The Single Market of the European Union-achievements, problems and challenges

The aim of this article is to discuss the main benefits of and problems with the creation of the EU single market and to indicate the main activities to eliminate the still existing barriers. The EU single market is the greatest success of European integration. It enables afree movement of people, goods, services and capital; for consumers, this means agreater choice in goods and services as well as lower prices. The EU single market also poses an opportunity for employees and businesses as administrative burdens involved in trans-border activity are decreased. However, in reality, there are a number of barriers hindering the smooth functioning of the single market. For the futurę of the EU single market, it is key to remove these barriers; therefore, it is with this purpose above all that the EU initiatives and activities for the market growth are undertaken. In addition, there are appearing new challenges connected with globalization, technological progress, the growing importance of services, the increase in unemployment in certain countries, and climate and the environment protection