The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, today defended a simplified European Union (EU), with two speeds in terms of financial cooperation and with community preference to increase economic growth compared to other competing blocs.
On the eve of a retreat of European leaders on how to increase community competitiveness, which takes place on Thursday at the Belgian castle of Alden Biesen, about an hour from Brussels, Von der Leyen warned: “If we are serious about simplification, we have to combat excessive transposition and fragmentation, [pelo que] It is time for a deep regulatory cleanup at all levels.”
Speaking in the plenary session of the European Parliament in a debate on urgent actions to revive the EU’s competitiveness, in the French city of Strasbourg, the president of the community executive announced a proposal for a “simplified Europe” for “total concentration of the single market”, which will be presented in March.
“We need to break down the barriers one by one and that’s why, next month, we will propose the 28th regime. We call it EU Inc, a single and simple set of rules that will apply harmoniously across our Union, so that companies can operate between Member States much more easily”, he said.
This will be a proposal on a single set of optional administrative rules that works across the EU, alongside national laws, aimed at innovative and smaller companies.
At a time when the EU has 27 different financial systems, each with its own supervisor, and more than 300 trading platforms across the Union, Von der Leyen wants to end this “fragmentation taken to the extreme” through “a large, deep and liquid capital market” with initiatives such as the Savings and Investment Union, the integration of supervision and capital raising, moving forward “later this year”.
A true global giant
In the United States, in comparison, there is “a single financial system, a single financial capital and a few other financial centers,” he pointed out.
“Plan A is to move forward with the 27 [países]but if this is not possible, the Treaty [da UE] allows for enhanced cooperation. We have to progress and break down the barriers that prevent us from being a true global giant”, considered the official, in an allusion to the idea of a two-speed Europe, in which some Member States can advance more quickly in integration in certain areas, while others choose to follow this process later or not participate.
In this intervention, Ursula von der Leyen also defended the idea of “European preference”, giving priority to EU companies, products or investments in strategic sectors, in order to “strengthen Europe’s own productive base”, in a “delicate balance”.
“We must act with the greatest sense of urgency” and “what matters now is speed in execution”, he concluded.
At stake are national but also European reforms, in terms of administrative simplification (to generate savings of 15 billion euros per year), the removal of barriers in the single market (with internal barriers equivalent to a tariff of 45% on goods and 110% on services), the focus on innovation and the attraction of investment.
The idea is to combat the lack of investment and innovation in , diversify energy supplies to obtain lower prices and reinforce economic resilience and security, especially in the face of main competitors, China and the United States.
European Council President António Costa invited EU leaders to an informal retreat dedicated to competitiveness, taking place this Thursday in a historic castle outside Brussels.
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