Von der Leyen calls for completing the European single market in EU parliament address

Published on 20/05/2026 - 12:09 GMT+2

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers that the bloc indispensable teardrop down remaining barriers successful its interior marketplace to vie successful the existent geopolitical climate.

"We indispensable decorativeness what we started. We indispensable region the barriers that inactive persist successful our interior market," von der Leyen told MEPs gathered successful plenary league connected Wednesday. "We indispensable marque it overmuch easier to standard up crossed Europe. This is the basal committedness of the azygous marketplace and it indispensable beryllium fulfilled."

Von der Leyen singled retired the signifier of alleged "gold plating" — whereby subordinate states furniture unnecessary complexity onto EU rules — arsenic a cardinal obstacle to concern maturation crossed the bloc.

The Commission president besides pledged to marque the azygous marketplace "digital by design," pointing to EU initiatives successful semiconductors, unreality infrastructure and AI development.

On the clime agenda, she argued that achieving the EU's biology and circular system targets requires a azygous marketplace that rewards cleanable innovation and removes barriers to commercialized successful low-carbon goods and services.

Von der Leyen touched connected proviso concatenation resilience too, noting that the EU is pushing caller commercialized deals — with a Mexico statement expected to beryllium signed aboriginal this week.

She rounded disconnected by acknowledging that the benefits of the azygous marketplace indispensable scope each portion and each citizen, earlier informing against complacency.

"The azygous marketplace is 1 of Europe's large occurrence stories. But occurrence is not thing we inherit from erstwhile generations. It requires changeless work, imaginativeness and governmental will," she said.