2024-02-16 21:18:27
It is still too early to establish stable trends, but the European Commission (EC) report on the EU’s Single Market and Competitiveness published on 14 February notes that 9 key performance indicators (KPIs) have improved. Another 5 have worsened, 3 have stable readings, and two still have no new data. This is stated in the official announcement of the EC, also contained on the institution’s official website, on the occasion of the publication of the analytical document.
The findings in the latest report are based on developments over the year in the nine drivers of competitiveness – the functioning of the single market, access to private capital, public investment and infrastructure, research and innovation, energy, circularity, digitalisation, education and skills, and trade and open strategic autonomy.
For each of the nine factors there is a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that demonstrate the degree of progress in the key categories.
The latest report recalls that the Single Market is one of the largest integrated market areas in the world and that it boosts the EU economy by offering broadly integrated demand, diverse sources of supply, opportunities to innovate and increase production, stable social rights and fair working conditions. It is also stated that the single market serves as a geopolitical lever. The report also states that the implementation of the agreed rules needs to be strengthened and their implementation simplified.
On investment, the report concludes that public investment — thanks in part to the Recovery and Resilience Facility — has picked up from low levels in the wake of the financial crisis, but private investment also remains high. In order to facilitate available venture capital funding and grow innovative companies, the report recommends further strengthening the Capital Markets Union, building on the initiatives already approved since 2020. The report also notes that public procurement is a tool to strategically support the green and digital transition.
Although high energy prices remain a challenge, according to the report, important steps have been taken in recent years to update the EU’s energy policy toolkit and promote clean technology production in the EU.
The report also notes that the EU is an important trading power, accounting for 16 percent of global exports, and that trade continues to be a source of competitiveness. It is also indicated that it is necessary to protect the same conditions of competition and economic security, writes BTA.
The report is published ahead of the findings that are expected from the upcoming reports of Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta on the future of European competitiveness and the single market, respectively, according to the EC.
The Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report was produced in response to the European Council’s March 2023 request to monitor the state of Europe’s single market and competitiveness. It builds on the previous annual reports on the single market, first foreseen in the 2020 European Industrial Strategy.