The heads of state or government of the European Union countries only spent a few minutes on the subject of economic competitiveness on Thursday 27 June, although the summit was initially intended to focus on this theme.
The European Council merely reiterated the importance of the subject and called for work on the measures already identified to be speeded up. Although they were unable to give more precise directions, the participants in the meeting said want to maintain a certain level of attention to the subject within all the institutions (see EUROPE 13340/7).
“It's really crucial, as we enter a new cycle, that we make sure that the focus is on things like competitiveness, the internal market, and making sure that it works for SMEs, for Irish businesses and Irish farmers”, said Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on his arrival at the summit.
Much of the work ahead will involve deepening the Capital Markets Union (CMU) called for by the European Council last April. On this subject, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that he hoped for “progress by the end of the year” and that the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of the year would be working hard on this issue.
For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regretted that the strategic agenda adopted by the EU27 on Thursday 27 June did not include more ambitious elements on competitiveness and the CMU.
To see the conclusions of the European Council: https://aeur.eu/f/cux (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with the editorial staff)