Recital 1

(1)Transparency is essential for the smooth functioning of the internal market. The Commission, in its communications of 27 October 2015 entitled ‘Commission Work Programme 2016 – No time for business as usual’ and of 16 December 2014 entitled ‘Commission Work Programme 2015 – A New Start’, identified as a priority the need to respond to the call of citizens of the Union for fairness and transparency and the need for the Union to act as a global reference model. It is essential that the efforts to achieve greater transparency take into account reciprocity between competitors.