A new European competitiveness deal

Before we started our negotiations on competitiveness at the European Council , we spent some time with Enrico Letta . He referred to a remark Jacques Delors once made: To step up and act in the interests of the European Union, you need both a vision and a screwdriver. That refers both to the sense of belonging to a project that stands for values we believe in deeply and to the need to take the perspective of an engineer, looking for ways to refine its structure and architecture. I think that during our meeting we have tried, in a small way, to live up to that ambition: of the vision and the screwdriver.

'Much more than a market', report by Enrico Letta

I’ve been taking part in European Council meetings for almost ten years, and this was probably the first time in a very long time that we’ve discussed competitiveness and investment in such depth, and indeed that we’ve come to such a substantial decision. It was a tough European Council. It took us several hours to make progress on the topics of competitiveness and investment, and we have sent a number of extremely important signals and taken huge steps forward.

First, we want to deepen the single market. We know that the single market is a fundamental asset for all of us, for our prosperity, for our future. We need to improve it and deepen it. This means that services should be included. The circular economy is a challenge and an opportunity for all of us. We need to develop the industrial strategy of the European Union, and for that we understand that the energy union is fundamental. We also understand that we need to mobilise more money, more tools to invest in strategic sectors.

During this meeting, we understood that it is important to scale up, to get bigger. It is also important to take care of our SMEs and make sure that we have the right mix, the right balance, because the role played by SMEs and access for SMEs to the single market is certainly a fundamental, strategic goal that all of us share. But the main topic, and I would like to insist on that, is investment, the investment strategy. ‘Savings and investment union’: these are the words used by Enrico Letta in his report. We had an in-depth discussion and we made fundamental decisions in that field. We made a huge step in the right direction. In the European Council, we intend to revert on a regular basis to this topic and we have provided fundamental orientations.

We have provided fundamental guidance on three extremely important topics:

• First, we are taking a major step forward, with the European Council saying we must move towards harmonising relevant aspects of bankruptcy frameworks. This is a key point. We have been working in this area – with limited progress – for a very long time.
• Second, targeted convergence in the business environment for our companies is crucial to fostering investment and access to capital – and to doing so across borders.
• Third, another vital point you will see in the conclusions is European supervision. Supervision needs to be strengthened, obviously taking into account the characteristics of financial institutions, and the European Commission has a threefold task of analysis, review and work in order to make very practical progress on this subject. You’ll notice that the paragraph on this topic is a key component, and is a real step forward.
• Lastly, we know all too well – and share the consensus – that we are facing extraordinary challenges: climate change, the digital revolution and the transformation of our socio-economic model, the awareness that we need to invest more in security and defence and, on top of all that, a demographic challenge. Demography has increasingly become a matter we address at European level. It’s part of the equation we have to solve. Investment, the Energy Union, strengthening a quality-based regulatory approach – reducing administrative burdens, freeing up business and unlocking initiatives: these are all absolutely vital pillars in this framework.