But for plenty, there is scope for cross-border selling. Think of things like supermarket chains, or consulting. The strategy does include measures to smooth access to services among member countries.
Construction makes up more than 10 percent of the bloc’s economy, but only a fraction of that, 1 percent of GDP, is conducted across borders. It’s a similar story with postal deliveries, a booming sector with the rise of e-commerce, as well as retail and telecoms. The Berlaymont is planning measures in all of these areas to deepen market access and allow for more cross-border competition.
Will it work?
In theory, everyone is a fan of the single market. At the macro level it really is win-win: Consumers get more choice, businesses get more buyers, and governments benefit from greater tax revenues. But at the micro level there are losers: Firms face more competitors and people get laid off. Those losers will lobby hard not to face the brunt of competition.
In the end it’s up to member countries — who asked for the single market strategy but who are also responsible for many of the barriers it aims to remove — to play ball.
The Commission has included a set of measures to ensure that the strategy has teeth. The draft calls for capitals “to appoint a high level Sherpa for the Single Market in their prime minister’s or president’s office with authority towards all parts of the government.” In effect, this would be the Berlaymont’s inside person, tasked with ensuring skittish governments don’t go back on their word.
The Commission is also proposing to take stock of the situation at the end of 2026, and if necessary propose a new Single Market Barriers Prevention Act in 2027.
The single market has other issues that extend beyond mere politics. The world’s mega single markets, the U.S. and China, benefit from relatively uniform language and culture. Europe, meanwhile, contains 27 different member countries, with tastes, language, culture and weather all varying dramatically from place to place.
The Commission can ensure the most frictionless trade rules in the world, but it will still be a challenge to get Italians to buy Birkenstocks, or for Poles to choose bacalao over sausages.