The European Union needs a new “European Competitiveness Deal”, according to European leaders. At least, that’s the message they are expected to put across at their summit on 17 and 18 April, according to draft conclusions obtained by Agence Europe on 8 April, which may still be subject to change. According to the authors of the draft conclusions, this competitiveness deal is intended to close “the gap in growth, productivity and innovation between the Union and its international partners and main competitors”.
They identify nine areas of work to achieve the objectives set. This ranges from strengthening the internal market to finalising the Capital Markets Union, not forgetting the trade policy that defends the EU’s interests.
Discussions on these subjects on 17 and 18 April will be fuelled by the presentation of the report on the future of the Internal Market, drawn up by Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister and current President of the Jacques Delors Institute.
The telecommunications, capital, defence and energy markets are expected to be among the highlights of Mr Letta’s report. In an interview with Agence Europe in February, the former Italian Prime Minister also stressed the importance of financing tools for the EU’s future industrial policy (see EUROPE 13356/1).
Strengthening the Internal Market
Free movement within the Single Market still faces too many obstacles, according to the European Council’s draft conclusions. This is why it is expected to call for a new horizontal “Single Market Strategy” by June 2025. It should be “based on concrete steps to remove barriers and to continuously improve the implementation of existing Single Market rules”.
Joining the many calls from industry, a majority of MEPs and some European capitals, the European Council will reportedly advocate European policies that are genuinely “at the service of enhancing Europe’s economic, manufacturing, industrial and technological base”.
They are also expected to agree with Enrico Letta on the need for public investment “in strategic sectors and infrastructures”.
Private investment will not be left behind, and this is where the Capital Markets Union (CMU) is crucial, according to the authors of the draft conclusions. They are calling for the CMU to move forward through five specific actions. These include harmonising national insolvency frameworks, improving the supervision of capital markets across the EU, particularly in cross-border cases, and improving conditions for institutional, retail and cross-border investment in equity. The European Council will meet in June to “review progress and discuss the additional steps to deepen the Capital Markets Union”.
Simplifying the rules
The heads of state or government should relay the message hammered home by European industry, namely the need to reduce administrative constraints and over-regulation. In their conclusions, they are expected to call on the Commission to pursue the objective of reducing reporting obligations for companies by 25%.
In this and other respects, the European Council’s recommendations are broadly in line with those put forward by Europe’s leading employers in their Antwerp Declaration (see EUROPE 13354/9), calling for a “European Industrial Deal”.
In France, the Minister for the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, is going even further and proposing that the Commission adopt an ‘omnibus’ directive to simplify all existing standards (see EUROPE 13386/11) before any future texts on industry.
Adapting trade policy
Trade has a strong role to play in the EU’s competitiveness, according to European leaders. This is why they plan to re-emphasise the importance of open and fair trade. Above all, they should affirm that this same commercial policy must also defend the interests of the Union “facing unfair practices”.
In recent months, the EU has launched a number of investigations aimed at restricting both the import of certain Chinese products (the most emblematic case being that of electric vehicles) and the participation of Chinese companies subsidised by their state in European public procurement (see EUROPE 13387/15).
In the same vein, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, insisted on Tuesday 9 April on the need, in his view, “to align our trade policies with our industrial ambitions” during the next legislative cycle. “The key word is reciprocity. We cannot impose constraints on ourselves (which are certainly beneficial) and at the same time import products that are not subject to the same type of constraints”, he said.
To see the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/bnu (Original version in French by Léa Marchal and Mathieu Bion)