Single Market Strategy

601 Press & Media

Background

In May 2025, the European Commission launched a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the EU single market. Its Communication The Single Market: our European home market in an uncertain world – A Strategy for making the Single Market simple, seamless and strong outlines eight pillars, including stronger services, support for SMEs and for start-ups, digitalisation, simplification, implementation and enforcement, political and national engagement, synergy on spending, and protection against unfair trade practices. The Commission has also analysed structural gaps in the market. In particular, the strategy identifies a set of ‘Terrible Ten’ barriers to the single market that it plans to address as a priority, including fragmentation in regulatory frameworks, uneven recognition of professional qualifications, and barriers to cross-border business activity. The strategy also explores reforms to governance, standardisation and the European Labour Authority.

Moreover, the strategy underlines the importance of effective enforcement, an aspect that the EESC also considers essential for the functioning of the single market.

For the EESC, the next step should be faster, more transparent and better coordinated implementation and enforcement of single market rules – matched by Member States removing existing obstacles and avoiding creating new ones.

Read the opinion.

 

Key points

In its opinion, the EESC:

  • fully supports the priorities identified by the Commission and reiterates the need for a cohesive European response;
  • stresses that removing barriers is key and that regulatory simplification must take place with full respect for social and workers’ rights;
  • calls on the Commission to put forward legislative proposals to address regional supply constraints.

Additional information

Section: Single Market, Production and Consumption

Opinion number: INT/1094

Opinion type: Referral from the Commission

Rapporteurs: Emilie Prouzet, Angelo Pagliara, Giuseppe Guerini

Reference: (COM(2025) 500 final)

Date of adoption by section: 14/11/2025

Result of the vote: 82 in favour/1 against/0 abstentions

Date of adoption in plenary: 3/12/2025

Result of the vote in plenary:

 

Contacts

Press officer: Flavia Badircea/Laura Lui

Tel.: +32 2 546 9189

Email: laurairena.lui@eesc.europa.eu

Administrator: Annalisa Tessarolo

Tel.: +32 2 546 9732

Email: annalisa.tessarolo@eesc.europa.eu

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