Debate: Make Europe the place to invest
Date: WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE 2023
Speaker: Jessika Roswall
Language: EN

The problem description is familiar. Europe has, in economic terms, lagged behind peers for a long time before the current crisis. Over the last four decades, our growth rates have been sluggish compared to the US and many other OECD countries. Our productivity is lower than other important players and maybe even more worryingly, we continue to spend less on R&D. This is not explained by a lack of short-term public intervention or aid packages. Instead, it is about our basic policies and the general directions we are moving in. Indeed, making sure that European regulations are conductive to growth determines our attractiveness to the world. Businesses have long-term perspectives and therefore need predictable and competitive framework conditions for their investments. Ultimately, our future economic growth, to a large extent, depends on our ability in this regard. And that is also why the Swedish Presidency emphasises long-term competitiveness and has worked hard to anchor this at the top of the EU agenda. Ladies and gentlemen, a lot has happened over the last couple of months. I recall the discussions that we had here in January and in March, as well as the resolution adopted by the European Parliament. All of this appears to have inspired the Commission when preparing its initiative in views of the March European Council. Its strategy on long-term competitiveness and productivity puts the single market, R&D, skills, access to private capital and better regulation at the core. Importantly, it suggests a work method that includes the use of key performance indicators for efficient implementations and follow-up. This initiative, together with the ‘single market at 30’ communication was an excellent basis for the discussion on economic issues at the Spring European Council. Leaders then made it clear that they share the view that we need to work in this way and that these policy areas are crucial. The recognition at the highest political level provides a powerful message to the guide of the policy-making. It marked the start of the agenda of strategic importance and that the EU needs to pursue over a long period of time. Leaders will come back to these issues at the June summit, as we discussed here this morning. And with a view to that, the Swedish Presidency is arranging discussion in key Council formations. An important step was at the Competitiveness Council in May, when ministers endorsed the work methods set out by the Commission. All deliberations in combination with efficient negotiations on key legislative acts such as the Critical Raw Material Act, the Chips Act, and the Directive on Ecodesign will feed into the Presidency’s report on the European Council in the end of June, and also was asked for at the March meeting. In parallel, we need to ensure a smart implementation of the strategies. The Commission has initiated work on this. In the next phase, it needs to be explored how to create synergies with other policy instruments, for example, the European Semester. And we need to monitor that the policies are in line with the priorities and objectives set out in the strategy. This work is in progress. And it will be challenged to make sure that this competitiveness agenda becomes truly influential, because this is how we make Europe the place to invest. We need to continue strong engagement from the European Parliament also to achieve this, to make sure that we focus on the right thing and that I hope that it will keep this debate alive. Let me also stress the firm commitment of the Swedish Presidency to move forward with this agenda, and I am looking forward to the debate.