Business message to the Spanish EU Presidency

The Presidents of BusinessEurope’s 40 member federations gathered in Madrid at the invitation of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, CEOE. They presented their priorities for the incoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to Nadia Calviño, First Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Economy and Digital Transformation. On 2 June, they will exchange views with Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission, and will have an audience with His Majesty King Felipe VI.

CEOE President Antonio Garamendi said:

“We need competitive companies to strengthen Europe’s global position, ability to stand up for our values, secure high living standards and deliver on the green and digital transitions. We trust that the incoming Spanish Presidency of the EU will build on the work started earlier this year to launch an ambitious European competitiveness strategy.”

BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson said:

“Falling energy prices through the mild winter helped steer the EU economy away from recession, but some countries are in recession and the situation remains challenging for many businesses. We expect growth to reach just 0.7% in the EU in 2023 and 1.6% in 2024, provided downside risks such as continuing geo-political instability don’t materialise.

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.

Trade is key and we need to diversify sources of supply of critical raw materials and export markets. We fully support the incoming Spanish Presidency intention to give a new impetus to the conclusion and ratification of trade agreements with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur.”

Please see the Madrid declaration of BusinessEurope’s Council of Presidents here.