Single Market barriers undermine EU’s economic power
Today, the European Commission published its communication on the "Single Market in a Changing World", warning that today’s advantages of border-free movement of people, capital, goods and services within Europe could be undermined.
BusinessEurope President Pierre Gattaz said: "Every day, Europeans benefit from the free movement of people, capital, goods, services within Europe. Millions of citizens cross borders for their work, companies sell goods across the EU, provide services and consumers have a better choice at better prices. I hope people will see more and more that their work places exist because their companies can easily trade within the EU. New barriers would not benefit any European. They would result in higher costs, slower convergence for Europeans and less choice for 500 million EU citizens. New barriers would also weaken Europe’s ability to withstand competitive pressures from big global powers or global trade tensions. The EU’s economic power is generated from more effective distribution of resources, fair competition and scale. A fully functioning Single Market would bring more and better paid jobs for Europeans and faster economic and social convergence. All of it is urgently needed. That’s why I call on leaders on EU, national and local levels to defend the EU Single Market as our true home market."
Please see:
- BusinessEurope’s strategy paper on the single market
- European Commission’s communication