Daniel Dalton, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, I’d like to start by thanking the Commission because this report is a stark warning that the Single Market is far from complete, lacks political support from Member States and is, in fact, under threat. At the heart of this report is a goods-services divide. The Single Market in goods is well developed, although often undermined by national regulations, but the Single Market in services has barely got out of the starting gates. Only a third of Single Market-related legislation proposed this term has been approved. If we didn’t already have the Services Directive, does anyone really believe that it would be passed today?

The European Parliament is often as guilty as Member States of protectionism. The e-card system, which would have made it easier for professionals to work across borders, was blocked here. The Single Market is supposed to be at the heart of the EU. Services is supposed to be one of the four freedoms – that’s what I keep hearing in the Brexit negotiations – yet this Parliament seems to show little interest in it. Try being a hairdresser in Germany or a ski instructor in France. It’s virtually impossible, and we are discriminating against other European citizens here. We need to match rhetoric with delivery and real commitment if the Single Market is to progress further. The risk today is that it slips backwards.