On Tuesday 23 April, MEPs debated the conclusions of the European Council held on 17 and 18 April on the subject of competitiveness (see EUROPE 13394/1). The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented her vision of a competitive Europe and called for “political will to be transformed into action”.
This is also the opinion of the EPP Group’s president, Germany’s Manfred Weber, who praised the actions of Ms von der Leyen, the ‘Spitzenkandidat’ of her European political family, and said that more support should be given to innovation in the EU. “We are in favour of a Europe that creates opportunities, not a regulatory framework”, he insisted.
For several months now, the EPP Group has been criticising the excessive administrative and regulatory burden on businesses in the EU, which its members believe hampers competitiveness.
The head of the ID Group, Italian Marco Zanni, went even further: “Competitiveness isn’t achieved with a ‘Green Deal’, but with innovation and the freedom to act”.
In contrast, members of the S&D and Greens/EFA groups stressed the importance of the ‘Green Deal’ as a competitiveness factor. They argue that the EU must also build on its social values.
The European Council’s conclusions concerning mobilising private savings and regulatory simplification were generally well received by all the groups.
The president of the Renew Europe group, France’s Valérie Hayer, pointed out, however, that Parliament’s call for the creation of a sovereignty fund in 2023 had gone unheeded. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)
To find out more about the EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy, listen to the second episode of Agence Europe’s podcast, ‘Le 15 minutes d’Agence Europe’ (in French), available on our website and on listening platforms from Wednesday 24 April.