The existing single market for goods and services has already contributed significantly to economic growth and consumer welfare in the European Union. The European Commission estimates that progress in this field over the period from 1992 to 2006 increased EU GDP and employment by 2.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent, representing figures of 233 billion euro and 2.8 million jobs respectively. However, a further deepening of the ‘classic’ single market could still yield significant additional gains for EU consumers and citizens, increasing EU28 GDP by a further 2.2 per cent annually over a ten-year period, if remaining barriers could be eliminated, and existing European law were to be applied properly. Based on preliminary results from work commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the completion of the single market in a series of fields – public procurement, free movement of goods, free movement of services and the consumer acquis – we currently estimate the potential GDP gain to be in the order of 300 billion euro per year (2.3 per cent of GDP).
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