effective implementation of the SMCP, while ensuring that existing resources are used efficiently and avoiding unnecessary administrative burdens; underlines that customs authorities must be equipped with the digital tools, risk-profiling capacities and inter-agency coordination mechanisms necessary to detect and intercept non-compliant consignments at scale, including through the development and deployment of data analytics models and artificial intelligence-based risk assessment systems, as well as to ensure interoperability between national databases;

Added:3. Stresses that the growth of e-commerce has resulted in a significant workload increase for customs authorities, which must therefore be provided with appropriate resources to carry out their functions; recalls that the new European Customs Authority Agency will be established in order to support and coordinate the work of national customs authorities; underlines that customs duties constitute a traditional own resource of the Union and that customs authorities therefore serve the interest of the Union as a whole;

Added:4. Considers that, while some degree of flexibility would enable timely adjustment to evolving spending priorities, above all in view of the on-going review of the EU’s customs code and the EU anti-fraud architecture, predictability and internal safeguards should be ensured in particular for mandatory programme functions; strongly deplores the lack of breakdown of the budget of SMCP; notes that this would give the Commission great latitude to shift and decide on spending priorities during implementation; expresses concern that the overly aggregated budgetary architecture would substantially facilitate transfers not subject to budgetary authority decisions; stresses that simplification and flexibility must not come at the expense of transparency and oversight of the budgetary authority; further regrets that the impact assessment accompanying the proposal does not sufficiently analyse how flexibility mechanisms should be prioritised or balanced across strands with differing operational needs, cost structures and implementation horizons; strongly recommends, therefore, that the basic act include indicative sub-envelopes for core programme functions, and that decision-making criteria and documentation requirements governing the use of carry-overs, external assigned revenue and cumulative funding under Articles 4 to 6 are defined;

Added:5. Stresses, in particular, that flexibility must not jeopardise the continuity of mandatory programme functions, which require predictable long-term investment, namely customs IT systems, taxation IT systems, the Anti-Fraud Information System, the Irregularity Management System and European statistics, and underlines the importance of introducing prioritisation safeguards in the basic act to ensure that these systems are adequately protected in the context of internal reallocations during annual programming;

Added:6. Recalls that the budgetary nomenclature must be established in line with Article 47(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 (the Financial Regulation), which provides that each title must correspond to a policy area and each chapter, as a rule, to a programme or an activity, in line with the principles of specification, sound financial management and transparency; considers, therefore, that the basic act should include a budgetary nomenclature that adequately reflects the sub-envelopes established in the basic act, with reference amounts for specific objectives; recommends that the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection amend the proposal to include an annex defining the nomenclature of the programme; insists that the budgetary nomenclature forms an integral part of Parliament’s negotiating position and must be discussed in interinstitutional negotiations; considers, in this regard, that the revised Legislative Financial and Digital Statement (LFDS) must form part of the final political agreement;

Added:7. Deplores the lack of a sufficiently detailed indicative budgetary nomenclature proposed in the LFDS; considers that this will hamper the budgetary authority’s ability to steer accurately policy priorities in the annual budgetary procedure; expresses concerns that the overly aggregated budgetary architecture would dramatically increase the Commission’s discretion in transferring and reallocating resources without a decision from the budgetary authority, and would severely limit parliamentary oversight; recommends, therefore, a more detailed nomenclature that properly reflects the objectives and structure of SMCP and enhances transparency, accountability and parliamentary control;

Added:8. Insists that sufficiently detailed and sound legislation, with an appropriate level of governance, is a condition for proper budgetary decision-making and adequate parliamentary oversight during budget implementation; recommends introducing provisions to strengthen control over how the budget is mobilised and spent; considers that the so-called steering mechanism can in no way be a substitute for Parliament’s legislative and budgetary powers, and cannot be conceived without a sound governance architecture that ensures the effective exercise of such powers;

