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Brussels Wants a Bureaucracy-Free Single Market. Will the Capitals Follow?
Brussels is urging Europe to shed its layers of red tape and become a true Single Market—one where ideas can be financed and turned into world-class success stories. But isn’t the Commission partly responsible for the very thicket of costly, nit-picking rules that still binds the economy? And will the EU’s 27 governments move quickly enough to break the logjam?
Brussels is asking Europe to cut its well-known red tape and build a true Single Market—one where good ideas can quickly get funding and turn into global successes. In its new plan, the European Commission promises to scrap the ten worst barriers inside the EU, shift most paperwork online, and give fast-growing mid-size companies the same advantages enjoyed by small firms. The dream is big: merge 27 different rulebooks into a single launchpad for the next Spotify or BioNTech.
Yet there’s an awkward truth: Brussels helped write many of the complex rules it now wants to remove. Business leaders across the EU wonder whether the author of today’s forms can really be the one to tear them up tomorrow.
Success will hinge on national governments, not glossy press releases. Trimming permit times, accepting each other’s certificates, and appointing a top “Single-Market Sherpa” all fall to ministries in Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid and the rest. Can these capitals drop their own special rules for the wider good? Their answer will decide whether Europe becomes the easiest place in the world to grow a business—or just another fine idea trapped in its own paperwork.
Yet there’s an awkward truth: Brussels helped write many of the complex rules it now wants to remove. Business leaders across the EU wonder whether the author of today’s forms can really be the one to tear them up tomorrow.
Success will hinge on national governments, not glossy press releases. Trimming permit times, accepting each other’s certificates, and appointing a top “Single-Market Sherpa” all fall to ministries in Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid and the rest. Can these capitals drop their own special rules for the wider good? Their answer will decide whether Europe becomes the easiest place in the world to grow a business—or just another fine idea trapped in its own paperwork.
On 21 May 2025 the European Commission unveiled its new Single-Market Strategy—a package that promises to kill the “terrible ten” barriers inside the EU, digitalise compliance and slice red tape for SMEs by 35 % before 2029.
Brussels believes that a more navigable home market will make Europe the default location for investment. Yet achieving that goal is harder than writing a Communication. From fragmented regulation to tariff wars that tempt companies to friend-shore in Asia, Europe’s competitive landscape is strewn with obstacles.
The Commission is right that the EU’s 450 million-consumer market is one of the world’s great commercial assets. The problem is fragmentation. Internal barriers act like tariffs of 44 % on goods and 110 % on services, according to IMF estimates quoted by Reuters.
For instance, rules on packaging, construction permits or professional qualifications, etc. often change at the border, forcing firms to re-tool offerings or hire local intermediaries.
Brussels’ answer is to codify mutual recognition, modernise sector rules—construction, postal/parcels, business services—and
create national “Single-Market Sherpas” with power to stop new barriers before they appear. The ambition is clear; delivery depends on Member-State politics.
Regulation, energy and skills: the unholy trinity holding back investment
Europe invests less than the United States, especially in equipment and intangibles.
An ECB Economic Bulletin box finds euro-area business investment grew 6.8 % between Q4 2021 and Q4 2024, versus 15.4 % in the
Brussels believes that a more navigable home market will make Europe the default location for investment. Yet achieving that goal is harder than writing a Communication. From fragmented regulation to tariff wars that tempt companies to friend-shore in Asia, Europe’s competitive landscape is strewn with obstacles.
The Commission is right that the EU’s 450 million-consumer market is one of the world’s great commercial assets. The problem is fragmentation. Internal barriers act like tariffs of 44 % on goods and 110 % on services, according to IMF estimates quoted by Reuters.
For instance, rules on packaging, construction permits or professional qualifications, etc. often change at the border, forcing firms to re-tool offerings or hire local intermediaries.
Brussels’ answer is to codify mutual recognition, modernise sector rules—construction, postal/parcels, business services—and
create national “Single-Market Sherpas” with power to stop new barriers before they appear. The ambition is clear; delivery depends on Member-State politics.
Regulation, energy and skills: the unholy trinity holding back investment
Europe invests less than the United States, especially in equipment and intangibles.
An ECB Economic Bulletin box finds euro-area business investment grew 6.8 % between Q4 2021 and Q4 2024, versus 15.4 % in the
