Portuguese minister expresses 'great concern' about EU single market

LISBON - Portuguese Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition Pedro Siza Vieira said on Monday that there is a "great concern" about the "integrity of the European Union (EU) single market after the COVID-19 pandemic".

The remarks were made at a press conference after the meeting of the Competitiveness Council, which was held virtually under the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU and brought together ministers from European countries in this sector.

"We closed borders on the free movement of people and even on the free movement of goods, and we all lost with that," said Vieira, expressing his concern about future crises and possible restrictions imposed by any of the 27 EU member states.

The minister called for cooperation between Europeans so that all citizens can have access to goods and merchandise and increase production capacity, "generating resources that can then be invested in innovation, in creating qualifying jobs for the future".

He also stressed that "there is a broad consensus on the need for us to be more effective in ensuring compliance with these rules by all who operate and offer goods and services in the single market", avoiding "competition and respecting the same environmental rules".

European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said at the same press conference that closing borders "without advance notice" between member states "has been very painful".

She revealed that the European Commission is studying a proposal to ensure that "all Member States feel and see that they can count on their neighbors in times of extreme crisis".

"We will insist on this and we hope to move forward very soon, as we have learned that borders are not guaranteed to remain open, even when there are necessary goods that need to circulate," she said.