Summary of potential economic gains in 50 EU policy areas

• Author: Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (European Parliament)
• Pages: 9-21

Europe’s two trillion euro dividend: Mapping the Cost of Non-Europe, 2019-24

9

Summary of potential economic gains in

50 EU policy areas

1) Classic single market (713 billion euro)

• Completing the single market for goods (183 billion euro)

• Completing the single market for services (297 billion euro)

• Guaranteeing consumer rights (58 billion euro)

• Promoting the collaborative economy (50 billion euro)

• Addressing corporate tax avoidance (85 billion euro)

• Combatting value added tax fraud (40 billion euro)

 Completing the single market for goods: The single market in goods lies at the heart of the

European single market and has been key to the latter already boosting EU GDP significantly -

recent estimates suggest by about 6 to 8 per cent - over the third of a century since the single-

market programme was launched in 1985. Trade in goods currently generates around a quarter

of EU GDP and three-quarters of intra-EU trade: the OECD calculates that it is around 60 per cent

higher than if the single market and customs union did not exist. EP research suggests that

further action in this specific field - whether by continued adoption of harmonised product rules,

wider application of the principle of mutual recognition (wherever such rules do not exist),

better transposition and implementation of exi sting EU law, and/or speedier remedies for non-

enforcement of the latter - could boost the EU economy by between 1.2 and 1.7 percent of EU

GDP, or between €183 and €269 billion. Studies by other organisations have put the figure at

between 0.2 and 4.7 per cent of EU GDP. The potential for further progress is confirmed by the

fact that intra-EU trade in goods, at around 25 per cent of GDP, is still significantly below that

found in a comparably integrated continental market-place, namely the United States, where it

represents some 40 per cent of the economy.

 Completing the single market for services: Services account for three-quarters of EU GDP and

nine out of ten new jobs created in the economy. However, the share of services in intra-EU trade

is still only around 20 per cent, a surprisingly low figure. Progress was made through the EU

Services Directive in 2006, establishing the framework for a single market in covering around

two-thirds of services activity within the Union. However, national regulations still persist in

many sectors, and the degree of openness in the regulated professions varies greatly, limiting

consumer choice and keeping some prices higher than they would otherwise be. Analysis by

the European Commission suggests that two-thirds of the long-term potential gain from

completing the single market in services has still to be realised. EP research suggests the

unrealised potential gain to be in the order of €297 billion or close to 2 per cent of EU GDP.

Parallel research points to a gain of between 0.6 and 5.6 per cent of EU GDP, depending on what

the definition of services includes.

 Guaranteeing consumer rights: European citizens enjoy certain rights to consumer protection

which are not always clear or enforceable in practice. Consumers need to know that they are

adequately protected before, during and after the conclusion of business-to-consumer

contracts if the single market is to operate fairly and effectively. The broadening and better

application of existing EU law, such as the Consumer Credi t Directive, including the elimination