Single market

What the EU does

The European single market is one of the EU’s greatest achievements. By guaranteeing the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour/people, it has fuelled economic growth and made the everyday life of European businesses and consumers easier.

It aims to create a borderless economic area where individuals and businesses can operate freely, fostering economic growth and benefiting consumers through increased choice and lower prices.

The single market includes the 27 EU Member States and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (through the European Economic Area).

Facts about the single market

450 million

Number of people (and consumers) in Europe’s ‘home’ market

26 million

Number of businesses in Europe’s single market

€18 trillion

GDP of Europe’s single market, the world’s second largest economy

Areas of action

Single market strategy

Plan to make the single market simpler, seamless and strong – unlocking its full potential for people and businesses

Single market for goods

Discover how the EU makes it easier for goods to move freely, while keeping safety high and protecting the environment

Single market for services

Learn how the EU is breaking down barriers to help businesses provide services across borders

Single market simplification

New plan to simplify single market rules and reduce bureaucracy

Capital markets union

Building a capital markets union to help small businesses and make Europe more attractive to investors

Digital single market

Making the single market digital, with common rules for telecommunications, copyright, data protection, and more

Key achievements

For more than 30 years the single market has helped to make everyday life easier for citizens and businesses, allowing goods, services, people and money to move freely around the EU.
Thanks to the single market EU citizens can study, live, shop, work and retire in any EU Member State and enjoy products from all over Europe.
Companies are able to expand their operations, while competition helps to bring prices down and give consumers more choice.
The single market has enabled people in the EU to benefit from lower prices, more innovation and fast technological development, and higher standards of safety and environmental protection.
The single market boosts GDP, supports millions of jobs, and helps the EU compete globally by attracting investment and strengthening supply chains.
The single market has raised EU GDP by 3-4% and created 3.6 million jobs since it was established in 1993.

In focus

Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard

The scoreboard measures the performance and outcomes of the single market in different policy areas and tools. It also monitors countries’ performance and provides detailed country data. information on aspects such as enforcement tools, business conditions, and competitiveness.

Find out more about it here