Latest news

02/06/2023

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

25/05/2023

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

24/05/2023

how_trade_can_support_european_competitiveness

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".

12/05/2023

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

02/05/2023

"Thirty years of the Single Market is a significant milestone to celebrate, but there are also matters of concerns due to persisting barriers and even rising fragmentation in the EU", BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson said at the Single Market Forum (SIMFO) conference in Stockholm today. There is a mass of incoming EU legislation, he stressed, which creates disproportionate additional regulatory burdens for businesses. Therefore, companies cannot scale up to other countries without facing a wide variety of barriers. "Especially SMEs are struggling with the growing number of compliance obligations and the costs that are associated with them", he added. The event also had the participation of Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market; Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise; Anna Cavazzini, Chair of the EP Internal Market Committee; Johan Forssell, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade; amongst others.

26/04/2023

“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.”

02/06/2023
Position papers
Message to the Spanish EU Presidency
25/05/2023
Position papers
Due diligence: companies need workable and balanced rules
24/05/2023
Position papers
How trade policy can support European competitiveness
12/05/2023
Event
Trade agreements and European competitiveness
02/05/2023
Speeches
Single Market at 30: it’s time for barrier-free trade and investment in the EU
26/04/2023
Speeches
Business priorities for an ambitious EU competitiveness agenda

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This June in London, Responsible Business Europe 2023 will be uniting 500+ sustainability, financial and government leaders to prepare business for the deep, complex challenges faced by every company that wants to achieve net-zero but needs to remain profitable. With escalating pressures from...

The fifth edition of the International IP Enforcement Summit, hosted by the European Commission, the EUIPO and the Patent Office of Bulgaria in Sofia, will unite key European and international decision-makers, law enforcement authorities, multinational companies and other stakeholders....

The #TDI23, the future conference of the BDI with impulses from business, politics and society, will take place as a hybrid event at the Verti Music Hall Berlin, Germany.

Members news

Ibec Europe & Global Focus - the Summer 2023 edition

30 years of the Single Market: achievements and pitfalls

Sometimes, less is more – key factors for innovation and a competitive economy

It is getting urgent to act to curb prices and their impact on the European economy

Monitoring report on Next Generation funding in Spain - The third edition

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