[28] In 2023, Germany, France and Italy were the three largest economies in the European Union, accounting for approximately 53.1% of the EU's total GDP.

For instance, it includes an internal single market with free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour.

[37] There are significant disparities in GDP per capita (PPP) between member states ranging from $154,915 in Luxembourg to $41,506 in Bulgaria.

[38] With a medium Gini coefficient of 29.6,[10] the European Union has a more egalitarian distribution of income than the world average.

[41][42] Euronext is the main stock exchange of the Eurozone and the world's fourth largest by market capitalisation.

[44] In 2022, public debt in the union was 83.5% of GDP, with disparities between the lowest rate, Estonia with 18.5%, and the highest, Greece with 172.6%.

[45] There has been general growth in GDP per capita and employment, but regional differences within EU nations remain, with considerable discrepancies between capital and non-capital areas, particularly in younger Member States.

Since 1992, the Maastricht Treaty sets out rigid economic and fiscal convergence criteria for the states joining the euro.

[needs update] Other non-eurozone states also experienced a debt crisis and also went through successful bailout programmes, i.e. Hungary, Romania and Latvia (the latter before it joined the eurozone).

[49] The EU has a long-term budget, named Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), of €1,082.5 billion for the period 2014–2020, representing 1.02% of the EU-28's GNI.

Companies have a greater reliance on bank lending than in the United States, although a shift towards companies raising more funding through capital markets is planned through the CMU initiative, the EU plan put forward by the Commission in September 2015 to mobilise the free movement of capital within the EU.

[68][69][70] Without government assistance, 35% of European small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in manufacturing and services indicated their businesses would not have survived the effects of the pandemic.

39% of EU enterprises created or introduced new goods, processes, or services in the previous fiscal year, compared to 57% of US firms.

This is criticised as a form of protectionism, inhibiting trade, and damaging developing countries; one of the most vocal opponents was the United Kingdom, the second largest economy within the union until its withdrawal in January 2020, which repeatedly refused to give up the annual UK rebate unless the CAP should undergo significant reform; France, the biggest beneficiary of the CAP and the union's third largest (now its second-largest) economy, is its most vocal proponent.

By 2011, 90% of direct support had become non-trade-distorting (not linked to production) as reforms have continued to be made to the CAP, its funding and its design.

It is worth noting, however, that a significant proportion of international visitors to EU countries are from other member states.

In the years to come, the transition to a carbon-neutral economy will put more jobs at danger in regions with higher percentages of employment in carbon-intensive industries.

[84][85][86] Employment opportunities by the green transition are associated with the use of renewable energy sources or building activity for infrastructure improvements and renovations.

[89][90] The European Union's member states are the birthplace of many of the world's largest leading multinational companies, and home to its global headquarters.

Europe is also home to many prestigious car companies such as Aston Martin, Alpine, BMW, Bugatti, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volvo, as well as volume manufacturers such as Automobile Dacia, Citroën, Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Volkswagen and more.

Numerous reasons, such as demographics and rising demand for skills that are less common on the market, such as those needed to support digitalization activities, might contribute to the lack of competent workers.

[98] Venture capital funds in the EU account for just 5% of the global total, whereas those in the United States and China secure 52% and 40%, respectively.

[98][99] European scale-ups face significant challenges in securing sufficient financing compared to their counterparts in the United States.

Slovakia has the highest GDP growth in the period 2005–2015 among all countries of the European Union (See Tatra Tiger).

Notably the Baltic states have achieved high GDP growth, with Latvia topping 11%, close to China, the world leader at 9% on average for the past 25 years (though these gains have been in great part cancelled by the late-2000s recession).

[102] Approximately 26% of European scale-ups are acquired through mergers and acquisitions, a figure comparable to San Francisco but lower than the 37% observed in cities such as London.

[64][105][106] Although EU27 GDP is rising, the percentage of gross world product is decreasing because of the emergence of economies such as China, India and Brazil.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.0% in 2019), Poland (2.8% in 2023) and Germany (3.0% in 2019), and the highest in Greece (27.8% in 2013) and Spain (24.8% in 2012).

[119][120][121] Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic are the countries with the most exporting businesses, Malta and Cyprus have the fewest.

The calculated GDP per capita is very high because of the large natural gas reserves in this region, but Groningen is one of the poorest parts in the Netherlands.