Reference News Website, January 16 report: According to the website of the UK's Financial Times on January 13, data from the European Commission shows that despite the EU's efforts to restart the single market, trade between EU member states has declined for the first time in nearly a decade (excluding the pandemic period) amid economic threats from countries such as the United States.

A draft of the EU's annual single market report seen by a Financial Times reporter shows that trade between EU member states accounted for 23.5% of the EU's GDP in 2023, dropping to 22% in 2024.

Excluding the impact of lockdown measures during the pandemic era, this is the first year-on-year decline since 2016. At the same time, the time required to draft and approve product standards across the EU increased from 3.2 years in 2023 to 4 years in 2024.

These figures highlight warnings from several leaders, including ECB President Christine Lagarde, that despite threats such as US tariffs and increasing competition from China, the EU internal market "has stagnated."

The report stated: "The single market is our greatest advantage in dealing with external pressures. It is time to fully leverage its strengths." The report is expected to be released later this month, and the content may be subject to change.

Although there have been improvements in certain areas, such as the certification of professional qualifications across the EU and the adoption of digital technologies, the report emphasizes "clear regression" in other areas.

The report noted that the EU's share in foreign direct investment has fallen by 22% over the past five years.

The report warned that "fragmentation" of national laws within the EU "continues to make setting up and operating companies in different parts of the EU complex and costly, with no improvement so far."

Francesca Stevens, Secretary General of the European Packaging and Environment Organization, said: "Europe's loss of competitiveness is largely self-inflicted. The problem is not only the complicated regulations, but also the wrong ideology that pits competitiveness against sustainable development, a misguided belief that they can exist independently of each other."

With US tariffs and low-cost products from Asian countries undermining European manufacturers (which face structural increases in energy and labor costs), better integration of the single market has become a key measure for EU institutions to improve the economy. (Translated by Hu Wei)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595907533853491766/

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