Potential challenges for the European single market arising from the future enlargement of the Union

Key points

The EESC:

• believes that the enlargement of the EU is a success story and warmly welcomes the ongoing dynamics following the Council’s Granada Declaration. It is not just candidate states that must prepare, the EU must also introduce the necessary regulatory changes before their accession;
• regrets that the current fragmentation of the European financial market leads to capital outflows and represents a threat to European global competitiveness as well as one of the major obstacles for the future process of funding enlargement. The candidate countries represent significant potential for investments, economic opportunities and jobs. The proposed ‘Savings and Investments Union’ would mobilise private capital and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, and spur on growth and a higher absorption capacity. Enlargement also means greater access to critical raw materials, and therefore a more resilient and sovereign Europe;
• notes that the previous enlargement created a dynamic of winners and losers due to unbalanced economic opportunities. The EESC urges the European Commission and candidate countries to consider and manage the impacts of enlargement to avoid recreating that same dynamic, and give specific attention to SMEs, both in the EU and in the candidate countries to properly spread out the benefits;
• calls for an inclusive consultation process dedicated to duly compensating for the potential social costs, because the process of enlargement is not only about aligning the policies;
• stresses that the EU needs quick targeted measures to remove significant barriers and to unlock the full potential of the financial, telecommunications and energy sectors, and recommends alignment with the EU framework for the screening of foreign direct in enlargement countries;
• considers that enlargement should be at the centre of the discussions regarding the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF);
• considers that a new dynamic for the process must be found in the context of exceptional current geopolitical circumstances and growing challenges, such as climate change and the energy and environmental transition;
• recommends that civil society be involved in the enlargement process, and believes that enlargement should be an integral part of European solutions to global challenges.

For more information, please contact the INT Section Secretariat