Europe must complete the single market by 2028

Enrico Letta is president of the Jacques Delors Institute and a former prime minister of Italy. Pascal Lamy is vice-president of the Paris Peace Forum and a former European commissioner for Trade. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is co-chair of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board and a former president of Croatia. They are all members of the Governing Board of the new Jacques Delors Friends of Europe Foundation.

For too long, the European project has been treated like an à la carte menu. Leaders cherry-pick advantages, blame Brussels for the compromises they’ve accepted, and leave citizens to bear the consequences of watered-down decisions and years-long delays.

This habit of the political dodge, of agreeing in public and unraveling at home, has dented public trust, and it must stop. By 2028, Europe must complete the single market — not in slogans but in the concrete areas that shape everyday life, like energy, telecommunications, savings and investments, and the free circulation of knowledge and innovation.

A real single market in these fields will deliver tangible benefits for citizens: Harmonized energy markets mean cross-border trade of electricity and gas, stabilized supplies and lower bills when markets work properly. Unified telecoms will reduce roaming and domestic price monopolies, improve service and widen access. Integrated capital markets will give savers better returns, channel funds to growing firms and make loans cheaper for small businesses. And removing barriers to research and data flows will allow students, scientists and entrepreneurs to collaborate and scale up without coming up against national borders.

In short: more choice, lower costs, better opportunities and faster innovation.

Alongside these priorities, Europe must also adopt what Enrico Letta and others call the “28th regime” — a mechanism that allows individuals and businesses to operate under uniform EU standards when national rules obstruct progress.

Voluntary pioneers shouldn’t be hostage to vetoes from lone capitals. Where national foot-dragging denies benefits to citizens elsewhere, European law should offer an alternate path to deliver those benefits.

This is about fairness and security. The fragmented status quo leaves households overpaying for energy, students facing unequal digital access and entrepreneurs boxed into tiny domestic markets. It also weakens Europe geopolitically: Fragmented energy systems increase vulnerability to hostile suppliers; disjointed capital markets amplify financial shocks; and splintered telecoms and digital rules hamper our ability to control critical infrastructure and data flows.

Deadlines force choices and sharpen political will — without them, the default remains delay. Europe’s leaders thus need to set a clear, nonnegotiable deadline to complete the single market in energy, telecoms, capital and knowledge by 2028. And here are the concrete steps they must take:

First, they must institutionalize the fifth freedom — the free circulation of knowledge and innovation — by removing regulatory barriers to research collaboration, data exchange, university partnerships and mobility for knowledge workers.

Next, they need to adopt EU-wide rules where national governments block progress. Activating the 28th-regime concept will allow willing member countries and their citizens to benefit, even if one or two vetoers refuse to move.

Then, break energy silos by fast-tracking cross-border interconnectors, harmonizing grid and wholesale market rules, and prioritizing joint procurement to prevent costly duplication. Also, unify telecoms by eliminating burdensome national licensing, promoting Pan-European operators, and creating a regulatory environment that rewards competition and coverage.

Europe’s leaders thus need to set a clear, nonnegotiable deadline to complete the single market in energy, telecoms, capital and knowledge by 2028. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

Finally, complete the capital markets union through the Savings and Investments Union, linking finance to the real economy and fostering investments in the common goods that Europe needs, such as innovation and digital, security, and the fight against climate change.

Completing the single market must also go hand in hand with security and resilience. If Europe is to spend billions on defense, those investments must translate to more than trophies for national procurement agencies. We need a single market for defense, with interoperable equipment, joint procurement, shared standards and industrial cooperation. Defense purchases need to build common capabilities — not 27 bespoke systems that can’t communicate with each other.

Societal resilience matters too. Authoritarian and malign actors weaponize disinformation, exploit social divisions and erode trust in institutions. Fighting disinformation is as much about strengthening communities as it is about policing platforms, and Europe must invest in civic resilience.

We must also be clear-eyed about enlargement. Ukraine’s and Moldova’s resilience have shown democratic determination in the face of Russian aggression, and their efforts should inspire concrete progress.

Former European Commission President Jacques Delors called enlargement “our duty” — and he was right. Widening the single market to include the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova, while rigorously enforcing rule of law and democratic standards, is not charity. It’s a strategic investment in Europe’s security and prosperity.

Europe now faces a stark choice: Inertia on the one hand, meaning fragmented markets, stranded talent, fragile societies and rising illiberalism; or integration on the other — a single market that lowers costs, boosts competitiveness, enhances security and renews citizens’ trust.

The 2028 deadline shouldn’t be seen as a slogan. It’s a contract with Europeans who want results, not reassurances. And leaders must treat it as such.

Delors said Europe needs a soul. Today, it needs delivery. Let’s strengthen our defenses and societies, meet our duty to our neighbors and finish the job. Let’s do it by 2028.