Happy birthday : the single market turns 30!
Date: 2023-01-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Subjects: European integration, Treaty on European Union, competitiveness, energy crisis, environmental protection, globalisation, goods and services, investment, labour economics, new technology, raw material, security of supply, single market, supply chain

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: 
THE SINGLE MARKET TURNS 30!

January 2023

1993 - 2023

 THE SINGLE MARKET IN NUMBERS 

The Single Market is one of the European Union’s greatest achievements. The Single Market has progressed significantly over 
the last 30 years and has established the EU as a global economic player. 

440 million European 
citizens benefit from the 
Single Market

17 million Europeans live or 
work in an EU country other 
than their own

The Single Market’s GDP in 
2021 was more than 
€ 14 trillion

The Single Market is 
home to 24 million 
companies

15% of the world’s trade 
in goods is from the EU

Annual intra-EU exports have
increased five-fold from
€ 671 billion in 1993 to over
€ 3,400 billion in 2022

MAASTRICHT TREATY SIGNED

SINGLE MARKET CREATED

SINGLE MARKET TURNS 30

1992

1993

2023

1957

1985

2004

2007

2013

SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT ADOPTED

EU ENLARGEMENT

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY CREATED

 BENEFITS OF THE SINGLE MARKET 

Creates new opportunities  
for people and businesses 

Helps businesses grow and  
weather difficult times

The  Single  Market  allows  people  and  goods  to  move 
freely around the EU, creating more choices in products 
and  services  at  competitive  price  levels,  as  well  as 
opportunities to live and work anywhere in the EU.

Investment opportunities provided by the Single Market 
allow  businesses  to  protect  their  supply  chains  on  a 
much larger scale from potential crises.

Sets common values and standards

Supports finding solutions to new challenges

Single Market rules ensure that products and services 
bought across the EU are safe and meet requirements 
on labour and environmental protection.

The  Single  Market  allows  Member  States  to  find 
common solutions to today’s challenges while keeping 
their  economies  strong.  For  instance,  it  provides  the 
tools  to  tackle  the  energy  crisis  through  securing 
access to new technologies, critical raw materials, and 
clean energy.

 DID YOU KNOW? 

The Single Market allowed
Europe to step up vaccine
production during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

EU energy labels, which show
you how much energy and
water an appliance will use,
are a product of the single
market.

Single Market rules guarantee
you have the right to repair
or replace defective products
without costs for 2 years.

© European Union, 2023
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PDF ISBN 978-92-76-61580-4 doi:10.2873/293625 ET-03-22-299-EN-N