News
COP23 – Business acts alongside negotiators to implement the Paris climate Agreement
The icy temperatures of Bonn are making room for rays of sunshine as we’re nearing the end of COP24. Is that a harbinger for the progress the business community is hoping the negotiators to make? Be...
Preparing for the next Council presidency
A few weeks before Bulgaria takes its turn in holding the EU presidency, Markus J. Beyrer met Emil Karanikolov, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Council presidency comes at a decis...
COP23 – It’s started!
The Bonn Climate Change Conference opened today and will continue until 17 November, under the Presidency of Fiji. The conference is actually a combination of six meetings:
The twenty-third sessi...
Europe needs ambitious trade agenda & partnership for social reforms
Today at the Tripartite Social Summit in Brussels, BusinessEurope's President Emma Marcegaglia stressed that the EU needs to become more attractive for investment and to maintain a fair and ambiti...
President Tusk meets BusinessEurope ahead of the October European Council meeting
On the eve of the Tripartite Social Summit on 18 October 2017, President Emma Marcegaglia and Director General Markus J. Beyrer met the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. They conveyed Bu...
More EU innovation should lead to more EU business success
How to ensure that Europe as an inventor of ground-breaking new technologies will also commercially benefit from its own innovative technologies? How to adapt the EU’s research policy in this respec...
Discussing the prospects of the transatlantic cooperation
“The digital economy is a good example of a field where close cooperation between the EU and the US holds high potential for growth, jobs and innovation”, said BusinessEurope Director Gene...
International experts share good practices on trade
BusinessEurope organised a trade seminar gathering international experts to discuss current challenging trade issues and topics on 9 October at its headquarters in Brussels. “Trade will be enhan...
Industry transforms knowledge into innovation
"Our society faces multiple complex and immediate challenges that impact a citizen’s quality of life: from climate change and mobility to urbanisation and an ageing population. Research and...
EFNI debates global challenges and new European landscape
“I am convinced that it is possible to reconcile multilateral, rules-based globalisation, bilateral cooperation, and patriotism, without giving in to nationalism and protectionism”, said B...
First annual EU-China CEO and Former Officials’ dialogue
BusinessEurope and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) on 21-22 September in Beijing co-hosted the first dialogue between business leaders, former officials and lea...
Adapting labour markets to embrace digital change
“To embrace benefits of digitalisation, all Member States need to achieve employment regulations that are sufficiently flexible to help companies create jobs and adapt to changing economic circu...
New opportunities thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement
Expected to be ratified in 2018, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is one of the most ambitious agreements the European Union has ever negotiated with a developing country. A reflection on its...
Building a strong, modern European industrial strategy
In times of fast technological progress, and a fast-changing political and economic context at the global level, Europe must be ready to face the impacts of these changes and support its industry. Wit...
MEDEF Summer University “Confidence and growth, France is the future!”
“Confidence and growth, France is the future!” was the theme of this year’s Summer University of MEDEF – BusinessEurope’s French member association. The Summer University...
Business confidence shows strong improvement since mid-2016
The European Commission today published their latest estimates on business confidence for the Euro-area. The release underlines that European business is increasingly confident about economic prospect...
CETA’s provisional application starts in September
On 21 September 2017, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) will provisionally enter into force. A vast majority of the deal is of exclusive EU competence. Pr...
Investment: how is the EU progressing?
A key priority for the European Commission should be on increasing investment in Europe. Investment as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP) started to pick up gradually as of 2014, after it exp...
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement: full implementation of a landmark deal
On 1 September 2017, the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement will enter fully into force. Signed on 27 June 2014 and ratified by the European Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada - the parliament of Ukraine -...
Unemployment at its lowest since financial crisis
Eurostat’s latest unemployment figures, released today, show that the average unemployment rate in the EU was 7.7% in June, remaining stable compared to May. Compared to the same month last year...
BusinessEurope’s priorities for the Estonian Presidency
Presenting BusinessEurope’s priorities for the Estonian Presidency to Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: “Europe must grasp the opportunity presented by the improv...
Strengthening cooperation between business organisations in EU and Latin America
“Our organisations should work together to enhance companies’ role in very promising areas where the EU and Latin America could and should intensify cooperation by promoting inclusive and...
BusinessEurope and Keidanren hold the 6th sector-to-sector meeting
Opening the event, Markus J. Beyrer said: “This shows our joint commitment to regulatory dialogue and regulatory cooperation that is so important in the EU-Japan trade and investment relations. Japa...
Inclusiveness is key in shift to circular economy in Europe
“Member states have to engage effectively with businesses, each other and the EU institutions to make sure that circular economy is not just a Brussels discussion. In this context, it is vital t...