The single market is Europe’s industrial strategy and the right tool for the prosperity and security of our continent. On the basis of the Letta report, liberals call on EU political forces to agree on an action plan for competitiveness, writes Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is the ALDE Party’s lead candidate for the 2024 European elections.

Ahead of the European elections in June, the European liberals are clear: the single market is our common legacy and the path to open strategic autonomy.

We warmly welcome the analysis and conclusions of Enrico Letta in his report on the single market, released last week. The single market is a key priority of our electoral platform Renew Europe Now, bringing together liberals, centrists and democrats.

We share Mr Letta’s analysis that the EU has set itself three ambitious goals for the next decade.

These goals will profoundly reshape our Union moving forward: the enhanced integration of our foreign and security policy, a successful enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova and finally, delivering the green and digital transition fairly.

We, liberals, are optimistic and pragmatic. The EU needs to act fast, opportunistically and with ambition to achieve these goals.

Going forward, the devil will be in the details, but we agree that the EU is not delivering. We call on the EU to prioritise our economic integration to enhance competitiveness and job creation.

It is time for EU member states to finally implement the principle of “one market, one rule”. We need efficient EU regulation, the removal of all remaining internal barriers and a stark reduction of unnecessary red tape and gold plating.

This is particularly urgent for sectors such as services, banking, energy, and telecommunications.

To achieve our strategic goals and build an ever-more united Europe in this unstable world, it would be a mistake to rely only on short-term solutions such as national subsidies or unlimited EU debt. These short-term solutions will only lead to more

fragmentation and disunion. That is why European liberals are calling for EU political forces to commit to a five-year action plan to complete and expand the single market.

This action plan should be the basis of a competitiveness package that would also consider public financing, economic security, upskilling and reskilling.

An integrated banking and capital market will allow innovative European SMEs to scale up and European companies to finance the green and digital transitions of our economy, with targeted support from EU public funds.

Similarly, the integration of our energy and telecom markets will ensure stability and resilience against potential aggressors.

Finally, gradual access to our single market remains the best political tool for enlargement countries to anchor themselves to the EU and reform their political institutions towards greater transparency and efficiency.

The Letta report and the forthcoming Draghi report are a wake-up call for a problem that has been disregarded by the greens, the socialists and the conservatives for far too long.

Now, the fact-based, pragmatic, and bold solutions that Europe needs are finally on the table. It is time to restart the conversation about our EU single market.

Frankly, there is no time to waste.

The Single Market is our best tool to enhance Europe’s competitiveness and open strategic autonomy, and ensure we are fit for the future. It is an existential challenge for our generation.

That is why, throughout this European election campaign and into the next mandate, liberals are making it a priority to build a Europe that truly delivers for citizens.

The future of our great continent will be defined by the elections on 6-9 June. You can count on liberals to keep fighting for an economy that boosts freedom, prosperity, and security for all Europeans.