This section of the Scoreboard presents a set of indicators assessing EU Member States’ performance in putting in place business framework conditions that cater for the smooth functioning of the Single Market and improves companies’ ease of doing business.
The indicators are grouped into the following categories:
Main messages
Responsive administration and burden of regulation
Stakeholders’ perception of the regulatory burden in the EU was on average 3.87, on a scale of 1 (highest burden) to 7 (lowest burden), up from 3.39 in 2019. According to the latest European Investment Bank (EIB) Investment Survey, in 2023 the average percentage of respondents considering regulation as an obstacle to long-term investments however grew to 66%.
On administrative responsiveness, in 2023 EU Member States scored between 50 and 100 on the digital public services for businesses index, with an EU average of 85.4. More than 70% of EU countries scored above 80. By contrast, in 2023, the average delay in payments by public authorities was more than 17 days. This is a significant increase from the years before the COVID-19 pandemic and a slight increase compared with 2020, the first year of the pandemic.
Market surveillance
The indicators on market surveillance suggest that the number of investigations recorded in the ICSMS (Information and Communications System on Market Surveillance) is increasing in most Member States (with very high growth in the motor vehicles sector). This is improving controls in the Single Market and creating a stronger basis for cooperation between Member States.
Access to public procurement
In 2022, the proportion of public procurement tenders with a single bidder rose to the highest level in the last 10 years and there are still 20 Member States with a high level. There is therefore clear room for improvement in the coming years.
Despite a small increase in 2023 compared with 2022, the level of direct awards is consistent with the overall results of recent years.
According to eCertis indicators, the availability of data provided by EU Member States remained stable between 2023 and 2024. Overall, most Member States have a complete set of evidence on exclusion grounds.
Access to services and service markets
On professional services, the scoreboard shows little if any progress between 2017 and 2021 in reducing regulatory barriers to entry to professions and to the exercise of professions. Legal services remain the most protected profession in the Single Market. This has negative consequences for industrial competitiveness because EU companies devote a significant share of their intermediate consumption to legal services.
Most requests for recognition of professional qualifications between 2019 and 2021 were successful. At EU level, 71% of the cases recorded in the Regulated Professions Database were concluded by a recognition decision; 10% by a non-recognition decision; and the remaining 19% were either unsettled (no decision taken), under examination or subject to appeal.
For postal services, the price indicator shows the increasing impact of digitalisation on postal mail. Prices for an intra-EU priority letter in 2022 were on average 60% higher than in 2015. This increase partly compensates for the loss of revenue from falling volumes and higher costs due to inflation. However, the quality of service in the Single Market has remained stable: on average 82% of domestic priority letters reach the final recipient by the next day.
Labour mobility and matching across borders
In 2023, on average 3.9% of people of working age were EU movers (people in an EU Member State who are nationals of another EU Member State). However, this figure varied from less than 2.5% in many central and eastern European Member States to more than 10% in Member States like Austria, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. Overall, the number of EU movers increased by 3.4% between 2019 and 2023. Mobility benefits both businesses looking for staff and people wanting to work in other EU Member countries.
EURES is a system set up by EU legislation that specifically supports the cross-border matching of workers by increasing transparency for vacancies available in other EU Member States, European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland. Indicators suggest that EURES is a useful tool for facilitating labour mobility in these countries. For instance, in 2023, the most countries (24) used the single coordinated channel to transfer both vacancies and CVs. User satisfaction with the EURES services was high in 2023, ranging between 7 and 10 points (out of a maximum of 10) in 19 countries.
Access to Finance
The indicator on the availability of venture capital shows that it amounted on average to 0.05% of GDP in 2023. This was lower than in 2020 (0.06%), mostly due to a lower volume of later-stage venture investments. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to face difficulties in accessing finance. This was shown by their perception of the availability of public support and of the time to get paid by other companies – on average 62 days in 2024, so consistently higher than the target of 30 days recommended in the current Late Payment Directive.