On the eve of the EU summit, the leaders of 19 European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, jointly sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Costa,It calls on the EU to pursue “fundamental institutional reforms” to fully enhance Europe’s competitiveness in the global market.
German Chancellor Merz and leaders of other signatory countries pointed out in the joint letter that was disclosed on October 22 thatIf the EU continues to follow the current regulatory pattern, Europe will face the risk of a “loss of competitiveness.”
According to the joint letter, the European Commission needs to conduct a "thorough review" of existing EU regulations before the end of the year and propose plans to simplify or abolish outdated and redundant regulations. Subsequently, once conditions are ripe, a special EU competitiveness summit may be held in February next year to launch a new round of institutional restructuring. The joint letter emphasized that strengthening Europe's competitiveness is not only related to economic development, but also related to freedom, security and prosperity:“If we don’t change our course, Europe will lose its competitiveness in global competition.”
The letter also calls for a more enabling environment for small and medium-sized enterprises, including reduced reporting and information obligations, relaxed merger controls and state subsidy reviews, improved access to finance, and accelerated approval processes for new products, plant construction and energy networks. Signatory leaders argued that the new legislation should be a comprehensive clean-up of burdensome regulations.
According to analysts, the initiative demonstrates a shift in Germany’s role within the European Union: from the focus on following the rules to the proactive demand for reforms in order to adapt to the increasingly intense global market environment. With the EU summit approaching, the reform proposal Merts advocated is expected to become one of the main topics of the conference, and its progress is highly regarded by the outside.
Source: CCTV News