Cost of non-Europe – Potential GDP gains from closing gaps in the EU single market

Findings from recent research commissioned by the Parliament’s European Added Value Unit for the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection suggest that a further deepening of the ‘classic’ single market could still lead to significant gains for EU consumers and citizens, eventually increasing EU-28 GDP by a further 615 billion euro, or 4.4 per cent , if remaining barriers could be eliminated and existing European law were to be applied effectively. Results from implementation can, however, take time and full implementation may be elusive. It is a difficult exercise, therefore, to estimate precisely the potential achievable gains or how near to full completion the single market EU can move.