Presidents of BusinessEurope’s 40 member federations gathered in Madrid at the invitation of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE). They presented their priorities for the upcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to Nadia Calviño Santamaría, First Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Economy and Digital Transformation. "Falling energy prices through the mild winter helped steer the EU economy away from recession", BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson said, "but some countries are in recession and the situation remains challenging for many businesses". When steering negotiations on EU policies, the Spanish Presidency should promote a strategic approach to competitiveness, help reduce regulatory burden for companies, deepen the Single Market integration, and secure energy supply at competitive prices. Read more

European business remains supportive of the objectives of the proposed CS3D directive, BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson told European Commissioner Didier Reynders, handing him over a joint statement signed by more than 35 European industry associations. "We urge co-legislators to work on a reasonable approach that is manageable for companies in practice", he added. The European economy, including SMEs which will be impacted even if formally out of the scope, need a workable due diligence framework that is drafted in a balanced and proportionate way. There should be no room for legal uncertainty and fragmentation which will hamper the possibility for European companies, already facing a legally complex and crisis abundant environment, to contribute to the sustainability transition. We would like to ask for six key recommendations and concerns to be taken into account in the next stages of the legislative process. - Read more