Gold-plating, the practice whereby national authorities exceed European requirements of when transposing or implementing EU legislation, remains one of the most pervasive yet elusive obstacles to a fully integrated single market. While EU legal frameworks are intended to harmonise certain standards across member states to guarantee equal market access, additional national requirements, administrative procedures, and enforcement layers fragment the regulatory landscape. Even European Commission President von der Leyen and Commissioner Dombrovskis recognise the problem.

Gold-plating also generates a severe, negative impact on companies, particularly SMEs, by burdening them with unnecessary administrative costs, overlapping compliance requirements, and heightened legal uncertainty, raising doubts about whether they can realistically operate cross-border on a fair and equal footing. These self-imposed regulatory barriers also distort competition, stifle innovation, and deter foreign companies willing to trade and invest, ultimately eroding long-term economic growth.

These challenges are particularly pronounced in small, geographically peripheral and service-oriented member states, where businesses often operate with limited administrative resources and depend heavily on cross-border trade, international investment and access to the single market. For SMEs in such jurisdictions, disproportionate regulatory requirements can represent a significant barrier to market entry, expansion and competitiveness.