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The European Single Market at 30

New visions for a green Europe

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30 years of the European Single Market

Report
This collection of brief essays shows the diverse views on the European Single Market, whilst unveiling green visions for the next 30 years. What unifies these different takes — ranging from environmental and consumer standards, Brexit, lobbying and more — is the understanding that the European Single Market remains a cornerstone of European Integration.
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Developing a green vision of the Single Market

Foreword
Throughout the last three decades, the Single Market project has been discussed controversially: for some, it is the idea of a united Europe working together, whereas for others it is an elite-driven process that leaves many behind. However, for the green movement it was part of the promise to ensure the economic and social inclusion of Europeans, and a critical building block to an ever-closer European Union. Discussing the future of the Single Market therefore also means discussing the future of European integration as a whole.
By Eva van de Rakt and Anton Möller

All essays

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It is time to update our Green vision on a circular market that delivers for citizens

Essay
Within the framework of the EU Green Deal, the Single Market is slowly turning into a tool to fight the climate crisis. In recent years, more and more legislation with regard to a circular economy has become law, enabling the green transition. But we have to do more. We have to fundamentally rethink our narrative of the Single Market, its role in the world and its way of delivering for the people.
By Anna Cavazzini
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A Single Market 2.0 for the future: more social, more environmental and with a place for open strategic autonomy

Essay
The long cycle that began with the creation of the internal market, whose first phase brought opportunities for the social dimension but which ultimately led to global integration, resulting in a long period of anti-social policies, has come to an end. We are now entering into a new period, in which the rules of the internal market are changing in response to the need for environmental sustainability and strategic autonomy. The question now is what place the social dimension will occupy in this new architecture.
By Philippe Pochet
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Towards a Single Market that works for the environment through ambitious product policy and standards

Essay
The EU Single Market needs profound reform. We must place reuse, refill and repair at its heart, and enable a digital transition that is green and just for everyone. One concrete step leading the transformation should be ambitious EU ecodesign requirements for products and services, supported by inclusive harmonised European standards, and properly enforced by national authorities.
By Rita Tedesco and Ioana Popescu

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