Only 20% of services are provided cross-border in other member states.

Omissions

• The MEP did not cite a source for the 20% figure, and no single primary official source explicitly stating '20% of services are provided cross-border' could be located in the available searches.
• The 20% figure is a common EU policy approximation; the exact value varies depending on the metric used (share of services output vs. share of services trade, intra-EU only vs. all cross-border, gross vs. value-added basis).
• The EP study (2025) covers 2023 data; more recent data (2024 or early 2025) may show slight variation.
• The UNU working paper (April 2026) is an academic source, not an official statistical publication.

Sources

• AcademicUnited Nations University (UNU-MERIT) Working PaperFrom 1990, trade in services has grown from 9% of GDP to almost 30% across the EU (see Graph 1).
• SecondaryEuropean Parliament Think Tank – EPRS Study SummaryAccording to Eurostat data, intra-EU commercial services exports amounted to approximately half of total EU commercial services exports in 2023, or €1.4 trillion.
• SecondaryTable.Media – Leaked Single Market Strategy draftConstruction makes up for 11% of EU GDP, but only 1% of construction services are traded cross-border. This exemplifies the wider single market deficit in services trade.