Scotland’s Place in Europe

48 | SCOTLAND’S PLACE IN EUROPE
GLOSSARY
This glossary explains some of the key terms we have used in this paper and includes
links to further information.
Membership of the European Single Market – We have defined membership of the
European Single Market as the ability to participate fully in that market without any
regulatory or tariff barriers to the export or import of goods and services. This would
also include full participation in the four freedoms, the free movement of people, goods,
services and capital and the rights of establishment for businesses.
Access to the European Single Market – Access to the European Single Market is very
different to membership (as defined above). Any one of the hundreds of nations with
a trade schedule at the World Trade Organisation has access to the European Single
Market, but may face tariffs on goods and will also need to demonstrate that goods meet
the standards of the European Single Market. There is also no access for services, or
rights under any of the four freedoms.
Some nations have negotiated preferential terms, in the form of a free trade agreement
with the EU, such as the recently agreed deal with Canada, to reduce some of these
tariffs and increase common standards to help further reduce barriers to trade and
market access. However, these deals still fall far short of membership as defined above.
The European Union – The European Union (EU) is currently a group of 28 (which will
be 27 following the exit of the UK) countries that operate as a cohesive economic and
political block. Nineteen of the countries use the euro as their official currency. The EU
grew out of a desire to form a single European political entity to end the centuries of
warfare among European countries that culminated with World War II, which devastated
much of the continent.
The European Single Market – Has its basis in article 26 of the Treaty on the Functioning
of the European Union which provides in article 26(2) that “[t]he internal market shall
comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods,
persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the
Treaties”. The European Commission describes the European Single Market as “the EU
as one territory without any internal borders or other regulatory obstacles to the free
movement of goods and services” 69 . The European Single Market is in effect extended to
include the EFTA State parties to the EEA Agreement (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)
by the EEA Agreement: the EFTA State parties participate in the European Single Market
under and in terms of that Agreement.
69 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market_en