Internal Market

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Completion of the EU internal market is a long-haul task. A smoothly functioning EU internal market is rightly recognised as a contribution to the growth and jobs strategy.

A fully functioning EU market is of particularly great importance for the German economy. Germany trades 59.5 % of its imports and 64.7 % of its exports with our EU partner countries. At a figure of 447.5 billion euros, around 55 % of all German foreign investments are deployed in the EU. The European internal market underpins growth and income as well as around 5 million jobs in Germany. For many German companies, the EU internal market without national frontiers is a source of reliable and competitively priced supplies, a crucial sales market, an important location of investments as well as a stable basis for global activities.  

In order to strengthen Europe’s international competitiveness it is an important goal to implement the four fundamental freedoms (goods, persons, services and capital) through legislation. A positive element is the effort to bring about »better regulation«, in particular the aim of reducing the cost of bureaucracy by 25 % by 2012. A critical element is the tendency in Brussels to pursue consumer, environment and social projects through ever more regulation.

Community strategies for completion of the internal market are not enough on their own. The member states also continue to have a duty, inter alia to open markets further with application of appropriate verification mechanisms. EU law should be transposed promptly and without national »gold-plating«. Furthermore EU and member states are still encouraged to create a simple, coherent and stable regulatory environment. It should impose as few burdens on companies as possible, and promote business activity rather than hemming it in.