What is
the Single Market?
•
The
Single Market began at the start of 1993
•
Jacques
Delors (President of the European Commission) called it:
‘one of the main engines of the EU’
but also said:‘you can’t fall in love with the single market.’
What is the Single Market?
•
building
one internal market was intended to launch Europe as an economic superpower.
•
as
member states got rid of obstacles to trade, companies would start to enjoy new
economies of scale.
•
more
cross-border competition would wipe out inefficient firms.
How was
it Created?
•
Removal
of barriers to the four freedoms of movement (people, goods, services, capital)
within the EU
•
Barriers
were: regulatory, technical, legal, bureaucratic, cultural and protectionist.
•
EU
Directives telling member states’ governments to put changes into effect.
Who
Benefits?
•
Consumers:
lower prices, greater choice of goods and services, work within EU.
•
Businesses:
fair competition, economies of scale, expand to global markets.
By How
Much?
European Commission estimates the
Single Market has produced:
•
2.5
m new jobs since 1993
•
800
billion euro extra wealth
•
over
15 m people now go to another EU state either to work or retire.
But
Concerns Remain
PricewaterhouseCoopers identified
some major problems in the internal market:
•
less
than half of all companies think the Single Market has had a positive impact on
them.
•
European
companies felt that the Single Market had not boosted their sales and productivity.
•
90%
of businesses think that significant barriers remain.
•
worker mobility has not
increased significantly.
The euro
•
euro
bank notes and coins introduced start of January 2002
•
Common
currency for 12 of the 27 member states of the EU
•
Apart
from new EU entrants, non-euro zone states are UK, Sweden and Denmark.
•
Adoption
of the single currency is final part of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
•
Stage
1: remove barriers to free movement of capital.
•
Stage
2: European Central Bank set up.
•
Stage
3: Introduction of the euro.