[FR] Euroquestions #100 | The challenges of the European single market: much more than a market

Almost 66 years after its creation, the Single Market is a real European success story. Based on the principle of four freedoms – the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital – the single market now comprises 31 participating countries (the 27 EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) and is therefore the world’s largest and most integrated free trade area. However, this positive assessment should not hide the significant challenges that remain: lack of investment, declining competitiveness and poorly enforced regulations. The single market is like a garden: it needs to be tended to or it will wither away. In April 2024, our President Enrico Letta presented a report to the European Council on the future of the single market with several key recommendations. These include the introduction of a fifth freedom: freedom of knowledge, the creation of a 28th regime, the creation of a savings and investment market, and the completion of the internal energy market. But how can these challenges be met in an explosive international context and with finances in decline? In a European Union that is set to enlarge? Where does the European Commission stand on implementing the proposals in the Letta report?

We are delighted to welcome to this special 100th episode: Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Sylvie Matelly, Director of the Jacques Delors Institute, Sébastien Maillard, Special Advisor, and Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, Head of the Energy Centre.