Brussels, 08/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a letter addressed to Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt with a view to the European Council on 10 and 11 December, BusinessEurope states what it expects will come out of the Copenhagen conference and makes a cautious assessment of economic activity in Europe.
“We are walking on thin ice”, the president, Jürgen Thumann, summed up on Tuesday 8 December, saying economic recovery is fragile. Speaking to reporters, he pointed out that Europe was lagging behind compared to the other main world economies, not only at the level of trade (EU exports have increased 2.5% while overall global trade is up 8.5% since April), but also in terms of industrial production (this stabilised at 13% less than one year ago, whereas, in Asia, it is up 7.5%) and regarding the level of debt (in Europe it will increase up to 80% but, in emerging countries, it should be about 40% in 2010). According to the organisation of European employers' federations, it is a matter of priority to restore access to funding for companies, especially SMEs, and to allow banks to consolidate their balance sheets.
“A solution for climate change must be compatible with European competitiveness”, said Mr Thumann, explaining it was not in the EU's interest to go further than a 20% reduction without having obtained commitments from its partners. Is the proposal by the US Congress, that should finally result in a 3% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the 1990 level, sufficient? “Clearly not!” was the answer to this question. Mr Thumann said the effort cannot be considered equivalent to that of the EU, with commitment on the part of the EU27 in favour of a 30% emissions reduction. On the other hand, if something “very positive” were to come out of the talks in Copenhagen, BusinessEurope would not be “close-minded” and may adjust its stance.
Further information is available on the BusinessEurope internet site: http://www.businesseurope.eu . (A.B./transl.jl)