The Single Market has led to an unprecedented market integration between Member States’ economies, serving as a driver for growth and competitiveness and supporting Europe’s economic and political power at a global level, said the European Commission in a statement on Tuesday, on the occasion of the Single Market’s 30th anniversary this year.
Established on 1 January 1993, the European Single Market allows goods, services, people and capital to move around the EU freely, making life easier for people and opening up new opportunities for businesses, said the Commission, adding that further to having helped accelerate the development of new Member States that joined the EU, the Single Market has more recently been essential in helping Europe to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thanks to the Single Market, the statement continues, the EU has been able to improve the lives of all Europeans, including by accelerating the transition to a greener and more digital economy, guaranteeing high safety and leading global technological standards and responding to recent crises with unprecedented speed and determination (COVID-19 pandemic and the current energy crisis).
To ensure that the Single Market remains a common good that delivers for all people in the EU, the Commission continuously works on its development in new areas and ensures that the rules which are already in place work in practice and for this purpose, the Commission works closely with Member States’ public authorities who share the responsibility for the effective enforcement of Single Market rules, it is stated.
It is added that in December 2022, during the kick-off of the series of events to mark the 30th anniversary of the Single Market, the Commission presented an analytical paper on the state of the Single Market 30 years after its establishment and its role as driver of EU resilience, while in the course of 2023 there will be numerous debates, exhibitions and campaigns co-organised with stakeholders across the EU to promote the successes of the Single Market and engage citizens in discussing its future.
Furthermore, the Commission said it will issue a Communication showcasing the significant achievements and benefits of the Single Market, while also identifying implementation gaps and future priorities for the Single Market to continue to play a key role.
The communique also includes statements by the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager, according to whom the past two years have shown that Europe’s ability to absorb shocks and overcome crises relies on a strong Single Market and for this reason the European Commission has proposed a Single Market Emergency Instrument to be able to take action together, to ensure that it also works in times of crisis.
For his part, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton is quoted as saying that the Single Market is much more than just a legal framework and needs to be continuously preserved, improved and re-invented, first, by ensuring that the rules that have been agreed collectively are also applied collectively, second, by putting SMEs at the centre of Europe’s competitiveness, and third, by ensuring that people and businesses have access to the goods and services they need, when they need them.
“The Single Market gave the European Union a continental scale and therefore the capacity to project itself onto the global stage. Today, in its 30th anniversary, the Single Market gives me confidence and determination to face the challenges ahead”, the Commissioner’s statement concludes.
Source: Cyprus News Agency