EU single market and industrial policy
Published
The EU single market is Sweden’s most important trading arena and the world’s largest cross-border economic cooperation area. The majority of Swedish exports and imports go to and from the EU single market. The single market comprises the 27 EU Member States and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Although the single market is well integrated, certain barriers hinder free movement. The Government wants to strengthen the single market for services by streamlining and deepening it.
Single market issues primarily concern the free movement of goods and services within the EU. This includes the digital single market, standardisation and eCommerce.
Sweden works consistently to deepen the single market and make it work effectively, even in times of crisis. At the same time, it is important to adapt it to new conditions so that the EU maintains and strengthens its global competitiveness. This includes ensuring a healthy and open economy based on free competition, private investment and successful digitalisation, and enabling businesses to contribute to the green and digital transition.
Government is actively working to remove trade barriers
Although the single market is well integrated in many ways, certain barriers hinder free movement. Businesses point to challenges and obstacles including the lack of translated information and other difficulties with local languages, bureaucratic red tape and challenges in opening bank accounts.
Studies show that removing remaining barriers to trade in services would increase the GDPs of the EU and Sweden by around 2–3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
Services sector a priority in work on trade barriers
Trade in services is an important and growing part of trade in the single market. Examples of trade in services can be found in the tourism sector, IT services, construction services, transport services, and in health and education services.
One example of barriers in the services sector is professions that are subject to regulation in the EU, which limits the possibility of exercising that profession in another Member State. The free movement of professionals is an important aspect of the single market. Recognition of foreign professional qualifications plays a key role in the free movement of workers and service providers in the single market.
The Government is working to ensure that more professions will be covered by the European Professional Card (an electronic procedure for the recognition of regulated professions in another EU country), such as doctors, engineers, sports industry professionals, veterinarians, teachers and electrical installers.
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