FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In 1992, Europe moved from a common market to a single market. Now we need the next step: a single market...
In a world reshaped by Trump and the accelerating logic of geopolitical competition, Europe needs a response that is both realistic and ambitious. The strongest response the EU can offer is to complete the single market.
For decades, it has been Europe's strongest asset, the backbone of our prosperity and increasingly the cornerstone of our sovereignty. And yet, in the areas that matter most, we still do not have a single market. We have the sum of 27 national markets.
This fragmentation is not a technical flaw. It is a political and strategic weakness. We pay for it with higher costs, weaker investment, slower innovation and a reduced capacity to act in the world. Europe's problem is not the diagnosis. The problem is speed, responsibility and political commitment.
That is why we need a bold political commitment to strengthen and complete the single market. We need an agreement that creates a fast-track for the steps needed to complete it, endorsed by the presidents of the EU institutions. It must have a name that matches its ambition: the Single Market Act.
In 1992, Europe moved from a common market to a single market. Now we need the next step: a single market. This is not about changing the treaty. The actions we need are already possible under the existing framework. We can act immediately. The tools are there; what Europe needs is implementation.
The Single Market Act should focus on a limited set of truly game-changing factors. Not dozens of files. A small number of priorities, chosen because they reinforce each other and strike at the heart of fragmentation.
Three priorities are sectoral.
The first is financial services. Europe's public budgets are limited, but Europe has large private savings. A true pooling of savings and investment is how we can channel capital into European companies, strengthen our industrial base, and support the international role of the euro.
The second is energy. Without stronger interconnections, Europe will remain exposed to bottlenecks, instability and avoidable costs. Completing the energy union is not just a climate priority. It is a competitiveness and security priority.
The third is connectivity. Europe cannot claim technological sovereignty while its telecommunications sector remains weak and fragmented. This requires rapid implementation of the Digital Networks Act and the political courage to enable investment and consolidation on a continental scale.
But a modern single market also depends on horizontal enablers. The Fifth Freedom is essential: the free flow of knowledge, data, research and skills. Without it, Europe will continue to pay the strategic cost of not innovating.
The same logic applies to the 28th regime. Europe is not short of ideas and talent. It lacks a framework that allows companies to expand across borders with ease. A truly European company regime would safeguard investment and ambition in Europe.
Ultimately, the single market will only remain politically sustainable if it protects the freedom to stay. Mobility must remain a choice, not an obligation. A stronger market must go hand in hand with cohesion, essential services, small and medium-sized enterprises and a strong social dimension.
This cannot become another long-term strategy. Europe needs a final deadline, 2028, and intermediate targets in 2026 and 2027.
Time is of the essence. Europe must prove that Europe can act, not just react. We need the Single Market Act./ Adapted from "Pamphlet" by " Politico "
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