Added:9. Believes that all substantive policy choices such as programme objectives, spending priorities, financial allocations, funding rates, eligibility, selection and award criteria, conditions, definitions and calculation methods must be determined in the basic act, with full respect for Parliament’s prerogatives as a co-legislator and one arm of the EU’s budgetary authority, and that any non-essential elements entailing policy choices that are not included in the basic act must be adopted through delegated acts, including work programmes, where appropriate;

Added:10. Underlines that, given the diversity of activities covered by SMCP, consolidation into a single framework will require an appropriate level of governance, a coherent prioritisation system, transparent resource allocation and robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, thereby ensuring efficient resource use and avoiding duplication and unnecessary complexity; stresses, with a view to reducing the administrative burden, the importance of modernising and standardising digital infrastructure and ensuring the practical usability of Union-level digital tools for administrations and economic operators across all Member States, as well as for enforcement-related activities, in order to ensure that goods placed on the Union market comply with applicable Union safety, environmental and consumer protection rules;

Added:11. Takes note of the suggested complementarity between SMCP and other programmes such as National and Regional Partnership Plans, the European Competitiveness Fund, Horizon Europe, the Connecting Europe Facility and Global Europe; highlights that while synergies and coordination between programmes are important, their governance structures must preserve their distinct objectives, legal basis and decision-making autonomy; emphasises, in this context, that SMCP should retain its specific focus on the proper functioning and enforcement of the single market and should not be driven by broader competitiveness objectives; stresses that enhanced complementarity between instruments must not come at the expense of traceability of expenditure or the prerogatives of the budgetary authority nor lead to double funding; underlines that the contribution of SMCP to operations financed jointly with other instruments must be explicitly identifiable at all stages of the budgetary cycle; stresses, in this regard, that any such contribution must be duly reflected in the programme performance statement for the SMCP programme; notes, in particular, that programmes supporting digital infrastructure, customs cooperation and product compliance databases should be coordinated with other Union instruments to maximise the effectiveness of enforcement across the single market without undermining the transparency of these financial actions and of other Union programmes; insists that the budgetary authority retain full control over how resources are combined across instruments and over the effective contribution of each programme to EU priorities, specifically through detailed budgetary nomenclature; stresses that enhanced complementarity between programmes must not lead to disproportionate complexity for beneficiaries; calls for EU funding to be clearer, more accessible and more coherent in order to facilitate uptake and maximise the impact of investments;

Added:12. Calls for the programme to support simplified procedures and practical digital tools, in particular those designed to reduce cross-border compliance costs, that enable SMEs to operate more easily across the single market and reduce the burden created by fragmentation and administrative complexity;

Added:13. Recommends the lead committee to ensure that entities participating in actions involving the development, deployment or use of IT systems and digital tools under this programme retain full control over critical infrastructures and data to protect the financial interests of the Union; stresses the importance of relying on the use of open standards, ensuring transparency of software components, and safeguarding against strategic dependencies on third-country providers;

Added:14. Stresses that the use of external assigned revenue under SMCP must be clearly circumscribed, fully transparent and subject to effective parliamentary scrutiny, while fully respecting the prerogatives of the budgetary authority; takes note, in that regard, of the provisions relating to additional contributions to the programme; recalls the importance of ensuring the traceability of external assigned revenue; underlines that, should the lead committee consider amending provisions relating to external assigned revenue, this should be done in coordination with the Committee on Budgets and the other committees in order to ensure a consistent approach; calls on the Commission to publish, alongside each annual work programme, a comprehensive overview of all external assigned revenue expected to be mobilised, their origin and their allocated use, and underlines that any broadening of the scope of external assigned revenue beyond that expressly provided for in the basic act must require the prior agreement of the budgetary authority;

Added:15. Stresses that public procurement accounts for 15 % of EU GDP and that, in the light of the upcoming revision of the directives, particular focus should be given to actions that support the integration of qualitative, environmental, social and innovation-related considerations into public procurement procedures through the systematic use of the best price-quality ratio, rather than only relying on lowest-price criterion; notes that such actions can include capacity-building and guidance for contracting authorities on how to apply those criteria in the context of the award of public contracts, while safeguarding the principles of transparency, equal treatment and fair competition;