Competitiveness was to be at the heart of the meeting of European leaders on 17 and 18 October, a few weeks after the presentation of Mario Draghi’s report on the subject. In the end, this will not be the case, and the EU27 will meet in Budapest on 8 November to discuss competitiveness and attempt to adopt the ‘Budapest Declaration’.
For some delegations, this European Summit comes perhaps a little too early to draw precise conclusions on Mr Draghi’s report and the follow-up to be given to it. Instead, the heads of state or government will make general remarks on the approach to be taken.
In a draft set of conclusions dated Tuesday 15 October, the European Council calls on all EU institutions, Member States and stakeholders, “as a matter of priority, to take work forward”.
The leaders are also expected to call for “more efforts to enhance the Union’s competitiveness, strengthen its economic resilience and achieve the full potential of the Single Market”.
Compared to an earlier draft of the conclusions, which Agence Europe had already detailed, the 15 October version emphasises the importance of ensuring a level playing field “both internally and globally”.
The issue of unfair competition is likely to feature prominently in the debates: several delegations have requested that a point be added on the case of Chinese electric vehicles, which will soon be subject to a countervailing duty (see EUROPE 13497/1).
To see the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/dwo (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with the editorial staff)