President of the European Council defends the implementation of transversal reforms across the single market to reduce bureaucracy. An example would be the introduction of a principle whereby companies would only need to provide data to an authority in Europe once, rather than doing so in each Member State where they operate, he suggests.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, argues that the European Union needs a “big bang” moment to promote European competitiveness.
In an interview with , given hours before presiding over a summit with European leaders, at Alden Biesen Castle, Belgium, António Costa argues that the EU needs to unite on this issue, just as it united last year in terms of defense.
“We need to give a new political impetus. We need to do in 2026, in terms of competitiveness, what we did last year in terms of defense”, argues the former Portuguese prime minister, referring to the agreements on the increase in defense spending and the joint acquisition of goods and services.
In this sense, the president of the European Council defends the implementation of transversal reforms across the single market to reduce bureaucracy. “This could be a big bang in the domestic market”, he assumes.
An example of such reforms would be the introduction of a principle whereby companies would only need to provide data to an authority in Europe once, instead of doing so in each Member State where they operate, suggests Costa.
One of the main points on the agenda of this Thursday’s summit concerns the discussion around the “Buy European” policy, which has been pressured by France, and which would require certain essential products to be manufactured in Europe – something considered unacceptable for Member States with a more free market orientation.
On this point, although he argues that the EU must continue to be an “open market”, rejecting protectionism, António Costa admits that measures are necessary to protect strategic industries such as the chemical industry, the steel industry and the aluminum industry, especially in the face of giants in these matters such as the USA and China.
The objective of this Thursday’s meeting, according to the president of the European Council, is to guarantee a political agreement on a series of measures, namely the creation of a “true single market” in the energy, telecommunications and capital markets sectors.
As part of this summit, Costa will also appeal to the leaders of the 27 to sign trade agreements and review their competition rules in order to allow the “expansion” of European companies, making them more competitive on a global level.
“We cannot be naive. If some global actors challenge us with unfair competition, we need to react”, he argues, quoted by the newspaper. “If others use trade as a threat, as an instrument of coercion, we need to use our tools.”
