The state of law in the applicant countries and its practical implementation in respect of the internal market

The European Parliament, taking into consideration the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Interal Market, will assume its full responsiblity, in ratifying each accession agreement, not only for the operation of the internal market but also for the social and economic situation in the EU and in candidate countries. In addition, the Parliament emphasises that there is a direct link in the internal market between granting fundamental freedoms and compliance with minimum standards, e.g. in the fields of social security, the environment, consumer protection, health and competition. It calls in consequence for due account to be taken of this link in the accession negotiations in order to prevent economic and social distortions. With regard to legal systems, the Parliament welcomes the progress made in adapting the systems of the candidate countries to EU single market provisions and calls on the Commission to use the scoreboard to monitor effective transposition of European directives in national legislation when the candidate countries accede. It insists that the adoption of EU law will only satisfy European requirements if it is effectively enforced on a regular basis by administration, legal controls, market supervisions etc. Furthermore, the European Parliament considers an efficient judicial system with independent courts and a sufficient number of trained judges highly essential. Finally, in the interests of transparency in accession negotiations in the field of the internal market, the Parliament calls on the governments of the Member States, the Council of Ministers and the Commission to publicise the official positions on the individual chapters of the accession negotiations and to enter into a debate on the matter in order to keep the citizens of the European Union well informed. �