A plethora of common rules govern economic life in the 15 Member States and create, to a large extent at least, a unified market serving 375 million people. The realisation of the free movement of goods, services, capital and people has integrated national economies and rendered national borders increasingly obsolete.
A common competition policy has created a level playing-field, and common norms and standards guarantee Europe-wide market access. Certainly, Europe’s Single Market is yet to be fully completed: a number of sectors have yet to be fully liberalised and brought into the remit of common rules.