Make Europe the place to invest and do business again – BusinessEurope presents action plan for more competitiveness and regulatory breathing space

13 March 2023 - BusinessEurope calls on the EU to urgently change course for more competitiveness. BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer stated: "Swift action is needed now to make Europe the place to invest and do business again"

"The European business community calls on the EU to urgently change course. The EU needs to focus now on swift action to improve the business environment for European companies. Global competition for investments, employment, growth and technological innovation is decided by framework conditions, not by subsidies only.

Policy-makers should not be fooled by a slightly brightening economic outlook and declining energy prices. Energy prices in Europe will remain higher than for our main competitors, corporate taxes are high by global standards. Current bankruptcy numbers and withdrawal of investment decisions all over Europe show that the risk of de-industrialisation is real.

Piling regulations are the number one problem for companies after high energy prices, according to a recent BusinessEurope flash survey. For 2023 alone, the European Commission plans to table 43 new policy initiatives on top of already 116 pending proposals - many of them with significant impact on companies and an increasing number without a proper impact assessment. Ignoring the issue of regulatory burden further pushes companies and investments out of the continent and harms Europe as business location.

Instead of micromanaging businesses with increasing small-scale regulations, EU policy-makers have to create regulatory breathing space. In concrete terms, any overlaps and duplicating reporting requirements in the environmental, social and governance initiatives (ESG) should be reduced, such as the Due Diligence or Industrial Emissions Directive. A real competitiveness check for new policies and regulations is key to consider cumulative compliance costs and other practical impacts on the business environment.

Companies of all sizes currently suffer from the policy-makers’ business-as-usual-approach. They, however, are engines for future wealth, employment, innovation and a successful green and digital transition."

Please find BusinessEurope’s call for action to strengthen competitiveness and create regulatory breathing space here.