- The share of the European Union in world GDP fell to 14 percent.
- Europe lags significantly behind in productivity, technological development and key investments.
- RÚZ is asking for fewer regulations, industry support and more business space.
- The strategic document promotes nuclear energy, market modernization and investment in talent.
- Energy-intensive industries have seen a drop in production and the labor force is shrinking sharply.
The European Union is losing its global competitiveness, and without a fundamental change in economic policy, it is in danger of falling further behind the United States and China. She stated this on Friday Republican Union of Employers (RÚZ), which, on the occasion of Europe Day, presented a strategic document on the priorities of RÚZ in the EU until 2030. In it, it calls for less regulation, support for industry and more space for business and innovation.
Employers point out that the share of the European Union in world GDP has fallen from approximately 25% in 1990 to the current 14%. According to RÚZ, Europe lags behind mainly in productivity, technological development and investments. “Today, the European Union stands at a crossroads. If it wants to remain an economically strong and technologically relevant player, it must return to the principles of economic pragmatism, support for industry and freedom of enterprise,” stated the president of RÚZ Miroslav Kiraľvarga.
The RÚZ strategic document contains five main priorities until 2030. Among them are reducing the administrative burden, reforming energy policy, including support for nuclear power, modernizing the single market, strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy, and investing in education, talent and innovation. “Slovakia and the whole of Europe need conditions that will motivate entrepreneurship, investment and innovation, not create additional administrative obstacles,” stated the chairman of the Committee of European Affairs and Foreign Relations of the RÚZ Michal Pinter.
The employers’ union considers high energy prices, excessive regulation and demographic development to be the main problems. According to RÚZ, production in energy-intensive industries decreased by 10 to 15 percent. At the same time, the organization warns that the labor force in the EU may decrease by approximately two million people every year until 2040. At the same time, RÚZ rejects further centralization of decision-making within the EU and calls for greater emphasis on the principle of subsidiarity, which would allow member states to react more flexibly to their own economic conditions.
