Brussels is attempting a change of pace on competitiveness

Competitiveness is the buzzword of the week for Bruxelles. Three key meetings will be held in the space of a few hours, all dedicated to a single objective:relaunch European industry.

The first appointment is scheduled for todayAntwerpwhere about a thousandEuropean industrialistswill gather around the ten-point platform launched in 2024, with the ambition of building a real “Industrial Deal” capable of giving rapid responses to ongoing changes.

The French president Emmanuel Macronthe President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyenthe German chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever they will be present to listen to the requests of the approximately one thousand industrialists expected in Belgium.

The European Council at Alden Biesen Castle

The meeting will be held on the eve of a more important appointment, that ofEuropean Councilin “retreat” format at Alden Biesen Castle, preceded by apre-summitconvened by Belgium, Germany and Italy, which will bring together around twenty heads of state and government.

The pre-summit will be an opportunity to reiterate the positions ofGermany and Italyon the need for onesimplification of procedurescapable of overcoming the impasse of institutions and decisions at 27, which are not always possible, thus returning more powers to theMember States. A hypothesis also echoed by the president of the executiveUEvon der Leyen who in a preparatory letter opened up the possibility of overcoming theunanimity of decisions.

The agenda of European sovereignty

These are three stages that make up a coherent sequence on the agenda of theEuropean sovereigntyand on the acceleration ofcompetitiveness of the Unionalmost two years after Letta and Draghi’s reports.

The informal retreat – in which the two former Italian prime ministers will also participate – will be an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of their recommendations, but also to seek answers to theslow decision-making in Brusselsin a global context that moves much faster. In preparatory briefings the word “rhythm”: Europe must be able to dictate its own agenda, instead of chasing economic powers likeUnited States and China.

Artificial intelligence, space, cleantech, biotech, medtech, medtech, defense semiconductors e roboticsthey are the chapters on which the Union wants to concentrate its efforts to conquer aleadership industrialein sectors currently dominated byChinese and US big tech companies.

The theme of European preference

The debate will also include the topic of “European preference” in procurement, with the aim of strengthening companies that produce within the Union, a point also recalled by von der Leyen in a recent public letter.Competitivenessoften rhymes withspeedwhat is missing from European processes.

The most cited example is theMercosur: after 25 years of negotiations and a signature in Paraguay, the agreement was blocked byEuropean Parliamentwhich voted to appeal to the Court of Justice, risking postponing the final vote for another two years. Faced with these difficulties, on 28 January the “big six” – Italy, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland – to lead theeconomic revival.

Enhanced cooperation

At the invitation of the French Minister of Economy, the six ministers inaugurated anew format of enhanced cooperationon economic issues, designed to guide and accelerate the decisions of the Twenty-Seven.

An approach that is also reflected in the proliferation ofbilateral summitson major dossiers: Italy-Germany, the next Franco-Italian summit, and the meetings of the Franco-German axis.

We are aiming for a change of pace

This week could score achange of pacefor the economy of the 27: betweenindustrial pressures, political leadershipand new formats of cooperation, Europe is called to demonstrate that it knows how to run. The question hovering over all the tables is simple and crucial: will the Union succeed in transforming its ambitioncompetitiveness in quick and operational decisionsbefore the world speeds up once again?