Publications
Priorities for EU consumer policy in 2024-2029
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
Corporate governance and company law in the European Union
European companies are committed to playing their role in society by producing quality goods and services at competitive prices, creating productive and fulfilling jobs, contributing to the financing of necessary public services and infrastructure, innovating and delivering enabling technologies for the green and digital transitions. For European companies to deliver on the above, it is essential that the legal environment in which they operate and the legal conditions around the company, support creation, scale-up, and mobility of companies within the EU. Well-functioning company law and corporate governance frameworks are pivotal for companies to flourish and bring societal benefits. In a paper published on 21 November 2024, BusinessEurope sets its priorities for the next legislature in the areas of corporate governance, corporate sustainability due diligence, and company law.
The EU must take a strategic, long-term, and unified approach to China
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.
EU competition policy - Priorities for the next political cycle
For the forthcoming EU political cycle, BusinessEurope has 3 overarching priorities in the field of competition:
For further details, explore our full paper, published on 13 November 2024.
Unlocking the EU's intangible assets potential
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.
Outlook on EU-UK relations
The EU-UK relationship remains vital for both sides, politically and economically. The EU is the UK’s largest trading partner, while the UK ranks third for the EU, following the US and China. As new political cycles begin in the EU and UK, we have an opportunity to strengthen this relationship to deliver more for businesses and citizens. Key areas for progress include: reducing non-tariff barriers through regulatory cooperation and maintaining a level playing field via the TCA; streamlining trade procedures by advancing rules on origin, product conformity, and customs procedures; enhancing professional mobility to address labour shortages, focusing on mutual qualifications recognition and clarity on visa requirements; collaborating on supply chain resilience, green transition, and energy security to avoid unnecessary trade obstacles. By advancing these efforts, the EU and UK can build a stronger, future-ready partnership.
Priorities for the EU's social dimension 2024-2029
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.
How to turn Europe into an SME superpower during the next EU cycle
Did you know that 99% of European businesses are SMEs? They employ 88 million people! But they face rising costs and regulatory challenges. How can we better support them? During the next institutional cycle, we want Europe to become an “SME superpower”. SMEs are deeply rooted in European regions and societies. Many are important players in competitive value and supply chains and networks. They are undeniably a fundamental part of European DNA and their contribution to the economy, well-being and innovation of our continent is unquestionable. The resilience of entrepreneurs in recent years has proven once again that they are part of the solution. They want to be part of an “SME superpower” project, but to do so, they need the right support from institutions at both national and European level.
A proactive trade agenda for EU competitiveness: priorities for the next political cycle
“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.
Priorities for the EU transport sector beyond 2024
With this paper, published on 24 July 2024, BusinessEurope sets out its priorities and key recommendations for future EU transport policy for the sector as a whole, followed by specific priorities for each transport mode.
Better regulation in the new EU legislature
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.
Research & innovation, sustainable finance, environment, circular economy
As a new legislative term begins, on 10 July 2024 BusinessEurope put forward policy priorities across the areas of R&I, sustainable finance, the environment, and the circular economy. The overarching goal of these policy proposals is to unlock the investments which are crucial for the EU to keep up with its global competitors and enhance its attractiveness as a business and investment location.
Energy and climate transition: how to strengthen the EU's competitiveness
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.
Priorities for the future of the EU state aid framework
In a paper published on 20 June 2024, business underline their fundamental state principles: efficient state aid can reliably support EU companies in their well-defined transition efforts; effective state aid rules are key to preserving fair competition and ensure the
well-functioning of the single market; state aid must be well targeted, transparent, proportionate, limited in time and
carefully monitored; the EU must strive for more streamlined, improved and faster state aid procedures.
Economic security: Striking the right balance between security and competitiveness
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.”
European social partners call to vote
At time of geopolitical crisis, it is even more important to support and strengthen European democracy. This is why the European social partners – ETUC, BusinessEurope, SGI Europe and SMEunited – jointly called on those who are eligible to vote in the upcoming European elections to make their voices heard. As representatives of trade unions and employers across Europe, they are united in their belief that participation in these elections is not just about electing policymakers; it is about securing a bright future for all and addressing the key challenges of our time.
Europe needs a reboot to restore its global competitiveness
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
Putting competitiveness at the forefront of the next political cycle
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.
Licence to transform: SWOT analysis of industrial permitting in Europe
Between May and June 2023, BusinessEurope surveyed 240 companies across 21 European countries, with 35% of those being SMEs, about their experiences with EU permitting processes. The results of this study confirmed our concerns that, in today’s very competitive global scene where speed is of strategic importance, long and complex industrial permitting hinders companies’ green and digital transformation and the EU’s global competitiveness.
Reigniting the engine of Europe's global economic leadership - Priorities for the Single Market beyond 2024
Key recommendations
Our digital policy ambition for the 2024-2029 legislature
A 10-year period of intense horizontal regulation in the digital technology sphere is closing in. The European Union has become by far the most prominent writer of the digital technology playbook. In the 2024-2029 legislature BusinessEurope looks forward to:
Stronger businesses, stronger European Union
Starting to prepare for the European elections 2024, we kicked off with a message to the European political parties, ‘Stronger businesses, stronger European Union’, in which we urge them to strengthen Europe’s economy in the next political cycle.
