Single Market Watch

An Independent Assessment of Delivery of the EU Single Market Strategy
1st Audit – February 2026

Overview

The Single Market Strategy was presented as a renewed political commitment to remove long-standing barriers and restore momentum to Europe’s internal market. But has it delivered?

Single Market Watch provides an independent, structured assessment of delivery across all 58 actions announced under the Strategy. Using a transparent 0–3 Delivery Score and a fixed action baseline, the report distinguishes clearly between procedural activity and operational implementation.

What the Report Does

  • Assesses each commitment individually using verifiable evidence

  • Distinguishes between Commission-controlled and system-dependent actions

  • Weights delivery by impact without discounting for difficulty

  • Provides barrier-by-barrier diagnostics across the “Terrible Ten”

  • Establishes a replicable monitoring framework for future updates

The result is not a political judgement, but a delivery audit.

Headline Findings

The EU Single Market Strategy has generated visible activity—but not implementation.

  • No action has yet produced operational effect.
    As of 6 February 2026, none of the 58 commitments has demonstrably changed how the Single Market functions in practice.

  • Delivery remains largely procedural.
    24 actions show no observable delivery.
    24 remain at process stage.
    10 have produced formal outputs.
    0 have reached operational implementation.

Commission Delivery Score: 1.06 out of 3
This indicator measures delivery for actions that fall fully under the European Commission’s control (Dependency Level 0). It captures whether commitments that the Commission can implement unilaterally have translated into formal outputs or operational effects.

A score of 1.06 indicates that, on average, Commission-controlled actions have progressed modestly beyond pure preparatory work and into formal output territory (e.g. adopted recommendations, launched tools, or formal initiatives). However, none of these actions has yet reached operational implementation. Delivery remains pre-operational even where the Commission holds direct leverage.

EU System Delivery Index: 0.76 out of 3
This broader indicator measures delivery across the entire EU decision-making and implementation system — including the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, and Member States. It aggregates all 58 commitments under the Single Market Strategy and reflects whether announced reforms are translating into tangible outcomes at system level.

A score of 0.76 (25.3% of maximum potential delivery) indicates that delivery across the EU system remains heavily concentrated at early stages. While procedural activity and some formal outputs are visible, implementation has not yet materialised in practice. High-impact structural reforms remain either at process stage or without observable delivery.

The gap between 1.06 and 0.76 highlights a structural difference between institutional progress and system-wide implementation. While the Commission has moved certain actions forward within its own remit, delivery slows significantly once co-legislative adoption and Member State implementation are required.

Most high-impact reforms are structurally system-dependent. As a result, even where Commission-side movement is visible, broader operational outcomes remain limited.

Why This Matters

The Single Market is not static. Regulatory divergence, administrative friction, and enforcement gaps accumulate over time. Without operational reform, these dynamics persist.

The Single Market Watch establishes a baseline. Future editions will show whether the Strategy transitions from procedural activation to measurable market impact.