European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has called for the single market to be extended to cover areas such as everyday financial products and professional services in order to really help people.
Speaking today he said said one obvious area where the single market can 'genuinely' help citizens is retail everyday financial services such as mortgages, insurance and credit cards.
He said that another focus in the future will be professional services where barriers reduce competition, push up prices and restrict citizens' rights to practice their profession in another member state.
The Commissioner went on to say that he also wanted to at look ways of involving ordinary people more in the governance of the single market.
'This would mean finding ways to involve consumers more closely in shaping policies and improving problem-solving and redress systems in the member states', he said.
Commissioner McCreevy was speaking at a briefing on the single market in Dublin.
