The analysis - which illustrates the political bottlenecks, regulatory frictions and different national perspectives between member states that prevent full market integration - is the result of a broader consultation led by former Italian Prime Minister and author of the report on the future of the single market Enrico Letta and Pascal Lamy, former Director General of the World Trade Organization and former European Commissioner for Trade. Furthermore, the guide, for which experts and stakeholders from the Jacques Delors institutes, the Arel Single Market Lab and Friends of Europe were involved, organizes the regulatory projects of the roadmap into five areas: Savings and Investment Union, Energy Union, Connectivity Union, strategic single market and social and territorial cohesion.
For further information on Insider: EU single market: more than defense, Italians care about digital
On the financial front, the paper signals a division between France, Italy and Spain - in favor of strengthening European supervision through ESMA -, and smaller financial centers such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta, opposed to transferring further powers from national authorities. Germany, traditionally more prudent, would have come closer to the positions of the large countries.
Read also: European single market, what is ESMA and how the rules change for investors
On the future of the ETS, manufacturing and carbon-intensive economies such as Germany, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are calling for greater attention to costs for competitiveness, while Nordic countries and other more advanced economies in the transition insist on maintaining a strong CO2 price signal. The paper notes that the ETS has generated over 200 billion euros in revenue since 2013, less than 10% of which has been earmarked for industrial decarbonisation.
Read also: Ets, from free certificates to decarbonisation: what the reform provides
In telecommunications, the debate concerns the European harmonization of the spectrum, the timing of the shutdown of copper networks and the elimination of high-risk suppliers, with a contrast between those who ask for a binding and harmonized phase-out and those who prefer a case-by-case approach based on risk.
On the strategic single market, the issues are the European preference in 'Made in Eu', the possibility of taking greater account of scale and global competition in mergers, Eu Inc. and guarantees on workers' rights, as well as the comparison between research oriented towards AI, semiconductors and biotech and open research based on excellence. Finally, on the social side, the paper highlights the divergences on the protection of mobile workers and on the role of cohesion in the 2028-2034 EU budget.
"If we fail now, there won't be another chance," said former prime minister Enrico Letta speaking on the completion of the European single market at a round table organized by the Jacques Delors Friends of Europe Foundation. According to the president of the Delors institute, "the most important test" will be the 28th regime: "If we win on the 28th regime in Parliament these days, I think everything will change." Letta also expressed low expectations on the European public investment front, with the end of NextGenerationEU and "a very complicated discussion" on the next multiannual budget. On the next multiannual financial framework he envisaged "a sort of watered-down agreement, with little money for public investments". Even on the security front, despite the presence of new plans, Letta said he did not expect "a big, big, big increase in public investments". The former prime minister then insisted on the need to overcome the fragmentation of the European market, indicating energy union, connectivity and the union of financial markets through the Savings and Investments Union as priorities.
Read also: An incomplete single market and too much strategic dependence: the weak points of the EU
