National barriers harming EU service sector, Germany study says

Removing national barriers to services in the EU single market could produce significant economic growth, a new report by the Munich-based ifo Institute for Economic Research has said.

"Although the service sector has contributed significantly to economic growth in recent decades, the EU member states continue to have a patchwork of 27 different sets of regulations," said Florian Dorn, the co-author of the study, in Munich on Thursday.

He added: "As a result, they are missing out on enormous growth potential."

The report suggests removing barriers to the service sector could increase economic output in the EU by 2.3% or €353 billion ($383 billion).

All EU countries stand to benefit from reforms of national regulations and reductions in bureaucracy, it argued.

Germany's economic output could rise by almost 2% or €68 billion, co-author Lisandra Flach said, due to "strong synergies between industry and services."

The report suggests economic output could increase by as much as €38 billion in France, €30 billion in Ireland and Belgium and €24 billion in Italy.

The study was complied by the ifo Institute and the EconPol Europe research network.