Existing research suggests that a deeper and more complete single market in the digital field could raise the long-run level of EU28 GDP by at least 4.0 per cent, or around 520 billion euro at current prices.2 The preliminary results of a detailed Cost of Non-Europe Report commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, in order to look at specific dimensions – such as e-commerce, digital payments, cloud computing and the operation of consumer law (consumer acquis) in the field – indicate that this annual increase in the long-run level of GDP could well be somewhat higher – currently thought to be in the order of 656 billion euro per year.3 However, the regulatory complexity of decompartmentalising existing markets in this field suggests that the full potential may take a sustained period of time to realise. A plausible assumption is therefore that, even with the right policies in place, not all that gain for the European economy can be achieved in the coming years. For the purpose of this analysis, the more cautious figure of 340 billion euro is currently retained.
Be the first to write a comment.