The Swedish Minister for Trade Ewa Bjorling said Wednesday there was still a long way to go to make the EU market competitive.
"To begin with, we must create a strong and competitive internal market. There are more new trade barriers within the EU," said Bjorling during an interview before the informal European Union Competitiveness Ministerial meeting began in Umea, a northern city of Sweden, which holds the EU presidency.
She said EU service directives should include more sectors such as health care. The ministers on Wednesday began discussing the creation of a strong internal market, the removal of barriers to trade in services and free movement within the EU.
A report presented at a press conference showed that services exports had increased by an average of 9 percent per year since Sweden joined the EU, compared with annual growth of 5.7 percent for goods exports. Transport services, tourism and IT services were the areas increasing most.
An eco-efficient economy and European cooperation in research and development would also be discussed.
Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com