The European Union needs to push forward to ensure a stronger competitive market and address its energy and financial services issues, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech at the Copenhagen Competitiveness Summit.
During the speech, von der Leyen emphasised that greater competitiveness in the EU is crucial, a message also conveyed by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta in their reports on the state of the EU. Her second Commission is using the Draghi report as its “compass” to guide its actions.
In the nine months since the Commission began its work, it has pushed for several actions across the board, aiming to simplify without compromising targets. Von der Leyen also noted the historical investments in defence that are being unlocked as part of the EU’s push for more strategic independence and the fast-tracking of several trade deals.
However, von der Leyen acknowledged the need for more and called on co-legislators at the EU level to do their job and move forward with the Commission’s proposals. She mentioned that the Commission released six omnibuses for simplification that could save up to € 8 billion in bureaucratic burdens, but they have not yet received final approvals. Moreover, she highlighted two main issues that hinder the bloc: energy costs and fragmented financial services.
On energy, von der Leyen wants the EU to “reduce our dependency on the volatility of the global market” for “homegrown, cheaper energy sources from nuclear to renewable.” Over-dependency on global markets can be “weaponised” against the EU. She realises that natural gas remains crucial for the energy of many member states, but this should not deter member states from increasing the use of other sources and making the EU less dependent on global markets.
Finally, on financial services, von der Leyen declared that the main issue is the lack of a single market, with the bloc being too “fragmented”. In this area, von der Leyen noted that the Commission is moving forward by launching the Savings and Investment Union project.
