CUPRINS - Universitatea George Bacovia

EU-Accession Of Cyprus: Implications And Challenges For EnterprisesAppendix 4Ten Years of Internal Market: The Scorecard (1992-2002)Economic benefits·EU GDP in 2002 is 1.8 %age points or 164.5 billion higher thanks to the InternalMarket.·About 2.5 million jobs have been created in the EU since 1992 that would nothave been created without the opening up of frontiers.·Extra prosperity to the cumulated value of 877 billion over the last ten years hasbeen created. That means 5,700 per household on average.·The Internal Market has enhanced the ability of EU firms to compete in globalmarkets. EU exports to third countries have increased from6.9% of EU GDP in1992 to 11.2% in2001.·The Internal Market has made Europe a much more attractive location for foreigninvestors. New inflows of foreign direct investment into the European Union havemore than doubled as a percentage of GDP.Benefits for citizens/consumers·A wider choice of high quality goods and services: according to are centCommission survey, 80% of EU citizens believe that the Internal Market has led towider choice and 67 % that it has led to improved quality.·In many cases, cheaper prices for goods and groceries thanks to the opening up ofnational markets and the resulting increase in competition.·Lower telecommunications tariffs: technology combined with Internal Marketliberalization means, for example, that prices charged by the old nationalmonopolies for national calls have been reduced by around 50% on average andthose for international calls by around40%.·Lower airfares: a recent study estimates that the price of promotional fares fell by41 % between 1992 and2000.·More than 15 million EU citizens have moved across borders to work or to enjoytheir retirement. They enjoy proper welfare protection and can vote and stand foroffice where they live. One million young people have completed part of theirstudies in another country with the help of the Erasmus program.·Shoppers have full consumer rights when shopping outside their own country.·Those contracting entities that have applied EU procurement rules have madesavings.Benefits for business·Trade within the EU has become much easier. The absence of border bureaucracyhas cut delivery times and reduced costs. Before the frontiers came down, the tax223