France today takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months, with an announced focus on "recovery, strength and a sense of belonging". The European business community urges the French Presidency to focus on restoring Europe's economy and combating the complexity of EU legislative proposals that is hampering the development of the millions of small, medium-sized and large European enterprises BusinessEurope represents. We have defined seven issues of crucial importance in this matter, grouped into the "Paris Declaration" submitted to President Emmanuel Macron in November last year. "There are growing concerns in the business community about legislative proposals that put European companies at a disadvantage when competing on global markets", BusinessEurope President Pierre Gattaz said on this occasion. "Enterprises cannot cope with this never-ending accumulation of constraints and administrative requirements. To reconcile climate ambitions with industrial competitiveness, the European legal framework must facilitate innovation and minimise transition costs." - Read more

Today, BusinessEurope published its key priorities ahead of the 12th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference which takes place from 30 November to 3 December in Geneva. "This is crunch time for the WTO", Markus J. Beyrer said, "as we all expect to see a stronger and more effective organisation after the MC12, one that is able to develop and implement modern trade rules that respond to the needs of our societies. This requires commitment from all WTO members to deliver tangible results and make the necessary compromises to safeguard the future of the organisation. A well-functioning WTO is essential for European business, as the WTO is the basis for our relationship with our two major trading partners, China and the USA. We expect the WTO members will agree on a roadmap to update the WTO rulebook, including on industrial subsidies, sustainability, but also on digital economy. We also need a functioning dispute settlement system. - Read more or watch the message by Markus J. Beyrer

BusinessEurope today published essential positions on the European Commission's 'Fit for 55' package to significantly deepen and broaden the decarbonisation of Europe's economy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The paper gives detailed answers on how the transition to a climate-neutral economy by mid-century can be achieved while keeping climate ambition hand in hand with industrial competitiveness. The package, President Pierre Gattaz said, will fundamentally alter the functioning of our economies. "We need swift and momentous action to meet the ambitious 2030 targets. The package entails bold steps to strengthen the ETS, to introduce a first-of-its-kind carbon border adjustment and to seek to profoundly change the market through sectoral legislations for mobility, aviation and shipping. EU business is committed", he commented, "but to make this transition economically successful, as well as socially and politically acceptable, we also need several key policy adjustments." - Read more