It’s time to unlock Europe’s digital single market – new study outlines concrete steps to turn ambition into action

The EU’s single market of 450 million people remains one of its most important yet underused assets. A fully functioning single market would accelerate innovation, boost productivity and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy, while benefiting both citizens and businesses.

A new study, Building One Europe, One Market – Four strategic priorities for the digital single market, authored by experts from the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and Professor Paul Timmers, proposes four concrete policy lines of action, with specific measures, to unlock the digital single market. It also clearly identifies who needs to implement them.

In April 2026, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union signed the One Europe, One Market roadmap in Limassol, Cyprus. This marked a shift towards a more coordinated and operational approach to deepening the European Union’s single market.

However, the roadmap addresses only part of the challenge. The persistent underperformance of the digital single market is primarily structural rather than legislative. “Even though we now have nearly 90 digital laws in force – four times as many as a decade ago – the overall effect has been to make compliance more complex, rather than reducing fragmentation,” says Tiina Vainio, Lead Specialist at Sitra International Programmes.

These structural constraints matter for two connected reasons. First, they weaken Europe’s competitiveness, as the home market remains too fragmented for firms to scale efficiently.

Second, the challenge is geopolitical. The operating environment for European digital firms is increasingly shaped by developments beyond EU borders. These include export controls affecting access to advanced technologies, international standard-setting processes, and strategic dependencies in global supply chains. A fragmented European market weakens the industrial and strategic foundation required for Europe to act effectively in these arenas.

“We need to turn the One Europe, One Market roadmap into targeted measures that can accelerate the transformation and strengthen the European economy within shorter timelines. This requires fostering stronger public-private collaboration and ensuring that our technological stack becomes strategically indispensable. What has been missing is a clear link between ambition and agile execution”, emphasises Raquel Jorge Ricart, Associate Research Fellow at CEPS.

Four strategic priorities for the digital single market

To tackle these challenges, the Building One Europe, One Market – Four strategic priorities for the digital single market study first addresses ten key bottlenecks that consistently constrain companies’ ability to operate and scale across borders within the EU. This analysis was conducted together with the law firm Bird & Bird by reviewing key studies and publications produced by the European Commission, businesses and think tanks between 2023 and 2026. It was published as a separate report during the CEPS Ideas Lab in early 2026.

These bottlenecks are not isolated problems. They reflect deeper structural weaknesses: fragmented and unevenly applied regulation, digital infrastructure confined to national silos, skills and labour mobility that lag behind digital transformation, and a financing and innovation ecosystem that does not sufficiently support European digital companies in scaling globally.

Based on this analysis, the study proposes four strategic priorities to unlock the full potential of the digital single market, along with recommendations grouped under each.

• Strengthening digital uptake by leveraging public sector demand, including through harmonised procurement, default deployment of cross-border digital infrastructure (such as digital wallets, single gateways, and once-only systems), and increased use of AI in public administration.
• Building strategic positions in the global digital value chain, focusing investment on key technological domains – such as AI, quantum technologies, semiconductors, and connectivity – where Europe can secure critical leverage.
• Improving governance for digital policy leadership, including better coordination between the Savings and Investments Union and the DSM completion agenda, and systematic assessment of regulatory divergence across member states.
• Simplifying the regulatory framework, through measures such as binding timelines for implementing acts, improved transparency, and clearer regulatory interaction mapping, to reduce fragmentation and enhance predictability.

Together, these actions would help to move Europe from a fragmented regulatory environment towards a truly integrated and globally competitive digital single market.