Europe’s Integration Imperative

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine described as the first major war of aggression on European soil since 1945, with resulting geopolitical ructions that have shaken supply chains, disrupted trade, and exposed energy-security vulnerabilities.
The transatlantic alliance has provided security for the past 80 years but is under pressure.
Europe is committed to increasing defense spending while protecting public services and welfare systems.
Europe’s working-age population is set to shrink by 54 million by the end of this century.

Europe’s postpandemic recovery has run out of steam; stagnant productivity is dragging down medium-term growth prospects.
Countries face significant strains on public finances with rising spending pressures.
Exporters face stiff tariffs to sell goods to their most important foreign market, the United States.

The single market comprises 27 nations and 450 million people.
The EU accounts for about 15 percent of world GDP in current US dollars.
The single market remains incomplete; key strategic sectors—energy, finance, and communications—were excluded from full integration from the start.
High trade barriers within Europe are equivalent to an ad valorem cost of 44 percent for manufactured goods and 110 percent for services (IMF research, 2024).
The total market capitalization of the bloc’s stock exchanges was about $12 trillion in 2024, or 60 percent of the GDP of the participating countries.
The two largest stock exchanges in the US had a combined market capitalization of $60 trillion, or over 200 percent of domestic GDP.
The EU’s total factor productivity is about 20 percent below the US level.
Per capita income in the EU’s largest advanced economies is about 30 percent lower than the US average.

European leading companies lag US competitors and are falling further behind over time, particularly in tech.
Productivity of US-listed tech firms has increased by about 40 percent over the past two decades; European tech firms have seen almost no improvement.
US firms have tripled their research and development spending to 12 percent of sales revenue; European companies’ ratio has averaged 4 percent in recent decades.
Europe has few young high-growth firms; the EU’s younger firms account for a substantially smaller share of employment than in the US.
About a fifth of European employees work in microfirms with 10 people or fewer, about double the US figure.
The average European firm that has been in business 25 years or more employs about 10 workers; comparable US companies employ 70.
Innovative European firms are leaving for more dynamic markets: future “unicorn” companies valued at more than $1 billion are leaving the EU for the US at a rate that is 120 times faster than the other way around (Ricardo Reis research).

The EU’s household saving rate is about 15 percent of GDP, about three times that of the US.
Americans invested $4.60 in equity, investment funds, and pension or insurance funds for every dollar invested in such assets by Europeans in 2022.
Limited EU-level harmonization in areas such as securities law hampers capital flowing to where it’s most productive.
Europe’s bank-dominated financial markets favor physical collateral, disadvantaging young firms with intangible assets.

The EU could raise its GDP by 7 percent if it reduced internal barriers for goods trade and multinational production by 10 percent (IMF research).
The 2004 enlargement: GDP per person in the countries that joined in 2004 is more than 30 percent higher than it would have been without accession; for countries already in the EU, GDP per person is 10 percent higher than it would have been without expansion (Beyer, Li, and Weber 2025).

Preserve sound macroeconomic policies: secure price stability and meet spending challenges without upending fiscal sustainability.
Step up reforms in core areas of the single market:
- Lower internal trade barriers in goods and especially services.
- Open protected sectors, liberalize services, and harmonize regulations.
Progress toward an integrated capital market (savings and investments union):
- Review the prudential regime for insurers.
- Harmonize oversight of capital markets to channel EU savings into equity financing.
Support young high-growth firms by increasing availability of capital and lowering financing costs—via market integration and national reforms to unleash venture capital investment.
Use industrial policy cautiously:
- Correct market failures (for example, promote greener technologies or transformative adoption).
- Avoid protecting mature industries from structural transformation.
- Coordinate industrial policies, or set them at the EU level.
National reforms to match regional ambition: prioritize labor market reforms, human capital investment, tax reforms, deregulation of product markets, deepening credit and capital markets, and promoting innovation.
For many central, eastern, and southern European countries: invest in skilled labor, remove red tape, and improve governance.

A fully integrated single market would increase diversification for firms and personal investment portfolios, improving risk sharing relative to current levels and compared with the US.
A more integrated energy market could reduce dependence on imported oil and gas, protect from volatile global energy markets, and lower prices for consumers.
Completing the single market agenda would improve growth, economic resilience, and Europe’s standing in innovation, sustainability, and quality of life.

Source: “Europe’s Integration Imperative,” ALFRED KAMMER, F&D Magazine, June 2025.

Europe's Integration Imperative
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