Letta Report: Much More Than a Market
Europe was built on the idea of a single market, but according to Enrico Letta, it still acts too much like 27 separate economies. While goods and people move freely, crucial areas like finance, energy, telecoms, and research remain fragmented. That fragmentation, he argues, is making Europe weaker—economically and politically. As the U.S. and China scale their industries and dominate global innovation, Europe risks being left behind, or worse, becoming dependent on others for capital, technology, and energy.
Letta’s report is a call to update and strengthen the European project. The world has changed dramatically since the single market was launched in the 1980s. Europe’s population is shrinking, its companies are struggling to scale, and its savings often leave the continent to fund American businesses. Meanwhile, the challenges are growing: climate change, digital transformation, war in Europe, and rising global competition.
The core of his proposal is integration. Not in a vague, idealistic sense, but through practical steps—like building a real capital market that helps EU savings stay in Europe and support European companies. He wants to add a new freedom to the EU's existing four: the freedom of research and innovation. This would mean removing barriers to collaboration, scaling up research institutions, and treating knowledge like a shared European resource, not something siloed by country.
He’s also focused on making the economy work better for citizens. Right now, opportunity is unevenly spread. Some regions thrive, while others fall behind. Letta argues that the single market should not just make it easier to move—it should also make it easier to stay. Better local services, stronger small businesses, and smarter public investment can help reduce the need to relocate for a decent job or education.
This isn’t about centralising power in Brussels. Letta’s tone is pragmatic: keep national identities, but remove the barriers that stop companies from growing, ideas from spreading, and investments from flowing. His point is that the EU doesn’t need more vision. It needs speed, scale, and solidarity to compete in the world as it is—not the world of the past.
