A recent event in Madrid, hosted by the Swedish Enterprise-initiated campaign Europe Unlocked and the Swedish Embassy in Spain, discussed how the next European Commission can help boost productivity, growth, and economic prosperity.
Guests benefited from insights by Christian Danielsson, Swedish State Secretary for EU Affairs, Antonio Rodríguez de Liévana Sahagún, Director General for Coordination of the Internal Market at the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Anna Stellinger, Deputy Director General and Head of EU and International Affairs at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, and Jesús Ortiz Used, Chair of the EU Affairs Commission at CEOE. The panel was moderated by Judith Arnal Martínez, Senior Analyst at CEPS and Elcano Royal Institute.
A number of noteworthy conclusions resulted from the discussion.
1. We must create the conditions for more capital investment in Europe
The Draghi report insists on addressing capital flows away from Europe. Approximately 300 billion Euros flows from Europe to the United States every year. The view in the room was clear: Europe needs to create favourable conditions for investment, particularly by easing regulatory burdens to improve the business environment. Improving the implementation of new regulation is also crucial, as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often struggle to adapt to the changing and diverging regulatory environment. Ensuring that Europe remains an attractive place for investment is vital if we want a modern thriving economy.
2. Europe needs resilient supply chainsEurope needs to improve the resilience of its supply chains. Europe should aim to secure alternatives to reduce dependency via improved market access opportunities for European businesses. This will not only safeguard Europe’s economic stability but also ensure resilience in times of geopolitical or economic turmoil. Sustained growth is a pre-condition to security and not the other way around.
3. We need tech development in Europe but also tech diffusion
Draghi makes clear the link between productivity growth in the US over the last 20 years and innovation in high growth technology markets. Rather than focus on playing catch up on two decades of innovation, we should think about how we make it easy to leverage technology and potentially fuel the innovation of tomorrow.
4. Companies are experiencing a skills mismatchEurope faces a mismatch between the skills required by companies and the training provided by educational institutions. This gap needs bridging to foster innovation. We have forgotten that training and research is the core of innovation. Upskilling workers is essential to unlocking Europe’s potential.
5. It’s time to strengthen our Single Market
It requires political courage to strengthen the Single Market, that’s why Europe Unlocked was launched. The panel was unanimous on the fact that we have the resources in Europe to achieve our objectives, what’s lacking is the political will to make impactful changes. The beginning of a new term for the Commission is the moment to change that.
Read more about Europe Unlocked here.