The high-level event “Towards a Simpler Single Market”, held on 10 June in Brussels, focused on addressing administrative burdens limiting the Single Market’s full potential, with the participation of policymakers and experts from EU institutions, Member States, and the private sector, under the patronage of Ms. Kerstin Jorna, Director-General of DG GROW.
One of the key themes was the cross-border challenges faced by businesses, particularly SMEs. Despite initiatives like the Single Digital Gateway (SDG) and the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS), businesses still encounter:
- Fragmented regulations and administrative complexity
- Barriers to cross-border recruitment and recognition of qualifications
- Duplicative reporting obligations, particularly in sustainability and taxation
- Limited interoperability and legal recognition of business entities across borders.
The new Single Market Strategy responds to these systemic issues with a bold agenda of simplification, digital transformation, and synergy. Key actions include:
- Designing regulations to be "cross-border by default" and digitally ready
- Streamlining reporting and compliance via EU-wide platforms like the Digital One-Stop Shop
- Promoting real-time, automated data exchange between businesses and public authorities
- Enabling trusted digital identity and credential systems through tools such as the EUDI Wallet and Business Wallet
- Harmonising rules on packaging, certification, and extended producer responsibility.
By embedding these reforms into implementation and governance—supported by better enforcement and stronger collaboration between national and EU actors—the EU aims to transform the Single Market from a regulatory framework into a practical driver of growth, innovation, and competitiveness.
You can find the event's Position Paper and key takeaways here.