Leading European employers' associations define fields of action to strengthen competitiveness, strategic autonomy and further develop the Green Deal
The presidents and secretaries general of the member associations of BusinessEurope met in Budapest at the invitation of the Hungarian member association MGYOSZ - BusinessHungary to mark the start of the Council Presidency. They exchanged views with the Hungarian government on the priorities for business and industry during the forthcoming Hungarian EU Council Presidency. The agenda included meetings with Tamás Sulyok, the Hungarian President, Màrton Nagy, the Hungarian Minister of Economy, and Enrico Letta, the author of the latest report on the future of the internal market.
In this context, a declaration of the European employers' organizations was adopted, which contains demands and priorities at European level for the next European strategic agenda 2024 - 2029 from the perspective of business and industry. "It is high time to strengthen European competitiveness, as this is the only way to ensure that Europe remains home to successful companies. This requires a rethink of EU policy with the following priorities:
- a reduction in the burden of bureaucracy and over-regulation embedded in an integrated internal market
- an open strategic autonomy of the EU and
- an ambitious industrial strategy to complement the Green Deal, including a structural solution to the energy cost gap between the EU and our main global competitors.
The internal market is a decisive advantage for European industry in global competition. Enrico Letta's report has brought a new dynamic to the discussion here, which urgently needs to be exploited," emphasized Georg Knill, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), at today's meeting of the presidents of the European employers' and industry associations (Council of Presidents of BusinessEurope - COPRES).
Better regulation in a well-integrated European single market
The single market is a decisive advantage for European industry in global competition. Existing barriers to the free movement of goods, persons, services, capital and data should therefore be fully overcome in order to further deepen and modernize our single market. This includes remaining obstacles such as challenges in the EU standardization system, the introduction of the e-declaration to facilitate the reporting procedure for posted workers or the promise to reduce reporting obligations for companies by 25%. The employers' associations also urgently need to ensure that state aid is targeted, limited in time and carefully monitored in order to maintain a level playing field in the internal market.
Strategic autonomy to become stronger without turning its back on the world
With only 6% of the world's population and the knowledge that 85% of economic growth in the coming years will be generated outside the EU, Europe cannot afford to turn its back on the world. This requires stable and fair trade agreements, including the implementation of existing trade agreements, the conclusion of agreements with Mercosur and Mexico and progress in negotiations with ASEAN countries and India. Of equal importance is the deepening of cooperation with the USA and a realignment of relations with China. In addition, it is important to ensure that European defense companies have the necessary access to finance to adapt production and accelerate the development of the production capacities needed to supply Ukraine and European defense.
An ambitious industrial strategy for a resilient future
To pave the way to a resilient future, improve our competitiveness and decarbonize without deindustrializing, the European Union must complement the Green Deal with an ambitious industrial policy under a new Competitiveness Deal. This requires that companies have the means for profound transformations and can attract more foreign direct investment by creating a framework that unlocks the necessary public and private investment resources. This requires the implementation of measures such as the acceleration of approval procedures and the development of all technologies that contribute to decarbonization. But access to finance and an innovation-friendly and risk-tolerant environment are also necessary.
About BusinessEurope
BusinessEurope - Europe's leading employers' federation - represents more than 20 million small, medium and large enterprises in Europe. The association unites 42 employers' and industry associations from 36 countries and is the official employer partner of the European Social Dialogue. The IV became an official and sole representative of Austria in 1986, nine years before Austria joined the EU.