EU Single Market: Driving Economic Growth and Prosperity

The EU Single Market: Driving Economic Growth and Prosperity

The European Commission estimates that EU GDP is 1.8% higher thanks to the Internal Market. Additionally, employment is 1.46% higher, which means that around 2.5 million extra jobs have been created.

Economic Impact and Regional Cohesion

Over the last ten years, the Internal Market has increased the Union’s GDP by €877 billion. These figures are likely an underestimate of the full impact of the Internal Market. The combination of the Internal Market and cohesion policies has ensured that these benefits have not missed the poorest regions of the Community, as many feared they would. In fact, the opposite has happened, as many of these regions have actually enjoyed the highest growth rates and narrowed the gap with the rest of the EU.

Facilitating Trade and Investment

The Internal Market has tied the economies of the Member States more closely together. By eliminating exchange rate uncertainty, the euro has reduced the risks associated with cross-border trade and investment within the euro area. As a result, trade between the Member States has expanded strongly.

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Over the past ten years, extra-EU imports into the EU have grown steadily. This is a clear sign that the EU market is increasingly open and that the existence of a single system makes market access easier for firms from third countries. The Internal Market has made Europe a much more attractive location for foreign investors. New inflows of foreign direct investment into the European Union were four times higher. FDI brings enormous advantages: it not only increases investment but also helps to diffuse innovation and increase productivity.

The Single Market: Europe's Core Asset

The Single Market is one of Europe’s major achievements and its best asset in times of increasing globalization. It is an engine for building a stronger and fairer EU economy. By allowing people, goods, services, and capital to move more freely, it opens up new opportunities for citizens, workers, businesses, and consumers – creating the jobs and growth Europe so urgently needs. More integrated and deeper capital markets will channel more funding to companies, especially SMEs, and infrastructure projects.