The 2025 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report: opportunities and challenges for Europe's future

The European Commission has published its 2025 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report to assess the EU economy's strengths and weaknesses. The report presents a set of recommendations to strengthen the EU's competitiveness, advance the twin transitions, and better integrate financial markets. 

The main findings of the report are the following:

• The competitiveness of the EU economy faces pressure from several angles, including high energy costs and overcapacities in third countries.
• Persistent barriers in the Single Market prevent it from reaching its full potential. Two-thirds of companies see regulatory burden as an obstacle.
• Businesses in Europe struggle to scale up, with Research and Development expenditure remaining below peers and digitalisation progressing too slowly.
• High energy prices weigh on its competitiveness, indicating the need for industry decarbonisation and accelerating circularity.
• Strategic dependencies and non-market over-capacities in third countries merit careful monitoring.

Read more about how the report suggests the EU should exploit the benefits of the Single Market.