The internal market ten years on: A fading glory?

Compared to what had been achieved in the two decades before, the Single Market 1992 policy was very successful. But more than 15 years after its initiation, such a comparison is no longer relevant for today's integration policy. Instead of highlighting the progress compared to the poor policy performance before, the relevant issue is the logic of the single market program in itself: did the internal market policy perform well with reference to its own standards? Such a perspective for assessment of the internal market was adopted by the European Commission itself in the middle of the 1990s: during the first half of the 1990s, its statements relating to the single market were in general very positive, but they became more critical after the middle of the 1990s (except for some pamphlets full of praise for the single market in 2002 and early 2003 on the occasion of its 10th anniversary). The Commission even had to initiate revitalization strategies in 1997 and 1999. With respect to its own activities, the Commission has admitted sometimes too complicated and cumbersome procedures and has taken steps to simplify the internal market administration.