History: European Single Market

Moving freely within the EU seems obvious today, but it was only in 1993 that this single market came into force. It's one of the EU's greatest achievements. With no more barriers or internal borders in the EU, the common market finally became a reality. It had been talked about since the Treaty of Rome which created the European Community in 1957. The creation of a common market was the main objective. The Chair of the Socialists and Democrats in the EP looks back on the goal at the time. It was the goal to give Europe a new boost, to have integration stepping forward, and to have free movement of goods, capital, services and human beings. You cannot build a common Europe without having a common market. On these four fundamental freedoms, the six founding Member States decided to build a real European Economic Community. The first notable advance was on 1 July 1968. The customs duties on goods circulating between Member States were completely removed. But we had to wait until 1985 for the leaders to decide to come back to the realisation of this single market. Wilfried Martens was the Belgian Prime Minister at the time and took part in the discussions. The single market was a response to a long-standing crisis after the oil crisis which caused a lot of inflation with rising prices and which therefore created unemployment. A common response was presented in 1985 by the European Commission under Jacques Delors. The Community decided to complete the construction of the great internal market in stages. It was to be finalised at the start of 1993. This ambitious goal and date were written into the Single European Act signed in February 1986. A whole series of internal barriers and borders within the European Community were gradually removed. So we had to adopt European laws - in total, I think, over 290 were adopted - to create the single market. In 1992 in Maastricht, the 12 Member States at the time went further than the Community's initial economic goal. After another crisis and following the fall of the Berlin Wall, monetary union was planned. The euro would come into use 10 years later. To counter the opposition from Britain's Margaret Thatcher, a proposal was made to Jacques Delors, Wilfried Martens recalls, to set up a system which is today called 'opting out'. So they could say that they accepted the principle, but 'opting out' meant they wouldn't enter the system. He said, 'It's possible.' And it's still the case. Great Britain and Denmark still have the opting out system. On 1 January 1993 the borders between EU countries disappeared physically. The common market made way for the European Single Market, generating over 2.5 million extra jobs and offering a market that covers nearly half a billion consumers. But the market has not been fully completed yet. The European Union was enlarged. New member countries came in and new competitive situations are there. We have a new competitive situation with China and other countries outside Europe. The most important thing is to establish this economic governance and to create this political union. 20 years on, the single market needs renewed impetus, but it remains to be seen whether the political will is there. But that's another story. EuroparlTV video ID: cd2f29e8-881a-4f11-bcf3-a07d010e9bf3

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