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"BusinessEurope views on Digital Trade" identifies key measures to facilitate international digital trade, promote the convergence of digital regulations and create a favourable environment for investment. "Companies need clear EU and international rules on digital trade", BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said. "Divergent regulatory frameworks are slowing down digital transformation and hampering companies’ competitiveness. Europe accounts for more than half of global exports of digitally delivered services. Our companies need ‘data flow with trust’ – free cross-border data flow along with an adequate protection of personal data, intellectual property rights and trade secrets." - Read more or watch our video teaser

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
We need to make Europe more competitive, more attractive for investments. An ambitious and dynamic trade policy is fundamental to retain competitiveness in Europe and to make Europe stronger in the world. Read our paper "Open strategic autonomy – How trade policy can best support European competitiveness".

Trade agreements can make a major contribution to European competitiveness by
- supporting the EU's de-risking strategy through diversification of imports and exports,
- contributing to the modernisation of trading rules in key areas like climate change and digitalisation, and
- supporting the EU's engagement with countries around the world, making it a true global player.
This is the main message stemming from the panel discussion organised today by the Women in Trade Network Brussels & BusinessEurope, with Sabine Weyand, Director General of European Commission DG Trade, and Luisa Santos, BusinessEurope Deputy Director General. - Photos

“Future of EU: Social, competitive and sustainable” – was the theme of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Inaugural Plenary. “The most pressing challenge is the competitiveness of Europe as the place to invest and doing business,” underlined BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer in the roundtable with the new EESC President Oliver Röpke and the European Commissioner for jobs and social rights Nicolas Schmit, amongst others. “For business, there are three essential priorities that an ambitious EU competitiveness agenda needs to focus on: business-friendly regulation and taxation, competitive access to resources and open markets with equal rules.”
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