The Single Market refers to the EU as one territory without any internal borders or other regulatory obstacles to the free movement of goods and services. A functioning Single Market stimulates competition and trade, improves efficiency, raises quality, and helps cut prices. The European Single Market is one of the EU’s greatest achievements. It has fuelled economic growth and made the everyday life of European businesses and consumers easier.
The Single Market Strategy is the European Commission’s plan to unlock the full potential of the Single Market. The Single Market is at the heart of the European project, but its benefits do not always materialise because Single Market rules are not known or implemented, or they are undermined by other barriers. So the Commission has decided to give the Single Market a boost by improving mobility for service providers, ensuring that innovative business models can flourish, making it easier for retailers to do business across borders, and enhancing access to goods and services throughout the EU.
The strategy to boost the Single Market
The single digital gateway will facilitate online access to the information, administrative procedures and assistance services that citizens and businesses need to get active in another EU country. As of 2020, citizens and companies moving across EU borders will easily be able to find out what rules and assistance services apply in their new residency. By 2023 at the latest, they will be able to perform a number of procedures in all EU member states without any physical paperwork, like registering a car or claiming pension benefits.
The EU Single Market accounts for 500 million consumers and 21 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Commission’s main goal is to ensure the free movement of goods within the market, and to set high safety standards for consumers and the protection of the environment. Learn more about conformity assessment, market surveillance, legal metrology, the New Approach legislation, harmonised and non-harmonised sectors, and the international dimension in the Single Market for Goods section.
Services are crucial to the Single Market. They account for over 70% of all economic activity in the EU and a similar proportion of its employment. EU companies have the freedom to establish themselves in other EU countries and the freedom to provide services in countries other than the one in which they are established. Learn more about the Services Directive, the free movement of professionals, retail, business and construction services, and service standards in the Single Market for services section.
Standards are voluntary technical specifications that apply to various products, materials, services and processes. They can help reduce costs, improve safety, enhance competition and facilitate the acceptance of innovations. Learn about the Joint Initiative on Standardisation, standardisation policy, harmonised standards, service standards, the notification system, standardisation requests and key guidance in the standardisation section.
The Commission works to remove or reduce barriers to intra-EU trade and prevent the creation of new ones so enterprises can trade freely in the EU and beyond. It applies Treaty rules prohibiting quantitative restrictions on imports and exports (Articles 34 to 36 TFEU ) and manages the notification procedures on technical regulations (2015/1535) and technical barriers to trade.
The Commission introduced the CE mark to indicate that a product meets high safety, health and environmental protection requirements and can be sold throughout the European Economic Area. See the guides for manufacturers, and importers and distributors, and read about CE marking in your country in the CE marking section.
Public procurement is the acquisition of goods and services by public authorities such as national, regional, or municipal governments. The EU works to ensure that public procurement is fair, competitive and conducive to the Single Market. Learn more about EU rules for contracting authorities and other aspects in the public procurement section.
The Commission monitors the application of EU law and can launch infringement proceedings against EU countries that do not comply. It monitors the functioning of the Single Market, producing evaluations and key economic reports. The Single Market Forum gathers stakeholders to examine the state of the Single Market and contributes to policy evaluation. The forum monitors the implementation of the Single Market Act.