EU single market - Facts and figures
The single market
- Since 1992, around 3 million new jobs have been directly created by the single market.
- A complete single market would have an additional annual cumulative economic effect of around 1,467 billion EUR.
- The consumer detriment of an incomplete single market amounts to 58 billion EUR per year.
- In its first twenty years of its existence, the single market has raised EU GDP about 5%.
(Source: European Parliament, Mapping the cost of non-Europe, March 2014)
Goods
- The free movement of goods generates some 25% of EU GDP and accounts for 75% of intra-EU trade, contributing greatly to European growth while spurring employment and inward investment. (Source: European Commission)
- The free movement of goods opens the opportunity of selling to 28 national markets of more than 500 million consumers and 21 million businesses. (Source: European Commission)
- Analysis suggests that the untapped potential of the free movement of goods is in the range of some 183 billion - 269 billion EUR. (Source: European Parliament)
Services
- Services account for 71% of EU GDP and two-thirds of employment. Yet, only 20% of the services in the EU are provided across borders, accounting for just 5% of EU GDP compared with 17% for manufactured goods. (Source: European Commission, services package, 2012)
- 75% of trade in services concerns the supply to other businesses (B2B), hence their importance for the overall competitiveness of the EU economy. (Source: European Commission)
- National governments must commit to ensuring more ambitious implementation and stronger enforcement of the services directive, which alone can bring additional gains up to 1.8% of EU GDP. (Source: European Commission, services package, 2012)
Transport
- The transport industry itself directly employs around 11 million people and accounts for 5% of EU GDP.
- In 2012, private households in the EU spent roughly 13% of their total consumption on transport-related items.
- To remove remaining bottlenecks, 250 billion EUR will have to be invested in EU transport infrastructure to remedy links in the core TEN-T network.
(Source: European Commission)
Public procurement
- As a significant economic lever, government and utilities expenditure through public procurement amounts to 19% of EU GDP.
- Over 270,000 different contracting authorities carry out public procurement procedures through a variety of national systems (there are around 2 million award procedures carried out each year).
- Implementing e-procurement can save public finances around 5%-20% of their public procurement expenditure.