Europe’s greatest asset is Europe — let’s use it | There are immediate steps that we can take to consolidate our single market

> *The writer is Spain’s economy, trade and business minister*

> Spanish companies have long looked across the Atlantic rather than over the Pyrenees. Close cultural ties and its strategic importance for Spain have made Latin America a successful market for our businesses, which have invested nearly €4.5bn in Uruguay alone over the past decade. That’s more than our companies have spent in all eastern European EU countries combined, including Poland, an economy 10 times larger than that of Uruguay.

> This is a glaring missed opportunity in another strategic location. But the hard truth is that Europe’s own single market remains riddled with barriers that can make expansion abroad easier than at home.

> Europe should be the easiest place in the world to grow a business, with a single market of more than 450mn consumers. Yet self-imposed hurdles act as the equivalent of tariffs for our companies. Entrepreneurs are being denied the full benefits of Europe’s scale.

> As the international rules-based trading framework deteriorates and the geoeconomic order is redefined, Europe cannot afford to sit idle. Yes, we must look beyond its borders, but we must also look within them and accelerate genuine, co-ordinated economic unity if we want to safeguard our prosperity and way of life.

> Integration and competitiveness are two sides of the same coin. The focus should now be on simplifying life for our businesses, opening opportunities and widening access to finance. The EU needs a practical strategy to stop talking and start doing if we are to avoid lagging further behind. Fast, incremental actions are necessary.

> Three steps can make an immediate difference. First, create a single gateway to help companies — especially small and medium-sized businesses — operate more easily across the EU. A digital profile would allow them to file reports, interact with administrations and apply for EU or national funds, cutting through today’s regulatory friction. This would mark a milestone on the road to Enrico Letta’s vision of a streamlined “28th regime” that lets businesses bypass burdensome national rules.

> Second, open up Europe’s vast public procurement market. An AI-powered portal could aggregate tenders across the union, simplify bidding and connect companies across borders in a €2tn market. That would reduce fragmentation and foster joint ventures between firms from different member states.

> Third, improve access to financing. Mutual recognition of state-issued SME ratings would give companies wider access to bank lending and capital markets. An EU-wide securitisation platform would cut costs, pool assets across borders and channel capital to mid-caps and SMEs.

> There is already progress to build on. In June, seven countries, including Spain, backed a European-wide label to channel savings into business by helping savers easily identify products that support EU companies. The “Finance Europe” initiative is part of the European Competitiveness Lab, a governance tool created to allow groups of member states to test practical ideas in a controlled environment, in co-ordination with the European Commission.

> This can serve as a fast-track for the measures outlined above, instilling urgency and countering the negative narrative that clouds Europe’s outlook. Doing nothing will only fuel frustration and erode the EU’s credibility as a global free-trade champion.

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