Joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the European Single Market
by Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Boyko Borissov, holder of the rotating Council Presidency and Prime Minister of Bulgaria
Twenty-five years ago, our Single Market was created, and across the European Union many barriers were lifted. People embraced new freedoms and opportunities, and today Europeans travel freely, study, work, live and fall in love across borders.
European citizens can buy what they want, where they want, and benefit from greater choice and lower prices. European businesses – large and small – can expand their customer base and exchange products and services more easily across the EU.
Over the past 25 years, the integration of our economies throughout the Single Market has generated millions of jobs, and made the EU the world’s largest economy. The Single Market is the jewel in the crown of our integration and this domestic market of 500 million people is the foundation for Europe’s strength, at home and abroad.
The Single Market provides Europe’s citizens with the freedoms and opportunities that were only a dream for our parents and grandparents, and our social market economy benefits us all. There are no second-class Europeans in our Single Market and so there is no room for second-class products or for second-class workers; meaning, the same pay for the same work in the same place, the same quality of food and the same safety of toys and other products.
Over the past 25 years, we have come a long way. We can now roam like at home, enjoy cheaper energy bills, and see our consumer rights protected, regardless of where in Europe we make purchases. And still, we continue to improve the functioning of our Single Market on a daily basis, from tackling unauthorised geo-blocking to giving consumers greater choice for their retirement savings or making public procurement contracts more accessible.
The European Single Market is 25 years young. A generation of Europeans has grown up with it and benefitted from it. We will keep making it stronger so that the next generation will benefit even more.
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