The European Council to pave the way for a sound economic security strategy

As European leaders meet in Brussels today, we urge them to use all the tools at their disposal to strengthen Europe’s position in the world. They need to lower the cost of energy and reduce the regulatory burden in order to improve the business climate and attract more investments in Europe.

In view of the latest developments in the aggression war by Russia against Ukraine, we reiterate our support to Ukraine, its people and their European ambitions.

To help overcome the consequences this brutal war has inflicted on our economy, diversification of both export and import markets is essential. The EU needs to strike the right balance between protecting its security interests and maintaining a conducive environment for trade and investment.

This highly uncertain environment is particularly damaging for SMEs. Four ingredients are key to deliver the long-term competitiveness strategy sketched out during the Spring European Council meeting: giving regulatory breathing space to all European companies; putting in place a fully-fledged programme to deepen the Single Market integration; securing energy supply at competitive prices; and addressing the skills gap, facilitating innovation, and supporting reforms to unleash Europe’s productivity.

We count on the European Council to pave the way to a sound economic security strategy, based on market-driven diversification, ambitious trade and investment agreements as well as critical raw material partnerships and coherent EU policies to attract investment and facilitate production in Europe.

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