European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW)
2025
Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (Europe) Ltd, PPMI Group, UAB, KMU Forschung Austria (KMFA), G.A.C. Group and Spark Legal and Policy Consulting
The European Single Market has been at the heart of the European Union for almost three decades – it enables the free movement of goods, strengthens consumer protection, offers companies reliable framework conditions and access to one of the largest economic areas in the world.
At a time of global uncertainty – from geopolitical tensions and disrupted supply chains to digital and ecological transformation processes – its strengthening is becoming even more important. To make Europe more economically resilient, innovative and competitive, the EU has launched the Single Market Programme.
On behalf of the European Commission, Prognos worked with a consortium to evaluate the programme at the halfway point.
The Single Market Programme is a €4.2 billion EU initiative (2021-2027) aimed at maximising the potential of the Single Market and supporting Europe's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Together with partners, Prognos evaluated how well the Single Market Programme has achieved its objectives so far – in terms of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and added value for the EU. The results provide important insights for the further development of the programme and help the Commission to improve its impact.
The evaluation examined both the structure and the content of the programme. It was based on results and findings from the following six thematic pillars:
Both the overall programme and the individual pillars were examined in detail. The analysis covers the years 2021 to 2023 and provides the European Commission with important information on the impact of the programme.
Prognos examined the activities of the programme to promote the social economy and the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneuers (EYE) as part of the second pillar ‘Support for small and medium-sized enterprises’. The latter enables new or aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from an experienced entrepreneur in another participating country.
The evaluation was based on desk research, data analyses, surveys and interviews with beneficiaries and stakeholders.
Further information on the Single Market Programme (EU Commission website)
Further information on the Erasmus programme EYE (website)
Project team: Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer, Markus Zock
Last update: 23.04.2025
Partner, Head of EU Services
Project Manager
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