European integration is endangered by rising fears of sovereign default. Against this background, assessing the economic impacts attached to the Single Market is crucial to measuring the overall benefits provided by the European Union to its citizens. Over the last thirty years, substantial progress has been achieved to better integrate the markets of the member states. New evidence on barriers to trade in services and on non-tariffs obstacle to trade in goods confirms however that this process is far from being complete. Our economic simulation using the MIRAGE model concludes that the elimination of all remaining obstacles to trade would benefit the European Union by an order of magnitude two to three times larger than those already reaped so far. The complete elimination of obstacles to trade across the Single Market is indeed a stylised and unrealistic assumption. However, the magnitude of the potential gains is such that the study confirms undoubtedly the potential of the Single Market as one avenue to boost EU growth in the years to come and to escape from a vicious circle of recession.

 Keywords : EUROPEAN UNION | SINGLE MARKET | INTEGRATION | TRADE BARRIERS

 JEL : F15, O52, F17

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