Much More Than a Market - Speed, Security, Solidarity: Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens

When Jacques Delors conceived the European Single Market in 1985, the EU was known as the European Communities. The number of Member States was less than half of what it is today. Germany was divided into two, and the Soviet Union still existed. China and India together constituted less than 5% of the global economy, and the acronym BRICS was yet to be coined. At that time, Europe, on par with the US, was at the centre of the world economy, leading in terms of economic weight and innovation capacity. The Single Market was established to strengthen European integration by facilitating the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital through harmonisation and mutual recognition, thereby enhancing competition and fostering innovation. Today, more than thirty years after its inception, the Single Market continues to be a cornerstone of European integration and values. However, the international scenario has profoundly changed, highlighting the need to develop a new Single Market. In 2010 the Monti Report provided critical reassessments and set forth recommendations for its reinvigoration. My report is positioned within this continuum, with the objective of conducting a thorough examination of the Single Market's future following a succession of crises and external challenges that have fundamentally tested its resilience.