ABSTRACT
Early in 1988 the Commission published its own estimates of the likely benefits to be accrued as a result of the implementation of the internal market programme. The Cecchini team first identified the barriers which segment the European Community (EC) market. Tariffs and quantitative restrictions on trade have been mostly eliminated inside the Community, but four categories of obstacles which continue to block free trade were identified: The completion of the internal market is seen as directly lifting certain barriers to trade and as fostering greater competition within the EC market. A more sceptical analysis was published by the London Business School early in 1989. A wide-ranging debate on the internal effects of establishing a single European market is thus beginning to emerge. The macro-economic implications for the EC economy as a whole remain unclear; further research is needed before idealism and reality can be fully separated.
