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On January 29, 2025, the European Commission (EC) published the Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard, which assesses Latvia's performance in implementing the EU Single Market. The report evaluates 17 indicators and complements the Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report. This overview analyzes key indicators in the goods and services sectors of the Single Market, serving as a basis for discussions among EU Member States on strengthening the Single Market and implementing further measures to enhance economic competitiveness.
Support for Cooperation Between Businesses, Public Authorities, and Citizens in Latvia
The Single Market is based on commonly agreed rules. However, EU regulations provide benefits only if they are correctly applied. Therefore, the Ministry of Economics emphasizes the importance of effective tools that ensure proper implementation of EU legislation, enabling Latvian businesses and citizens to work, travel, shop, invest, and conduct business securely within the Single Market.
The EC has positively assessed the performance of Latvia’s SOLVIT center. SOLVIT is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism established by the EC and Member States for businesses and citizens. It helps resolve issues related to professional qualification recognition, mutual recognition of goods, the freedom to conduct business, and other complaints concerning the actions of authorities in EU countries, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Latvia’s SOLVIT center has successfully resolved 100% of submitted cases for the seventh consecutive year. According to the report, across the EU, cross-border problems were primarily related to social security and the free movement of people.
The EC has also highly rated the Internal Market Information System (IMI). IMI is an electronic system that facilitates information exchange between national authorities. Latvia ranks among the top performers in three indicators: satisfaction with responses (100%), response time (100%), and compliance with deadlines (91.4%). Currently, IMI supports 102 administrative cooperation procedures across 21 different policy areas. Although IMI is primarily used by public authorities, businesses and citizens also benefit from improved administrative cooperation, as it helps reduce bureaucratic burdens.
Latvia has the highest number of notifications under the Services Directive. The notification procedure aims to enhance transparency and legal certainty for service providers while fostering cooperation between the EC and national authorities by ensuring transparent information exchange. The primary objective of notifications is to ensure the effective implementation of the Services Directive, align national legislation with its requirements, and prevent unjustified barriers within the EU Single Market.
In recent years, the rapid adoption of complex EU legislation with short transposition deadlines has significantly impacted the implementation of EU legal norms. Nevertheless, Latvia remains among the top five Member States (alongside Finland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Estonia) with the lowest number of infringement procedures. Additionally, the number of EU legal provisions not transposed on time in Latvia aligns with the EU average (0.8%).
Improving the EU Single Market
The EC notes that trade integration within the EU for both goods and services has more than doubled over the past 30 years. In 1993, trade in goods among the 12 EU countries that formed the Single Market accounted for 11.4% of GDP. By 2023, this figure had increased to 23.78% across 27 EU countries. Over the same period, trade integration in services rose from 2.9% to 7.6%. Price differences among EU countries have also significantly decreased since 1996—from approximately 45% to 24% in 2022, reflecting the logical outcome of market integration.
In 2023, the EU industrial and services sectors experienced lower turnover compared to the previous two years. The added value in the services sector increased by only 1.3%, while in industry, it declined by 1%. Over the past 20 years, growth in these sectors within the EU has been broadly similar to trends in the U.S. and Japan, whereas China has experienced significantly faster growth.
Additionally, the EU has made modest progress in the green transition. In 2022, the share of recycled raw materials in the EU stood at 11.5%, while the EC aims to double this figure to 23.4% by 2030. Furthermore, key indicators related to climate neutrality and zero pollution goals show a positive trend in reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity in the EU economy, which declined by 4.2% in the past year.
The Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard is an annual EC report that provides insight into the practical management of the Single Market. It not only offers an overview of all EU Member States but also reflects achievements, feedback received, and conclusions drawn, serving as a foundation for future development.