2023-06-02 13:55:24
CEOE President, Antonio Garamendiand the president and vice president of BusinessEurope, Fredrik Persson e Ingrid Thijssenrespectively, have presented the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calvinothe Madrid Declaration, a document that includes the European business priorities for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU and that identifies competitiveness as “the path that leads to a stronger position of the EU in the world and to economic progress And social”.
The presentation took place at the CEOE headquarters, in front of more than a hundred presidents, general managers and permanent delegates of 40 business confederations from 35 countries, who are meeting these days in Madrid to discuss the challenges of European companies and your priorities for the next semester.
According to the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, “we need competitive companies to strengthen Europe’s global position, its ability to uphold our values, ensure a high standard of living and meet the goals of the green and digital transitions.” “We urge -continues the president of the Spanish businessmen-, the next Spanish Presidency of the EU to take advantage of the work started at the beginning of this year to launch an ambitious European competitiveness strategy”.
In the words of Fredrik Persson, Chairman of BusinessEurope, “The fall in energy prices during the mild winter helped steer the EU economy out of recession, but some countries are in recession and the situation remains difficult for many companies. We expect EU growth to reach just 0.7% in 2023 and 1.6% in 2024, provided downside risks such as continued geopolitical instability do not materialise.”
“When leading the negotiations on EU policies, -continues Persson- the Spanish Presidency should promote a strategic approach to competitiveness, help reduce the regulatory burden for companies, deepen the integration of the Single Market and guarantee energy supply at competitive prices”. The president of the European businessmen has concluded that “trade is key and we need to diversify the sources of supply of critical raw materials and the export markets. We fully support the intention of the incoming Spanish Presidency to give new impetus to the conclusion and ratification of trade agreements with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur.”
Madrid Declaration
The Madrid Declaration states that it is “necessary to recover a framework of equality in the face of incentives and subsidies from our key partners that divert private investment from Europe.”
In the text, the Spanish Presidency is urged to continue with an “ambitious European competitiveness strategy based on open strategic autonomy and strong and competitive companies”. It also calls for “promoting the deepening of the integration of the Single Market, promoting a European industrial policy that supports the green and digital transitions, avoiding excessive regulatory burden for companies and adopting a credible and simplified economic governance framework”.
The European business organization BusinessEurope identifies in the document five key areas of action, focused on giving a regulatory break to all European companies; undertake a comprehensive program to deepen the integration of the single market; ensure electricity supply at competitive prices; tackling the skills gap, facilitating innovation and supporting reforms to boost European productivity; and open up more international market opportunities for European companies.
In addition to focusing on competitiveness, in the Madrid Declaration, European business representatives reiterate their support for Ukraine and its intention to belong to the European Union.
The closing of this European business meeting will take place tomorrow, Friday, with a meeting at CEOE in which the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinaswhich will be followed by an audience with HM the King in La Zarzuela.
The largest European business organization
BusinessEurope is the largest European business organization, representing 40 business confederations from 35 countries, totaling 20 million small, medium and large companies from all sectors. Its current president is Fredrik Persson and its CEO, Markus J. Beyrer. The president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, occupies one of the Vice-Presidencies of the organization.
Based in Brussels, BusinessEurope participates constructively in discussions on EU policies that have an impact on business and is one of the recognized social partners in the field of European social dialogue.
Its mission is to work, in collaboration with the European institutions, to achieve the highest levels of competitiveness and growth in the EU. To this end, it contributes to creating the most favorable climate possible for the development of companies.
The Council of Presidents (COPRES) is the highest decision-making body of BusinessEurope and meets twice a year, on a rotating basis, in the country that will assume the next Presidency of the Council of the EU. For this reason, on this occasion, the meeting takes place in Madrid.
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