Our key publications for the next EU institutional cycle 2024-2029

BusinessEurope is calling for a REBOOT in European policies, building on EU achievements, with targeted actions to tackle the structural weaknesses that are undermining companies’ efforts to deliver for people.

Policy changes are needed, aiming at sound economic, social and environmental progress in a:

Resilient European Union with

Energy at affordable prices

Better and simpler regulation

Open and rules-based trade leading to more

Opportunities in the Single Market through

Technological innovation and talent development

The European consumer policy should refocus on its core purpose:

– Help businesses fully benefit from the Single Market;

– Offer consumers access to a broader range of products and services at better prices.

How? By creating a more harmonised legal framework as detailed in our paper, published on 21 November 2024

China is the world’s 2nd-largest economy and the second-largest EU trading partner in goods. It will remain a crucial market for European companies. Yet, the growing risks and challenges of doing business in and with China cannot be ignored. How should the EU engage with China in a ever challenging geopolitical context? Our paper, published on 20 November 2024, dives into the evolving EU-China relationship, the increasing challenges, and proposes a path forward.

For European companies to drive innovation and deliver breakthrough technologies, they need a legal framework that is truly fit for purpose. A key piece of the puzzle? A solid EU intellectual property policy. The recent Draghi report points out a major EU’s challenge: translating innovation into commercial success, where intellectual property protection plays a pivotal role. Think of it like this—intangible assets such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights are often referred to as the currency of innovation. Without a clear and robust framework to protect these assets, companies can’t keep innovating, particularly in vital areas like the green and digital transitions. What steps can we take to fully leverage IP policy and make Europe the go-to destination for investment? Check it in our paper, published on 13 November 2024.

European employment and social policies can and must help boost competitiveness and productivity. How can we make that happen? In our priorities for the next five years, published on 16 October 2024, to help reverse the EU’s decline in global competitiveness we focus notably on:

– Facilitating labour mobility;

– Increasing workforce participation;

– Investing in future-proof skills;

– Easing legal migration for skilled workers.

“A proactive trade agenda for EU competitiveness”, published on 11 September 2024, outlines European business’ recommendations on the EU trade policy for the next five years. During the next institutional cycle, we call on EU leaders to adopt a trade agenda that is proactive, creative and forward-looking. To rebalance the focus placed in recent years on its defensive toolkit, the EU must develop an ambitious diversification strategy.

Discover our position paper, published on 17 July 2024, for an insightful look into better regulation within the EU. We outline key objectives, principles and tools, and offer strategic recommendations to strengthen political commitment across EU institutions. BusinessEurope strongly supports the EU’s better regulation agenda as a safeguard of democratic decision-making. It is about enhancing the quality of policy and law-making and ensuring the legitimacy and accountability of EU governance.

On 4 July 2024 we published an in-depth study developed with economic consultancy Compass Lexecon, showing that a more competitive energy and climate transition is still possible but only if swift action is taken by EU legislators during the next EU cycle. The study shows that even in the case of a managed transition, with more supportive EU policies, energy costs in Europe would be at least 50% higher than that in the US, China and India by 2050. “This will put European companies at a serious competitive disadvantage with these key players, which is why we need urgent action at EU level to bridge this gap so that Europe can achieve climate neutrality by 2050 without deindustrialising”, warned our Director General Markus J. Beyrer. Based on the study, we have identified seven concrete actions for a successful energy and climate transition.

The new analysis underscores the need for a renewed partnership between the European Commission, Member States, and the private sector to ensure uniform rule and regulation application across the EU. As many of the EU’s trading partners develop their own economic security strategies, it is crucial to promote coordination in areas of common interest. Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: “For us, the Strategy must be anchored in the principles of competitiveness and openness. The protection of vital security interests must not be used as cover for disguised protectionism, and it must not endanger the integrity of the Single Market and the free movement of capital. To this end, the three pillars of the Strategy as proposed by the European Commission – Promote-Protect-Partner – should be given equal importance. It is also crucial that any initiatives and tools are precise, proportionate, and predictable, and designed to mitigate well-defined risks.”

Why is Europe a less attractive investment location? Did you know the regulatory burden on businesses remains too high?

Our 2024 Reform Barometer offers a view of Europe’s global competitiveness performance and an evaluation of policy decisions taken last year.

“Our key finding is that 88% of our national member federations believe that, having declined significantly between 2020 and 2023, there was no improvement in the attractiveness of the EU’s investment environment vis-à-vis our major competitors over the last 12 months”, BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson said.

Key recommendations

• When regulating, guarantee the freedom to trade and invest across borders in the EU, pursue maximum harmonisation of the Single Market rules, and strictly adhere to better regulation principles.
• Liberalise cross-border provision of services, inter alia by ambitious implementation of the Services Directive, and incentivise uptake of digital technologies as the major priorities.