Competitiveness Deal Provides The Framing But Now We Need To See Words Turned Into Actions

Europe Unlocked welcomes today’s Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal, stressing the urgent need for decisive action to arrest Europe’s competitive decline.

As a coalition representing European businesses of all sizes and all sectors, it is reassuring that the top priority is to unlock the Single Market’s full potential. EU Leaders have tasked the Commission with presenting a comprehensive horizontal strategy on deepening the Single Market with clear timelines and milestones.

“This is a promising first step,” said Kieran O’Keeffe, executive director of Europe Unlocked. “We’ve been calling for the same in our campaign.”

The leaders of Europe Unlocked’s 19 member organisations recently signed a Call to Action to EU leaders that provides 14 essential steps to improve European competitiveness. To unlock Europe’s full potential and meet the green, digital and security challenges of this century, we need a new model that makes our markets more responsive and dynamic.

Emphasis in the Budapest Declaration on open trade and economic diversification, accelerating the digital transformation, and a resource-efficient circular economy are all promising. But achieving breakthroughs in innovative technologies and reaching our 2050 climate neutrality goal won’t happen through heavy-handed industrial policy.

“Any approach to raise European competitiveness must be based on openness and market-driven economic development, particularly if we are to boost productivity. Ensuring Europe’s industrial renewal should not be interpreted as a policy to pick champions. Healthy competition and functioning markets pick winners – backed by a clear, simple and smart regulatory framework. Global competition is challenging but Europe’s economy will be in a worse state if we revert to self-sufficiency and state intervention.”