The main topic of Friday’s informal summit of the European Union in Budapest was European competitiveness. This was announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, after the meeting of 27 Union leaders. With reference to the 444.hu server, the correspondent of TASR in Budapest informs about it.
Von der Leyen emphasized that the advantages of the EU are an excellent education system and a high level of social security, but several areas need improvement. The basis of the discussion was the report on European competitiveness, prepared by the former president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi.
Closing the innovation gap
The President of the Commission underlined the need to eliminate the innovation gap vis-à-vis competitors and to reduce the administrative burden on start-ups. “There is a need to create an easily accessible set of rules that could work across the single market,” she said.
According to her, more investments and more private capital are needed. “Investments are often left in the bank, a more stimulating environment is needed with the use of private savings as well. Another priority is to create a joint plan for competitiveness, decarbonization and digitization,” she said.
A huge challenge unleashed by the Russian war is also overcoming the energy crisis, stated von der Leyen. “Prices must be reduced, that will be one of the Commission’s tasks,” she emphasized.
Orbán on the joint pact
The informal summit of the European Union in Budapest adopted a joint competitiveness pact called the Budapest Declaration. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced this on Friday at a joint press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. Referring to the hvg.hu server, the correspondent of TASR in Budapest informs about it.
At the beginning of their speeches, all three politicians condemned Thursday’s attack on Israeli citizens in Amsterdam.
Orbán recalled that the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU set itself the goal of emphasizing European competitiveness. According to him, it was necessary to work very hard in order to be able to accept the joint pact.
Main points
The main points of the pact are the reduction of the administrative burden, measures to alleviate high energy prices, a real industrial policy, the allocation of three percent of GDP for research and development purposes, the full implementation of the capital market union and the creation of a European defense industrial base. Competitiveness will be the focus of attention in the next five years, Orbán specified.
The Hungarian Prime Minister admitted that he also had disputes with the President of the EC, but as he emphasized, he now treated her politely and with respect because she was a guest in Budapest. “We will fight only in Brussels,” he added.
